The Fine Line between Plagiarism and Citation

"The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth." ~G. C. Lichtenberg

Villanova University’s Academic Integrity Policy Regarding Plagiarism

"Students shall not rely on or use someone else’s words, ideas, data, or arguments without clearly acknowledging the source and extend of the reliance or use.

The most common way to acknowledge this reliance or indebtedness is to use footnotes or other documentation. It is the student’s responsibility to show clearly when and where they are relying on others, partly because others may want to learn from the same sources from which the original writer learned. Since this indebtedness may be of many kinds, some definitions and examples of plagiarism are listed below.

1. Using someone else’s words without acknowledgement. If you use someone else’s words, not only must you give the source, but you must also put them within quotation marks or use some other appropriate means of indicating the words, and mathematical equations, whether or not they have been formally published.
    
2. Using someone else’s ideas, data, or argument without acknowledgment, even if the words are your own. If you use someone else’s examples, train of thought, or experimental results, you must acknowledge that use. Paraphrasing, summarizing, or rearranging someone else’s words, ideas, or results, does not alter your indebtedness.
    
3. Acknowledging someone else in a way that will lead a reader to think your indebtedness is less than it actually was. For example, if you take a whole paragraph worth of ideas from a source, and include as your final sentence a quotation from that source, you must indicate that your indebtedness includes more than just the quotation. If you simply put a page number after the quotation, you will lead the reader to think that the only quotation comes from the source. Instead, make clear that you have used more than the quotation.

These examples above constitute plagiarism regardless of who or what the source is. The words or ideas of a roommate or of an encyclopedia, or notes from another class, require acknowledgement just as much as the words or ideas of a scholarly book do. Introductions and notes to books also require acknowledgement.

The examples above constitute plagiarism even if you simply forget to include a reference, forget that you used a certain source, or forget that you found certain ideas or a certain argument or certain data in a source. You are responsible for taking careful notes on sources. Notes must clearly identify the information you have obtained and where you acquired it, so that later you can acknowledge your indebtedness accurately. Do not look at a source without having something handy with which to take such notes.

You need to provide footnotes for items that are considered common knowledge. What constitutes common knowledge, however, varies from academic field to academic field, so you should consult with your instructor. In general, the harder it would be for someone to find the fact you have mentioned, the more you need to footnote it."

(From the Villanova Academic Integrity Code, Villanova University, page 76-78 of the Villanova University Student Handbook)

How Not to Plagiarize: Citing Sources Effectively

"You've already heard the warnings about plagiarism. Obviously it's against the rules to buy essays or copy chunks from your friend's homework, and it's also plagiarism to borrow passages from books or articles or Web sites without identifying them. You know that the purpose of any paper is to show your own thinking, not create a patchwork of borrowed ideas. But you may still be wondering how you're supposed to give proper references to all the reading you've done and all the ideas you've encountered.

The point of documenting sources in academic papers is not just to avoid unpleasant visits to the Dean's office, but to demonstrate that you know what is going on in your field of study. It's also a courtesy to your readers because it helps them consult the material you've found. So mentioning what others have said doesn't lessen the credit you get for your own thinking--in fact, it adds to your credibility.

That's not to say that questions about ownership of ideas are simple. The different systems for typing up references are admittedly a nuisance, but the real challenge is establishing the relationship of your thinking to the reading you've done. Here are some common questions and basic answers.

Can't I avoid problems just by listing every source in the bibliography? No, you need to integrate your acknowledgements into what you're saying. Give the reference as soon as you've mentioned the idea you are using--don't wait till the end of the paragraph. That may mean naming authors ("X says" and "Y argues against X,") and then going on to make your own comment.

If I put the ideas into my own words, do I still have to clog up my pages with all those names and numbers? Sorry--yes, you do. In academic papers, you need to keep mentioning authors and pages and dates to show how your ideas are related to those of the experts. It's sensible to use your own words to save space and to help connect ideas smoothly. But whether you quote a passage directly in quotation marks, paraphrase it closely in your own words, or just summarize it rapidly, you need to identify the source then and there.

But I didn't know anything about the subject until I started this paper. So do I have to give a reference for every point I make? You're safer to over-reference than to skimp. But you can cut down the clutter by recognizing that some ideas are "common knowledge" in the field--that is, taken for granted by people knowledgeable about the topic. Facts easily found in reference books are considered common knowledge: the date of the Armistice for World War I, for example, or the present population of Canada. For such facts, you don't need to name a specific source, even if you learned them only when doing your research. In some disciplines, information covered in class lectures doesn't need acknowledgement. Some interpretive ideas may also be so well accepted that they don't need referencing--that Picasso is a distinguished modernist painter, for instance, or that smoking is harmful to health. Check with your professor or TA if you're in doubt whether a specific point is considered common knowledge in your field.

So what exactly do I have to document? With experience reading academic prose, you'll soon get used to the ways writers in your field refer to their sources. Here are the main times you should give acknowledgements. (You'll notice many different formats in these examples.)

1. Quotations, paraphrases, or summaries: If you use the author's exact words, enclose them in quotation marks, or indent passages of more than four lines. But it's seldom worthwhile to use long quotations. In literary studies, quote a few words of the work you're analyzing and comment on them. In other disciplines, quote only when the original words are especially memorable. In most cases, use your own words to summarize the idea you want to discuss, emphasizing the point relevant to your argument. But be sure to name sources even when you are not using the exact original words. As in the examples here, it's often a good idea to mention the author's name to gain some reflected authority and to indicate where the borrowing starts and stops.
   
   e.g. As Morris puts it in The Human Zoo (1983), "we can always be sure that today's daring innovation will be tomorrow's respectability" (p. 189). [APA system]
   
   e.g. Northrop Frye discusses comedy in terms of the spring spirit, which he defines as the infusion of new life and hope into human awareness of universal problems (Anatomy 163). The ending of The Tempest fits this pattern. [new MLA system--short title to distinguish among different works by same author]
    
2. Specific facts used as evidence for your argument or interpretation: First consider whether the facts you're mentioning are "common knowledge" according to the definition in point 3 above. When you're relying on facts that might be disputed within your discipline--perhaps newly published data--establish that they're trustworthy by showing that you got them from an authoritative source.
   
   e.g. In September 1914, more than 1300 skirmishes were recorded on the Western Front. [traditional endnote/footnote system]
   e.g. Other recent researchers (4,11,12) confirm the findings that drug treatment has little effect in the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts. [numbered-note system]
    
3. Distinctive or authoritative ideas, whether you agree with them or not: The way you introduce a reference can indicate your attitude and lead into your own argument.
   e.g. Writing in 1966, Ramsay Cook asserted that Canada was in a period of critical instability (174). That period is not yet over, judging by the same criteria of electoral changeability, economic uncertainty, and confusion in policy decisions. [new MLA system]
   e.g. One writer (Von Daniken, 1970) even argues that the Great Pyramid was built for the practical purpose of guiding navigation. [APA system]

("How not to Plagiarize" Written by Dr. Margaret Proctor, University of Toronto Coordinator, Writing Support)

The questions above give you just a few examples of references that should be cited in your papers. Unfortunately, they could not possibly cover the innumerable instances when you will have to decide which is the appropriate course. Nevertheless, the consequences of plagiarism are far too steep for uncertainty or risk-taking. We strongly suggest that you ask your professor or a Writing Center tutor if you ever have any question as to whether to cite a particular reference. If you do not have the time to ask someone, you would be well served to abide by this one rule: It’s always better to over-cite than not to cite at all.

If you need any more help in knowing when and how to cite in your paper, please refer to Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference or consult a Writing Center tutor or your professor.