How to avoid plagiarism: Difference between revisions
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
==Where can I find copyleft material?== | ==Where can I find copyleft material?== | ||
#Wikis: All wikimedia projects (including [[Main_Page|WikiDoc]] and Wikipedia) that operate under the GNU Free Documentation License are governed by this principle. | #Wikis: All wikimedia projects (including [[Main_Page|WikiDoc]] and Wikipedia) that operate under the GNU Free Documentation License are governed by this principle. | ||
#Public domain information: All information on public domain website (.gov) | #Public domain information: All information on public domain website (.gov) | ||
#One important exception is the National Guidelines Clearinghouse. Although the site states that the content is free for you to use and distribute, the copyright of the society or entity that originally created the guidelines must be respected. Therefore, large sections of background materials from guidelines content from these societies should not be distributed without their permission. | |||
==What about other websites or journal articles that are copyrighted?== | ==What about other websites or journal articles that are copyrighted?== | ||
Revision as of 17:50, 23 April 2009
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas without giving credit. If you only make small changes to the text, even if you cite your source, you are still guilty of plagiarizing. Intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is a very serious issue with possible legal consequences.
How can plagiarism be avoided?
- Always cite your sources
- If a source is copyrighted, you must summarize content in your own words in addition to citing the source you used.
- For copyleft sources, you may copy directly in addition to citing the source you used. However, please note that the person who posted the content originally to a copyleft source may have plagiarized another original source!
- Create content using original words and sentence structure. Simply changing a few words in a sentence may not be sufficient defense against a claim of plagiarism.
- Search engines are your friend. You can always search the internet to ascertain whether the material you have was taken directly from somewhere else.
- When in doubt, ask! Please contact us [1] with any questions regarding plagiarism or the principles of copyleft and copyright. If you see any content in WikiDoc that you believe violates a copyright or constitutes an act of plagiarism, please let us know. Please also see WikiDoc's disclaimers.
What does copyleft mean?
Copyleft is a principle whereby information is available for anyone to copy, modify, or redistribute, as long as the new version
- Grants the same freedoms to others
- Acknowledges the original authors of the content
You can copy and paste directly from copyleft material as long as your work follows the two rules above.
Where can I find copyleft material?
- Wikis: All wikimedia projects (including WikiDoc and Wikipedia) that operate under the GNU Free Documentation License are governed by this principle.
- Public domain information: All information on public domain website (.gov)
- One important exception is the National Guidelines Clearinghouse. Although the site states that the content is free for you to use and distribute, the copyright of the society or entity that originally created the guidelines must be respected. Therefore, large sections of background materials from guidelines content from these societies should not be distributed without their permission.
What about other websites or journal articles that are copyrighted?
If a source is copyrighted (whether a journal article or a popular medical site), you are LEGALLY PROHIBITED FROM COPYING IT WITHOUT PERMISSION! Simply changing or adding a few words does not absolve the fact that you are stealing someone else's words and ideas.