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Citing & Evaluating Sources

This guide will assist students in citing and evaluating sources in a selection of different citation styles.

What is Plagiarism?

pla·gia·rism

"taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own"

Otterbein

How NOT to Plagiarize

Plagiarism Detection Tools

Five Types of Plagiarism

Type 1: Copy and Paste Plagiarism or Direct Plagiarism

When you copy a sentence, phrase, or paragraph word for word, but do not quote your source.

Type 2: Word Switch Plagiarism

When you rephrase a person's work and insert it into your own work without acknowledging its original source.  If you take a sentence from a source and change a few words without acknowledging your source, it is still plagiarism.

This is not paraphrasing. For information on how to correctly paraphrase, see When To Cite.

Type 3: Mosaic or Blending Plagiarism

When you: mix words or ideas from an unacknowledged source in with your own words or ideas; mix together uncited words and ideas from several sources into a single work; or mix together properly cited uses of a source with uncited uses.

Type 4: Insufficient Acknowledgement

When you correctly cite your source once, but continue to use the author's work with out giving additional proper citation.

Type 5: Self-Plagiarism

When you use a paper or assignment completed for one class to satisfy the assignment for a different class.  Even if you modify a previous paper or assignment, you must get permission from your professor/ instructor and correctly cite your previous paper.


Source: University of South Alabama

Acknowledgements

Portions of this libguide were borrowed from the Plagiarism libguide at the University of Arkansas. Thanks to their staff for letting me borrow portions for this guide.