PLAGIARISM AND CITATION BASICS

A QUICK GUIDE ON WHY, WHERE AND HOW TO PROPERLY

RESEARCH…without getting in trouble!

WHY RESEARCH? We research because we want to explore

interesting topics by… Incorporating others’ ideas and information Exploring our own thoughts and opinions in

relation to other people’s

Believe it or not, you were not born an expert on your topic! Therefore, you must research and cite your sources.

HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT RESEARCH?GO TO THIS LINK TO FIND OUT…

http://agoogleaday.com/#game=started

Click on the “basic game” link – don’t log in

to Google +

BUT FIRST…WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH? Online Databases – contain digital

copies of many print resources GALILEO

Encyclopedia Britannica Literary Reference Center

Print Resources Scholarly journals, magazines,

newspaper articles Books

Websites

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH…PLAGIARISM?

To plagiarize means “to commit literary theft.” “To present as new and original an idea or product derived

from an existing source.”

You must give credit to the “owner” of the information that you use in your paper, otherwise you are STEALING!

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

Anytime you use a direct quote, or even change an author’s words, you are using somebody else’s thoughts.

Simply changing the wording (paraphrasing) is not enough; you must cite your sources.

When in doubt, CITE! It’s better to be safe than sorry.

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM? Certain well-known facts do not need to be cited. If your reader would probably already know the

information, you do not have to cite. Ex: Walt Disney founded the Disney company and

created one of the most well-known cartoon characters of all time, Mickey Mouse. (NOT PLAGIARISM)

Ex: Raised on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, Walt became interested in drawing at an early age, selling his first sketches to neighbors when he was only seven years old. (PLAGIARISM—IF NOT CITED)

Let’s see how you do on knowing when to cite by playing…The Cite is Right!

CITATIONS

As you know, in order to prevent plagiarism, we must cite our sources.

There is a specific method of citing sources, and certain “ingredients” are needed, in a specific order, for the citation to be correct and in MLA format.

ANATOMY OF A CITATION Most citations include four main divisions:

Author’s name. Title or source. Publication information. Format.

LET’S PLAY A GAME!

See how much you know about creating a citation!

HELP! I CAN’T REMEMBER HOW TO FORMAT A CITATION! You don’t have to worry about the order that

information in a cite needs to go…there are several tools that will create a cite for you! EasyBib Results from media center databases like

Encyclopedia Britannica Citation Machine

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED… All about plagiarism and why it’s wrong Exactly what a citation is and how to create one Ways to easily create a citation Any questions???