Plagiarism & Academic Integrity

As a student, you will be both using other’s knowledge as well as your own insights to create new scholarship. To do this in a way that meets academic integrity standards, you must acknowledge the part of your work that develops from others’ efforts. You do this by citing the work of others. You plagiarize when you fail to acknowledge the work of others and do not follow appropriate citation guidelines.

"Ethical Use & Citing Sources," Ohio State Univ. Libraries

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as though they were your own, and not giving that person credit. 

What is Academic Integrity?

Academic integrity means honesty in academic work. All of your coursework should be a result of your own efforts. You may feel pressured and overwhelmed by the demands of school, work, and personal commitments. No matter what level of stress you may be experiencing, it is still expected that you will approach your work with honesty and integrity. While we recognize that mistakes can happen, violating Cabrillo's academic integrity policies Links to an external site. may compromise your academic career.

Advice

Here are some quick tips, adapted from: "What is Academic Integrity? Links to an external site." (MIT):

Do

  • Trust the value of your own intellect.
  • Undertake research honestly and credit others for their work.
  • Demonstrate your own achievement and abilities.
  • Ask for help, or for more time if you need it!

Don't

  • Purchase papers or have someone write a paper for you.
  • Copy ideas or wording without citing your source.
  • Copy answers from another student.
  • Ask another student to do your work for you.

When Should I Cite?

xkcd webcomic: protester holding up a sign saying

You should provide a citation whenever your writing is based on someone else's work. For example:

Quote: When you use phrases or sentences exactly as they appear in the source document. Note the quotation marks.

In their 2019 review of the research Manpreet Sambi and his colleagues conclude that "designing a treatment protocol cannot be approached with a 'one size fits all' lens, instead, a personalized approach is required" (p. 164).

Paraphrase: When you restate an idea from the source document using your own words.

In their review of therapeutic options for breast cancer, Sambi et al (2019) argue that there is no one approach that fits every patient; instead doctors need to evaluate each patient and develop a personalized treatment plan (p. 164).

Summarize: When you provide a brief version of what you learned from the source document.

Effective breast cancer treatment requires a personalized treatment plan that evaluates the particular conditions of each patient (Sambi et al, 2019, p. 164).

Textbox: "Ethical Use and Citing Sources" Links to an external site. by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.

"What is Academic Integrity? Links to an external site." Academic Integrity at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, July 2018.

Image: "Wikipedian Protester" Links to an external site. by Randall Munroe Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.5 Links to an external site.

Concept adapted from "Academic Integrity Example" by Fabiola Torres for Online Network of Educators, Links to an external site. licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.