documentation (Horrom, 2012). Intentionally passing off the work of others
as your own is unethical. Unintentional plagiarism reflects poor scholarship
and laziness. Either way, plagiarism can be illegal because copyright laws may
be violated (Horrom, 2012). A simple rule to avoid plagiarism is: If you have
read it, heard it, or viewed it and want to include it, cite it. If the thought, word-
ing, or graphic is not your original work, cite the source. Because plagiarism
is considered a serious violation of ethical standards, penalties can be severe.
Plagiarism is easy to avoid by providing proper citations.
Things get a little less clear when it comes to paraphrasing the work of others.
This is when unintentional plagiarism can occur, even by the most conscien-
tious students. There are examples of both direct quotes and paraphrasing
in this chapter. Paraphrasing can be identified by noting the citation for the
author names and publication dates. Depending on the sentence construction,
paraphrasing either precedes or follows those indicators. Paraphrasing can be
very challenging. If you have difficulty with this technique, use direct quotes
or seek assistance from your school’s writing center.
Using the common knowledge test can help determine whether a citation is
required. Like paraphrasing, over time you will become more comfortable with
this. As you become more knowledgeable about accepted facts in nursing, you will
be able to recognize common knowledge situations. Another simple rule is: If you
have to look it up, cite it. For example, it is common knowledge that antibiotics
are used to treat infections. But if information is presented about a new antibiotic
that is not well known, a citation would be required. It is better to err on the side of
caution and write a paper with too many citations than to accidentally plagiarize.
There are several strategies one can use to avoid plagiarism. One major
way is not to cut and paste content from the original source (Horrom, 2012).
By avoiding cut and paste, writers are more likely to put ideas into their own
words. Another way to avoid plagiarism is to ensure that all sources are cited
appropriately. Following style guidelines, such as APA (from the American
Psychological Association) or MLA (from the Modern Language Association),
helps to eliminate plagiarism. Checking your paper with plagiarism detection
software is another way to ensure that ideas are expressed in your own words.
Your authority as a writer in the discipline is increased when you give proper
credit to the work of others. Practiced professionals often skim a reference list
to see if foundational studies are included, and if not, they may disregard the
paper. By placing your original thoughts within the context of others who are
already known and respected, you are continuing the
scholarly conversation from your perspective. Given the
increase in undergraduate research, your contributions
could provide a new insight that results in being cited
by others.FYI
Keeping the review of the literature ethical
requires giving full credit to sources, which
entails keeping accurate citations.124 CHAPTER 4 Finding Sources of Evidence