LibGuides: Plagiarism Basics: Correct and Incorrect Use of Information

Using Information Sources

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You will often use other sources of information in your assignments, whether they are from books, journal articles, or web sites. You need this information to support your topic and communicate your points. However, when you write your assignment, you may accidentally and unintentionally plagiarize information.

This page provides 3 examples that show incorrect uses of information, why they are considered plagiarism, and ways to minimize or correct them. It also shows 3 correct ways to integrate information into your assignment with explanations of why they are acceptable.

The following examples use excerpts from the following source:

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2002). The leadership challenge (3rd Ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Three Incorrect Uses

The Original Text:

"Leadership bests are filled with stress. Although people describe their projects as exciting, about 20 percent also call them frustrating, and approximately 15 percent say their experiences aroused fear or anxiety. But instead of being debilitated by the stress of a difficult experience, they are challenged and energized by it (p. 178)."

How a writer used the source in a work:

Although leaders describe their projects as exciting, about 20 percent also call them frustrating, and approximately 15 percent say their experiences aroused fear or anxiety. But instead of being debilitated by the stress of a difficult experience, leaders say they are challenged and energized by it.

Why is this plagiarism?

Although one or two words were changed, the writing has identical words to the original source.
The writer did not provide a citation to the source of information.
If the writer intended to make a direct quote from the source, they did not use a format defined by a citation style like APA or MLA.

With these points, the writer suggests the words and ideas are their own.

How to minimize plagiarism in this example:

The writer can summarize or paraphrase the ideas using their own words, and then cite the source of information.
The writer can also compare what they write with the original source to be sure they are not too identical.

The Original Text:

"People who speak out and challenge the status quo have a belief in their ability to do something about the situation they face. People who are high in self-efficacy--who consider themselves capable of taking action in a specific situation--are more likely to act than those who do not (p. 180)."

How a writer used the source in a work:

According to Kouzes and Posner (2002), people who are high in self-efficacy--who consider themselves capable of taking action in a specific situation--are more likely to act than those who do not.

Why is this plagiarism?

Although the writer cites the source of the work, they do not use quotations (" ") around the direct quote.

How to minimize plagiarism in this example:

The writer can include quotation marks (" ") around the quote to show it is identical to the source of information, and use page numbers if their citation style requires this for direct quotes.
Direct quotes are acceptable when just enough is used to give strong support to a point, or if its original form is its best expression.

The Original Source:

This writer wrote Leading Teams and Organizations for a GEB 3213 course.

Self-Plagiarism Example

How a writer used the source:

The writer used the same paper for another course, HSA 4905, in the following semester and didn't make any changes except to the course number, date, and professor's name.

Why is this plagiarism?

This is an example of self plagiarism, or when someone uses their own work with minimal or no changes for another assignment, course, or publication.

How to minimize plagiarism in this scenario:

Writers can quote themselves or paraphrase necessary portions of their own work in their later work or assignments, and need to cite themselves.
When reusing your previous work, consider the portion used to the amount of new content written, and if your new work is building on and not simply copying your previous work. If you're not creating a new work, reconsider whether or not to use your previous work.
Consult with your professor, instructor, or editor on this point.

Correct Use of Information

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Using information from other sources often requires writing or describing information in your own words, or following conventions described in writing style guides when using blockquotes or exact words. See the following examples of correct use of information.

The examples continue to use excerpts from the following source:

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2002). The leadership challenge (3rd Ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Three Correct Uses

The Original Text:

"While credible leaders honor the diversity of their many constituencies, they also stress their common values. Leaders build on agreement. They don't try to get everyone to be in accord on everything--this goal is unrealistic, perhaps even impossible (p. 78)."

Correct Use in a Work:

Although consensus is important when working on group projects, it is more feasible to emphasize common values and formulate agreements. Leadership experts state that working towards unanimous agreement is not realistic (Kouzes & Posner, 2002).

Why is this not plagiarism?

The source is cited at the end of this phrase, so the writer shows they are using the ideas of someone else.
The writer expresses the source in their own words; the idea itself is the same, but the words used are different.
The writer uses the source to support a point they want to make about their topic about managing group projects.

The Original Text:

"Don't censor yourself. Allow yourself this opportunity to record your hopes and dreams even if you find the process somewhat embarrassing. The more comfortable you are in discussing your innermost wishes, the easier it will become to communicate that vision to others (p. 134)".

Correct Use in a Work:

To create a personal vision, Kouzes and Posner (2002) encourage being open to one's dreams and aspirations:

Why is this not plagiarism?

The source of the original work is cited.
The writer follows the use of quotes by using a rule specified in a citation style guide. In this example, they are using current APA rules of using quotations 40 words or longer. Check the citation style guide for details on how to treat short or longer direct quotes.
This direct quote is used to support points the writer wants to make in their assignment.

For this example, a direct quote from Kouzes and Posner's The leadership challenge (3rd Ed.) was used in an assignment. The direct quote includes points made by Posner, one of the authors, in his previous work from 1989.

Correct Use in a Work:

A leader should acknowledge an employee's exceptional work and give resulting promotions promptly, if possible. Organizational management experts conclude, "relying upon an organization's formal reward system typically requires considerable effort. For example, we found that the time lapse between performance and promotion is often more than six months" (Hall, Posner & Harder, 1989, p. 333, quoted in Kouzes & Posner, 2002).

Why is this not plagiarism?

The direct quote is not plagiarism or self-plagiarism for the following reasons:

It is correctly formatted. For APA style, a citation and page number is included, and direct quotes less than 40 words do not require a block quote.
An accurate citation is included and follows the assigned citation style.

Although Posner, one of the authors, quoted his past publication, he is not plagiarizing himself.

Posner uses his previous work to support new points he and his co-author make in a new book. His previous work cited was research that focused on employee rewards, while in the book, the authors use information about rewards to support their new points on effective leadership.

Last updated on Aug 7, 2024 12:03 PM