Plagiarism: A Definition
Plagiarism is:
- The adoption or reproduction of ideas, words or statements of another person as one’s own without proper acknowledgement (NSU Student Handbook, 2012, p. 23).
- Having someone else complete your assignments
- Paying someone to complete your assignments
- A form of cheating
- In violation of federal copyright law (To learn more about copyright, click here.)
Students who would never think of stealing a car or even copying another student's test answers may think nothing of "borrowing" the ideas or wording from another author. Writers must always document the ideas and information which are outside the realm of common knowledge. (See below for more information about common knowledge.)
Be aware that you can also plagiarize from yourself by submitting your own previous work for a new assignment.
Plagiarism: Facts & Online Resources
What about stuff everyone knows?
Every academic discipline has its own set of commonly known facts. A good test of “common knowledge” is to ask yourself, “Did I know this before I started this course?” If you can’t definitively say yes, you need to cite your source.
What about stuff on the Internet?
Text and graphics found online should be treated just like other resources and must be cited. Consult a style manual for proper formatting guidelines for various types of online resources.
Plagiarism: Prevention
Fine…What can I do to prevent plagiarizing?
Properly citing your sources is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you are not plagiarizing material.
APA is the most frequently used citation style at Nova Southeastern University, but there are others such as MLA, Chicago, and AMA. Check with your program or professor to make sure you know which one to use and check out these online resources for help:
Plagiarism: What Not to Do
Source: someecards.com
Plagiarism: Real Life Examples
Unfortunately plagiarism isn't unique to academic settings. Learn from these individuals' experiences with plagiarism:
| The Individual | What Happened | Consequence |
| Jayson Blair |
From 1999-2003, almost half of the articles written by |
Blair was forced to resign. |
| Doris Kearns Goodwin | The Weekly Standard accused historian Goodwin of plagiarizing content in her bestselling 1987 book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys. She took respon- sibility for the plagiarism, which she said was accidental, and had any unsold copies removed from bookstore shelves so that a corrected version could be printed. |
In addition to the negative publicity, Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher, was forced to reach a financial settlement with one of Goodwin's sources after the book's publication in 1987. More information from Forbes. |
| Sen. Rand Paul |
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has been accused of plagiarizing |
Although he emphasized no one |
| Fareed Zakaria | After it was determined Zakaria plagiarized material from an article in the New Yorker for his own August 2012 column in Time, another instance of plagiarism was found in Zakaria's 2008 best-selling book, "Post-American World." |
Zakaria was suspended from both |
What are Professors & Instructors Doing to Prevent Plagiarism?
Professors and instructors often use plagiarism checking software such as turnitin.com to check students' work for similarities to web pages, other student papers and published articles.
If your professor requires you to use turnitin.com, they will provide you with log in code.
Watch this video for more information about how turnitin.com works and how you can prevent plagiarism.
Learn more about plagiarism at plagiarism.org, hosted by iParadigms, the maker of turnitin.com.