Is it plagiarism?-2

Is it plagiarism?
It can be difficult to avoid plagiarism if you’re not exactly sure what plagiarism is!  We all know that it is a bad idea to take someone else’s work and pass it off as your own, but plagiarism is sometimes more complicated than that.  Basically, you always want to give credit where credit is due, but determining when that is can be a complicated process.  In order to help you think about the entire research process, and how using research resources fits into that, complete the following two tasks:

Read this brief (1 page) article on identifying plagiarism:  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/avoiding_plagiarism/is_it_plagiarism.html Links to an external site.

Watch the brief (4:55 minutes) video below: Using Sources Links to an external site.
Common knowledge
In both the article that you just read and the video that you just watched, the phrase “common knowledge” was used to describe information that you do not need to cite because it cannot be attributed to a specific person or group.  However, determining what counts as “common knowledge” can sometimes be very difficult.  Common knowledge can mean different things to different people, but there are a few rules of thumb that you can use to help you figure out what common knowledge means in your particular circumstances.  Watch the brief (3:53 minutes) for an in-depth discussion on common knowledge: How to Cite Sources: A Comment on Common Knowledge Links to an external site.
 
Paraphrasing
The videos and readings this week have also touched on “paraphrasing,” a way to integrate someone else’s ideas in your paper without quoting them directly.  When you paraphrase someone else’s words, you will still need to cite their ideas (more on this next!), but it can help you think through how you are integrating that information into your paper and prevent you from quoting too much!  Read the following 1-page article on paraphrasing to learn more about it, and gain some effective strategies for effective paraphrasing:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html Links to an external site.