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The purpose of this guide is to help you to correctly cite information that you have gathered so that you are not accidentally plagiarizing. Resources listed in this guide are freely available to current RCBC Students.
Here are some real examples of plagiarism and how serious is can be:
The Oxford English Dictionary database (2006) defines plagiarism (noun) as "the action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft." and to plagiarize (verb) as "originally of writers, later also of composers, artists, etc.: to take and use as one's own (the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another person); to copy (literary work or ideas) improperly or without acknowledgement; (occasionally) to pass off as one's own the thoughts or work of (another). Also figurative. Also intransitive."
So, if you find a piece of information that you want to use, you need to give credit to whom credit is due.
Note that you can also self-plagiarize- The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity, (accessed August 23, 2019) defines self-plagiarism as "authors who reuse their own previously disseminated content and pass it off as a ”new” product without letting the reader know that this material has appeared previously."
If you have previously written a paper, then you cannot re-use that paper for another assignment.
Combating Plagiarism by
Offers an instructional plan for plagiarism education for middle school and high school students, allowing librarians to become a resource for students, teachers, and school administrators. The proliferation of resources now available through libraries and the internet requires a new set of information management skills in order for students to avoid plagiarism. While educators legitimately expect students to approach academic work with honesty and integrity, students need to be able to understand the context of their academic resources--both print and digital--well enough to use them appropriately and ethically. Combating Plagiarism helps middle and high school teachers and librarians understand and teach the authorship and publication process so students learn to use relevant information in an ethically and academically sound fashion. Terry Darr's long-term collaboration with a high school history teacher taught her the challenges faced by students conducting research--and by librarians and teachers tasked with teaching plagiarism prevention. Her book is full of tested concepts for teaching these complex topics, emphasizing our modern reliance on digital sources. An extensive student reference section covers common knowledge, fact, and opinion. A wealth of practical resources includes real-life examples from research papers as well as plenty of instructional materials, exercises, and lesson plans. Helps librarians to feel confident in their professional positions as plagiarism experts on campus Teaches librarians how to help students who have already plagiarized Provides opportunities for librarians to collaborate with teachers and writing centers through plagiarism education Acts as a reference guide with all types of questions to ask students about plagiarism during the research process Creates an important framework for the ethical and appropriate use of information in schools
In order to prevent plagiarizing (which can lead to failing your class and expulsion from RCBC), you will need to cite where your information came from, both in the body of your paper and at the end of your paper on a separate page (usually a Works Cited, Reference, or Bibliography).
There are three main citation formats that are currently used at RCBC: MLA, APA, and Chicago. Occasionally a class may use a different citation style from these. Check your class syllabus to find out which format you will be expected to use in that class.
Plagiarism 2.0: Information ethics in the digital age [Video file]. (2011). Retrieved January 14, 2020, from https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=106865&xtid=43790
This video can be found in the Films on Demand Database.
Research assistance - help finding sources, evaluating sources
Online workshops for citing and plagiarism are held throughout the semester. To request a citing workshop, please email library@rcbc.edu