Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism means submitting work as your
own that is someone else’s. For example, copying material from a book or
other source without acknowledging that the works or ideas are someone
else’s and not your own is plagiarism. If you copy an author’s words exactly,
treat the passage as a direct quotation and supply the appropriate citation.
If you use someone else’s ideas, even if you paraphrase the wording, appropriate
credit should be given. You have committed plagiarism if you purchase a
term paper or submit a paper as your own that you did not write. [1]
Plagiarism is a violation of the University
of Pittsburgh’s standards on academic honesty, and violations of this policy
are taken seriously. From the Guidelines on Academic Integrity: Student
and Faculty Obligations and Hearing Procedures (effective September,
1995):
A student has an obligation to exhibit
honesty, and to respect the ethical standards of the historical profession
in carrying out his or her academic assignments. Without limiting the application
of this principle, a student may be found to have violated this obligation
if he or she:
10. Presents as one’s own, for academic
evaluation, the ideas, representations, or words of another person or persons
without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources.
11. Submits the work of another person
in a manner which represents the work to be one’s own. [Quotation ellipsed.]
[2]
Ideas or quotations from lectures, recitations,
your textbook or any other source must be cited. Even when the citation
is included in the text (for example: "In last week’s lecture, Professor
Trinity noted that the Spanish American war disrupted American foreign
policy."), it is strongly recommended that you provide a full citation
in a footnote or endnote.
The first reference to a particular
source should include a full citation.
For a book:
-
author’s full name
-
complete title of the book
-
editor [if any]
-
series [if any]
-
edition [if not the original]
-
number of volumes [if applicable]
-
facts of publication [city where published
-
publisher and date of publication]
-
volume number [if applicable]
-
page numbers of the particular citation.
For a journal:
-
author’s full name
-
title of the article
-
name of the periodical [magazine]
-
volume [and number] of the periodical
-
date of the volume or issue
-
page numbers of the particular citation.
[3]
Subsequent references should use a short citation.
(Or Op. cit., Ibid. and Idem. may be substituted.)
For a book:
-
author’s last name
-
title or short title
-
page numbers of the particular citation.
For a journal:
-
author’s last name
-
title or short title of the article
-
page numbers of the particular citation.
[4]
Examples (from The Chicago Manual of Style):
1. David Stafford, Britian and European
Resistance, 1940-1945 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980),
90.
2. James F. Powers, "Frontier Municipal
Baths and Social Interaction in Thirteenth-Century Spain." American
Historical Review 84 (June 1979): 649-67. [5]
For historical scholarship, the following
style guides are recommended (Note: Be consistent. Once you have chosen
a style, stick to it.):
-
The Chicago Manual of Style
-
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
-
Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of
Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
These guides are available at most of the
University of Pittsburgh’s libraries. Ask at the reference desk for assistance.