Understanding Citation & Plagiarism

Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty: can mean several different things, including:

--buying another's writing
--stealing another's writing
--borrowing a paper (including, of course, copying an entire paper or article from the Web)
--hiring someone to write your paper for you
--copying large sections of text from a source without quotation marks or proper
citation.

But, there are cases of plagiarism that are a bit less clear. Some of these include:
--using the words of a source too closely when paraphrasing (where quotation marks
should have been used)
--building on someone's ideas without citing their spoken or written work.

So: How do I not plagiarize?

You avoid plagiarism by citing or documenting the sources you use. (See below)

When do I have to cite/when do I not have to cite?

You must cite:

 Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page,
computer program, letter, advertisement, etc.
 Information you learn through interviewing or talking with another person, face to face, over the
phone, or in writing
 When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase from another source.
 When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials
 When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or
other media

You do not have to cite:

 When you are using generally-accepted facts. (For example: “Pollution is bad for the environment.”
This includes facts that are accepted within specific communities. (For example: “Getting enough
sleep and eating right keeps you healthy.” This is accepted as fact within the medical community.)
 Things that are accepted as common knowledge (For example: “SBY is the current president of
Indonesia.” Or: “August 17th is Indonesia's Independence Day.” Or: Salatiga is a city located on
Central Java.)
 When you write your original work: photography, poems, thoughts or ideas.
 When you write your experiences, observations, reflection, etc.

Citation or Documentation: is when you give credit/acknowledge someone else's writing, thoughts, ideas,
points, research, findings, etc. You cite or document sources through citation styles; the one that is used in
FBS is APA citation style.

APA (American Psychological Association): is a citation style commonly used within the social sciences,
including education or linguistics. The APA manual explains how to do: the general format of APA research
papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.

For less formal, more general citations, just focus on in-text citations and a Reference Page.

In-Text citations: These are citations that appear within the text (your essay). There are two different types
of in-text citations:
1---The first type is when you direct quote another source.
2---The second type is when you paraphrase another source.
*See below for examples of each:

1---If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the
page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation that includes the author's last name
followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it
was their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what
implications does this have for teachers?
If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the
page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," but she did not offer an
explanation as to why (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

2---If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to cite the author and the year of
publication in your in-text citation, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number
(although it is not required.)
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

For In-Text Citations help: This is a really helpful website, please keep this in case you should have
questions about APA citations: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/

Reference List: provides the information necessary for a reader to locate any source you cite in your paper.
Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the
reference list must be cited in your text.

--Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page
"References" centered at the top of the page (do NOT bold, underline, or use quotation marks for the title. All
text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.)
For Reference List help: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/06/

How to cite a journal entry:

Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 11, 7-10.
(As they are shown):
1-Author
2-Date of Publication
3-Title of Article
4-Title of Journal
5-Volume
6-Pages

How to cite a book:

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

(As they are shown above):

1-Authors (with initials only for the first names)
2-Date of publication
3-Title of Book
4-Place of Publication
5-Publisher

How to cite an online journal article:

Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal
Eating, 8(3), 120-125.

(As they are shown above)

1-Author(s)
2-Date of Publication
3-Title of the article
4-Title of the journal
5-Volume
6-Issue
7-Pages

How to cite an online newspaper article:

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com

(As they are shown above):

1-Author
2-Date of Publication
3-Title of the newspaper article
4-The title of the newspaper
5-What website you retrieved the article from.

Would it help for you to see what a sample paper looks like with APA in-text citations and a reference list?
Visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

And to “practice what I preach” here is my citation for the above information:

(2010). General APA guidelines. Retrieved from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/