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Task B: Citing authorities in your textIndex page
Workshops indexTask A: Avoiding plagiarism
Summary
Most students are confused and upset when confronted with accusations of plagiarism in their assignment work. Computers and the Internet make it easy to direct copy information from a wealth of resources. In recent years, the rules about using the intellectual property of others have strengthened. Inappropriately copied and/or referenced work is unacceptable scholastic behaviour and an illegal practice. You should know the rules for UNE and avoid the costly setbacks and heartache that a plagiarism investigation causes for all concerned.
You will learn:
- How to recognise 'common knowledge' and information that requires referencing
- How to avoid plagiarism when using various sources of information
Recognising 'common knowledge' and information that requires referencing
Many students are unsure if they should reference every single thing they write or whether they need to be more selective with their references. The usual guideline is that information that is common knowledge does not need referencing, but specific information that you have used from sources such as books, journal articles, lectures and the Internet should be referenced.
Activity
Following are statements that could appear in your assignment work. Select the statements that would be considered common knowledge and those that would require citations.
Statement 1
Nursing is a profession that requires a high level of knowledge, a wide variety of skills, and proficiency in performing challenging tasks.
Statement 2
An expert nurse passes through five levels of skill acquisition when developing generalist or specialised nursing skills.
Statement 3
There has been a significant shift away from moral principles toward economic rationalism in the provision of health services.
Statement 4
Ethical practice is an important issue for health professionals.
Remember - If you are unsure as to whether information is common knowledge or not, it is preferable to provide the appropriate in-text citation rather than run the risk of plagiarising.
Avoiding plagiarism when using various sources of information
Activity
Do this plagiarism quiz to see if you can recognise which practices are acceptable and which ones would constitute plagiarism?
Example 1
Jim needs to include a section about the psychosocial theories of development in his nursing essay. His sister has studied psychology and covered this in lectures. He summarises the information from her lecture notes and puts it in his essay.
Example 2
Phyllis copied the exact words from a succinct descriptive sentence in her nursing text into her essay. She put it in quotation marks, followed by the author, date, and page number in brackets.
Example 3
Michelle pulls together information from an Internet article, a textbook and a recent TV documentary, and presents it in her own words.
Example 4
The academic support person on Anna’s floor gives her a photocopy of his nursing essay from two years ago when he is explaining a concept to her. The essay contains some examples that are relevant to Anna’s current essay topic, so she copies his examples into her essay.
Example 5
Tony reads and understands information from a section of his nursing textbook and uses it in his essay in his own words, followed by the author's name and date of publication, but no page numbers.
Example 6
David interprets information from a table in his textbook and presents it in his own words in his essay.