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Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences: Plagiarism

A guide portal for the Faculty of Commerce and Administration

Introduction

Each time you paraphrase or quote ideas and information taken from another author's work, you must acknowledge the exact source of this information.

This applies regardless of whether the ideas came from a book, journal article or newspaper, a personal interview or document that you downloaded from the Internet, and regardless of whether or not your work will be published.

The reasons why references are given include the following:

  • References acknowledge the writer's debt to the work of other authors. Not referencing = plagiarism!
  • They add weight to your argument by citing authoritative sources
  • They provide sources of additional information
  • They offer the reader the opportunity to locate and read your sources

Plagiarism

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

The acknowledgement of another author's work is called a reference, and the failure to provide references discredits the integrity of the research and exposes the writer to a charge of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is when you present another person’s ideas as your own, without properly acknowledging the source of the ideas. It is regarded as a criminal offence.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM

  • Whenever you use a fact, phrase, chart or quotation from someone else in your work, you must acknowledge the original source

  • Keep careful notes of every source you consult, so that no sources are used without proper acknowledgement

  • Never copy and paste anything from the Internet without also copying the URL where you found it so that you can provide a full citation for the source

  • Do not intentionally commit plagiarism

  • Consider using Mendeley as a personal database  for all your references

 

WRITING FOR ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Please refer to these guidelines on Writing for Academic Integrity