Understanding plagiarism
Reasons why students plagiarise
Sometimes plagiarism stems from lack of academic writing or referencing skills or because there is a lack of awareness of what constitutes plagiarism.
If you:
- are more concerned with passing subjects than learning
- lack confidence in your writing and thinking skills
- have difficulty coping with the demands of tertiary learning and assessment
- have poor research skills
- have poor time and personal management skills
- have insufficient time to read, research and reflect
- do not know the rules of referencing
- do not reference accurately and correctly
- do not use effective note-taking methods
- do not analyse and evaluate what you read
- do not maintain detailed records of all sources consulted
then you may inadvertently plagiarise.
When using sources, make clear to the reader where the other person's ideas or words begin and end. For example:
Commenting on barriers to communicating scientific knowledge to the public, Greer (2007) states that "the overwhelming majority of scientists believe that their main job is to do original research and provide free and open access to results. They do not believe they should necessarily become involved in discussions about how those results should be used or the far-reaching implications of those results: in other words, politics".
This example uses quotation marks to show the words that were 'borrowed' and an introductory phrase to acknowledge the author of the borrowed words. Remember that full bibliographic details must be included in your reference list so that your reader can return to your source material.
Always record the bibliographic details during research. This strategy saves you time and helps you avoid inadvertent plagiarism.