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How to Avoid Plagiarism: Understanding Plagiarism

Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism

READ THE SOURCE IN ITS ENTIRETY

  • It's easy to take something out of context if you only read a portion of it! If you read the entire source, you should have a better feel of the author's meaning.

TAKE DETAILED NOTES AS YOU READ

  • Anytime you note something word-for-word, immediately place it in quotation marks. Also note what page or section you found it on.
  • On each page, make sure you note the original source and the date you accessed the source. This will make citation much easier, especially if you are working with multiple sources or doing research over a long stretch of time.
  • Try not to mix your own thoughts and commentary with excerpts from your source. Keep them on separate pages, draw two columns on your page, or switch your pen color.
  • If you find it difficult to take notes with electronic sources - or if you find yourself drawn to the copy-paste method - print out your sources and deal with them in print form.

RETURN TO YOUR NOTES LATER

  • In order to do this, you must not procrastinate on your projects. If you don't have sufficient time, you won't do your best work, and it may lead you to make poor decisions when including your sources. Remember, if you get caught plagiarizing, the situation or your intentions won't be an excuse. Build in time to synthesize and properly work in your sources.
  • Identify which sources are best for inclusion. Understand when you have to cite. Then decide whether you should directly quote, summarize, or paraphrase. If you are directly quoting, double-check your notes against the source for accuracy. If you are summarizing or paraphrasing:
    • Make sure the source is fresh in your mind, but not right in front of you. If you see the original text, you are more likely to want to use their terms and sentence structure.
    • Check your writing against the original. Remember, you should have changed the sentence structure and the language but the meaning of the source should still be the same. Any language that is unique to the source should be placed in quotation marks or removed. You may find it necessary to do several edits.

CONSULT WITH THE EXPERTS

  • If you need a second opinion, ask!  Ask a librarian or your professor. 

Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism by Butler University library

How Can I Cite my sources if I don't have all their information?

How Can I Properly Cite My Sources if I don't Have All of Their Information?

Research isn’t always perfect. Sometimes you’ll find the perfect source or even the exact quote you need only to learn that the information you have about the source is incomplete.

It could be that you have a book or an article without a publication, maybe there’s no author name affixed or some other detail is absent. It can be frustrating, but all hope is not lost.

If you lack some or all of the information about your source, the first step is to try and obtain it. If it’s an article you may be able to search for the title to get a date or author. If it’s a book, you may either be able to search for it on Amazon or at your library. If you have the ISBN of the book, you can use an online tool to generate your bibliography from that.

Still, despite the power of the internet and your local library, there may still be times where there is missing data. If that happens, the general rule of thumb is simple: Do your best and provide the information you have.

Every major style guide has a set of rules for how to cite a source when some of the data is missing. For example, APA style has a full series of rules for just about any information you might be missing or combination thereof.

Under APA style, if the author is missing you simply start with the title of the work and alphabetize based upon that in your bibliography. Likewise, if the date is missing, you substitute n.d. (meaning no date) and do the rest of the citation as normal. If the title is missing, you simply describe the work in square brakes [Personal Letter to Mr. Smith] and otherwise identify the source as normal.

Chicago and MLA style have similar rules however, it’s always best to speak with your instructor if you’re unsure whether or not the information you have is an adequate citation.

But, while a citation may be able to survive one or even a couple of missing elements, with too much information missing it becomes impossible to know if it’s a reliable source. For example, an undated and unsigned letter could be a useful historical document or it could be a complete farce.

If your citation is missing multiple items, so many that it’s impossible to verify the work, it’s usually best to ignore that source and attempt to find one where more is known. While there are exceptions to this rule, such as many ancient historical documents, generally it’s unwise to cite a source that can’t be validated.

In the end, if you’re simply missing the title or the author of a piece, there’s little need to worry. While it’s worth the effort to try and track any missing information down, there are rules in place for correctly citing sources where such information is not available.

Follow those rules, communicate with your instructor and you should be more than fine.

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