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Plagiarism Resource Centre: For Students

What is plagiarism? The UBC Calendar defines plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct in which "an individual submits or presents the oral or written work of another person as his or her own."[1] Plagiarism may be: Substantial or Reckless "no recognition [is] given to the author for phrases, sentences, and ideas of the author incorporated in a work." Complete "an entire work is copied from an author, or composed by another person, and presented as original work." [2] Does UBC really check for plagiarism? Instructors often keep copies of previous assignments for reference. In addition, UBC subscribes to TurnItIn.com, an online service that scans essay and term papers to check for material copied from web sites or purchased from paper mills (such as cheater.com), published works, or previously submitted essays For more information see TurnItIn.com@UBC What are the penalties for plagiarism? Penalties for plagiarism may include a failing grade or suspension from the University. [3] Back to Top But … How do I know if I'm plagiarizing or not? Items of common knowledge don't need referencing. "British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871" is common knowledge. "As of December 31, 2005, Safeway operated 1775 stores in North America" is not. [4] If you're not sure if an item is common knowledge within your discipline: check with your instructor. read through these examples to get an idea of what constitutes plagiarism read the online guides listed under the UBC Plagiarism Resources on the right check the sites listed under Other Plagiarism Resources complete the online Tutorials offered on these sites: The Academic Integrity Tutorial (York University) You Quote It, You Note It (Acadia University) The Plagiarism Court: You Be The Judge (Fairfield University) The following sources may also be useful: Evaluating Print Resources: A Guide Evaluating Internet Resources: A Guide Can I reuse a paper from a different course? No. Dovetailing (handing in the same term paper for two courses or reusing an old term paper) is also considered cheating (unless you have permission to do so from your instructors). [5] Can't I just list every source I've used in the bibliography? No. You need to attribute credit throughout the paper. So even though you may have paraphrased or summarized an article or a section of an article, you still need to footnote the idea you've used as soon as you've mentioned it. REMEMBER: A good general rule to follow is "If in doubt, cite." Back to Top Okay, so how do I cite my sources? Style guides dictate the format that you should follow when listing your sources. Your instructor may tell you to use a particular style. If you choose a style, remember to be consistent! Citation Style Guides: MLA APA Turabian/Chicago (from the University of Chicago) Citing Electronic resources in the Humanities and Social Sciences Online! Citation Styles (online guide by Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger) Back to Top Where can I get help? UBC Writing Centre Citation Tools: RefWorks is a web-based citation management program that enables you to: download references from databases and library catalogues automatically format citations and bibliographies in seconds UBC Library subscribes to a RefWorks site licence, so it's available for free to current UBC students, faculty, and staff. Research Tips! Always cite the following types of information: Direct quotations taken from sources - be sure to place quotation marks around direct quotes as you write them down. This way you will remember which are direct quotes and which are not. Paraphrased ideas and opinions taken from someone else's work Summaries of ideas taken from someone else's work Factual information with the exception of anything that is considered common knowledge (well-known facts) Take careful notes of what you read and where you found the ideas - when you are in a rush to finish a paper you may not remember where you got an idea or quote from Use colour highlighters to indicate which notes represent your own ideas and which notes are taken from someone else's material. Get started early; avoid panic situations which might tempt you to plagiarize. Consider using index cards or a notebook to keep track of the ideas and words you find in different sources. Review your final draft on paper, rather than on-screen, and have a friend or classmate read it over Ask yourself: Is the idea or argument presented mine? Is the diction my own? Can my work be clearly distinguished from the work of others? Endnotes 1. The University of British Columbia, Calendar 2006/2007: V. Academic Regulations, (Vancouver: U.B.C., 2006), 31 May 2006 <http://students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959>. 2. The University of British Columbia, Calendar 2006/2007: V. Academic Regulations, (Vancouver: U.B.C., 2006), 31 May 2006 <http://students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959>. 3. The University of British Columbia, Calendar 2006-2007: V. Academic Regulations, (Vancouver: U.B.C., 2006), 31 May 2006 <http://students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,960>. 4. Safeway, Inc, Safeway at a Glance, 31 May 2006 <http://www.safeway.com/investor_relations/default.asp>. 5. The University of British Columbia, Calendar 2006/2007: V. Academic Regulations, (Vancouver: U.B.C., 2006), 31 May 2006 <http://students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959>. References Baca, Paola and Amy McPhee. Plagiarism Avoided: Taking Responsibility for Your Work. Vancouver: UBC Faculty of Arts, 1999. Back to Top

Resources for Students Faculty Quick Links   What is Plagiarism? Does UBC really check? Penalties for Plagiarism Identifying Plagiarism How do I cite sources? Where can I get help? UBC Plagiarism Resources   Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism Faculty of Arts Department of Zoology Sauder School of Business School of Nursing Department of Computer Science Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (TAG) Plagiarism Resource Centre: For Faculty Other Plagiarism Resources   Understanding Plagiarism (University of Guelph) How To Recognize Plagiarism (online tutorial from Indiana University) How Not To Plagiarize (University of Toronto)   Click here for a printer friendly version of this page. (Word Doc)