| | | LBA009 - Ethical use of information: plagiarism and citation
Once you have found the relevant information for your assignment, you must present it to others ethically, and be able to acknowledge your use of other author's ideas and words so that you avoid plagiarism. This topic helps you to understand why this is so important. You will:
- be able to define intellectual property
- define copyright
- know how much you can legally photocopy
- define plagiarism
- identify the differences of copyright and good academic practice (?!)
- understand why you are asked to cite
- know what a bibliographic reference / citation is
- be able to cite another authors idea within your text
- create a list of references to a set standard.
Here is a basic definition of intellectual property to begin with:
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization "intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce". | | | | 1 | Plagiarism
In the last section we've learnt that:
- copyright is likely to apply to most of the books and journals we read at University, and
- what we are allowed to copy is limited
However, if you're allowed to copy a single issue of a journal article under Fair Dealing, what's to stop you handing it in as your assignment? Well, we've seen that creators are able to assert their moral rights to always be associated with their work, so that could put paid to that idea. But what if an author hasn't asserted their moral rights?
Although there is no copyright or moral rights in some works, it is still wrong to try and pass someone else's ideas off as your own.
This can get confusing in an academic environment. After all, you're encouraged to read as widely as possible and to build on other people's work and ideas.
However you must make it very clear where an idea or thought was your own, and when it originated from someone else. To do this, you must learn how to cite other people's work. If you don't cite correctly, you could be accused of plagiarism.
 What is plagiarism? Resource- Why do people plagiarise? Resource
- Penalties of plagiarism Resource
- Avoiding plagiarism Resource
- Plagiarism: commonly asked questions Resource
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NEW!!! PLATO (Plagiarism Teaching Online) is an interactive learning resource on plagiarism and referencing. It helps you develop practical skills in referencing and encourages you to think about the attitudes, behaviours and situations which may lead to plagiarism.
PLATO makes no assumptions about what you know already and gives students a common grounding in basic principles regardless of discipline studied or previous background.
It deals with basic definitions, problem situations and the consequences of plagiarism in student, professional and public life. Skills in basic referencing are built up through onscreen practice and feedback.
You can access the PLATO module by clicking the screenshot below.
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| | | 2 |  Copyright information
A copyright notice consists of the symbol ©, followed by the name of the copyright owner and the year of first publication.
For example: © Queensland University of Technology 1999
In the UK, a copyright notice does not need to be present to ensure protection under the Act, however it does remind users that the work is protected and identifies the copyright owner. |
| | | 3 | Using copyright material
So can we do anything with copyright works?
Yes. Although the CDPA88 grants copyright owners a raft of exclusive rights, it also provides some exceptions to those rights to allow certain groups the ability to use them without getting permission every time. The most significant group of exceptions for library users come under the heading of Fair Dealing.
Note: If you are using material in the UK, then UK copyright law applies. Other countries have different copyright laws which apply if you are working or studying in that country. |
| | | 4 | Citation and bibliographies
 When you write your assignments you will need to acknowledge your use of other author's ideas and words so that you avoid plagiarism.
The purpose of a reference is to describe a published item accurately and with sufficient detail to enable a reader to identify it and find it again. There are no absolute rules for citing references but there are styles and conventions, for example Harvard and Numeric (see below).
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| | | 5 | Citation styles
There are no absolute rules for citing references, but there are styles and conventions, for example Harvard and Numeric.
When citing a reference in your list of references / bibliography, you should include as much information as possible. For example when citing a book you would include: author(s), date, title, where published, publisher, edition.
Depending on the citation style, each element is placed in a particular order and the titles of books and journals etc. should be in italics, or underlined or emboldened. The order of the elements will vary depending on which citation system you are using.
Some commonly used styles at Loughborough include:
- APA style
- Harvard style
- IEEE style
- IOP
- MLA
- Numeric
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Vancouver - the Numeric form to choose if you are using RefWorks (see below)
Traditionally, writers in the natural and social sciences have favoured one basic style (Numeric), while those in the humanities and arts have favoured another (Harvard). Generally, your lecturer or tutor will recommend a particular style, so check their requirements before you choose a style.
Whichever style is chosen, it is essential to use it consistently throughout your assignment. In order to conform to the style you have selected, you should refer to a style manual or your departmental handbook.
Below you will find notes and examples relating to the two most popular styles, Harvard and Numeric. |
| | | 6 | Citation Exercises
You've read the theory, now try your hand at these exercises! |
| | | 7 | Managing your referencesThere are a lot of different ways to store and manage your references. For example you can use: a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, cards. However the University has puchased software that can help you too - it is called RefWorks.
RefWorks is a web-based service which enables you to create and manage your own personal bibliographic database. You can either type the references in yourself, or import them from a text file or database search. When you are writing your assignment you can automatically format these references in a citation style of your choice (such as Harvard) for use in the bibliography. To find out more, see the "Making the most of RefWorks Module"
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| | | 8 |  Recap
In this topic you learnt about:
the importance of using information ethically
about the Copyright Act and how it affects you
what plagiarism is
the consequences of plagiarism
how to avoid being a plagiarist
why you should cite
what a bibliographic reference is
how to cite another author's ideas
how to create a list of references |
| | | 9 | Congratulations for completing the module
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