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Research Tutorial |
Text Only CONTENTS |
Research Ethics Plagiarism! Naughty, naughty... BAD RESEARCHER! Ethical researchers respect the intellectual property rights of others. This means that they:
What is Plagiarism? "...to plagiarize is to give the impression that you wrote or thought something that you in fact borrowed from someone..." (Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed, New York: MLA, 1998: 151) As you do research and create your own research paper, report, web page, or other product, you may use resources created by others. Each of the sources you use must be credited. Not to do so is to commit plagiarism, which is both unethical and a serious infraction of the student codes of virtually all colleges and universities. Unfortunately, many students commit plagiarism unintentionally. Some common misconceptions about plagiarism:
The ability to acknowledge your sources and weave them into your text is a skill not to be taken lightly: it must be deliberately developed. Fortunately, there are resources on the Web that can help. Both of these sites include concrete, practical examples that are worth careful study:
How do I credit my sources? Consult a standard style manual, such as those published by the MLA (Modern Language Association) and the APA (American Psychological Association) to find out how to format the citations to your sources, both within your text and in the list of references at the end. Your instructor may specify one of these or another style manual. If not, choose one and use it consistently. Both of these style guides are available at academic libraries:
What is Copyright? A copyright is a set of exclusive rights that authors have over their works for a limited period of time. Sometimes it's not enough simply to give credit to the original producer. If what you want to reproduce goes beyond "fair use," as defined by the current copyright statute and guidelines, you may need to obtain written permission from the copyright holder, and you'll probably need to affix a copyright notice of what you copy. In defining fair use, a number of factors are considered, including your purpose and how substantial a portion of the work you want to reproduce. Quoting a paragraph from a book may be acceptable, while quoting a five-line poem may not. Common misconceptions about copyright:
Questions about copyright and fair use can often be answered by consulting Web sites at colleges and universities. This page maintained by Stanford University is a good starting place: Copyright Law: Frequently Asked Questions fairuse.stanford.edu/library/faq.html Back to Top Specific Examples Copying a Recipe No problem, unless you decide to submit the recipe in a local contest or mount it on your personal Web page. Writing a Report You must cite all sources used and carefully acknowledge them within the text. You must be especially careful not to represent another's ideas as your own. Researching a Hobby No problem, unless you decide to write an article for your local newpaper or mount a Web page with all of the information you've gathered, possibly including a cute graphic you found on another Web site. Gathering Information for a Debate Sources of ideas should be attributed, even for an oral report. |
