Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism

There are countless resources for learning how to cite sources and avoid plagiarism. The following short list provides some good online references for starters.

" Sources and Citations at Dartmouth College", Dartmouth College

" Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it", Indiana University

Cite Right Citation Tutorial. University of Maryland University College.

Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism/Dishonesty

" Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers" An outstanding comprehensive guide for faculty by Robert Harris, author of The Plagiarism Handbook, Pyrczak Publishing, 2001; includes detection strategies using online resources.

" Preventing Academic Dishonesty," A clear and comprehensive essay, with specific tips targeted for teachers, by Barbara Gross Davis from her book, Tools for Teaching, Jossey-Bass Pub. (San Francisco, 1993).

Cyberplagiarism: Detection and Prevention, Penn State University Some useful additional links.

Searching Online for Plagiarism

In his highly recommended online essay, " Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers," Robert Harris provides this advice about how to search online for suspected plagiarism: "perform an exact phrase search on a four-to-six-word phrase from a suspect part of the paper (find a phrase that has two or three relatively unusual words in it)." The resources below can be used to help search online for plagiarism.

The Plagiarism Resource Center A free software program by a University of Virginia professor who uncovered a cheating scandal.

Term Paper Mills are Web sites and services where students can obtain research papers for free or for a fee. It is worth knowing these sites which some students might use inappropriately. As well, many of them can be searched.

Cheating 101: Paper Mills and You, Kimbel Library of Coastal Carolina University A fine discussion of internet paper mills which gives tips for detecting plagiarized papers and lists paper mill sites (midway down page), both alphabetically and topically.

Copyright and Fair Use

Fair Use, Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland University College

Provides information on fair use issues in higher education and links to recommendations for fair use in educational materials.

Stanford University's copyright and fair use site Provides links to primary and secondary materials and other sites dealing with fair use and copyright for print and electronic resources.

U.S. Copyright Office A good starting point, this site includes an overview of the law, updates on recent legislation and access to information ACirculars@ on various copyright issues.

University of Texas, Copyright Management Center. An especially useful feature is the tutorial, Copyright Crash Course.

Books & Articles

Groark, Mark, et al, "Term Paper Mills, Anti-Plagiarism Tools, and Academic Integrity," Educause Review, September/October, 2001: 40-48.

Harris, Robert A. The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing , Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak Pub., 2001.

Koch, Kathy, " Cheating in Schools," The CQ Researcher, Vol. 10, no. 32 (September 22, 2000): 745-768.

McCabe, Donald L. and Patrick Drinan, "Toward a Culture of Academic Integrity," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 15, 1999. Search The Chronicle for a copy of the article.

McCabe, Donald L. and Gary Pavela, "Some Good News About Academic Integrity," Change, September/October 2000: 32-38. Search Heldref Publications for a copy of the article.

McCabe, Donald L. and Andrew L. Makowski, "Resolving Allegations of Academic Dishonesty: Is there a Role for Students to Play?", About Campus. Vol. 6, no. 1 (March-April 2001): 17-21.

Schneider, Alison, "Why Professors Don't Do More to Stop Students Who Cheat," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 22, 1999. Search The Chronicle for a copy of the article.