Now that I found information,
what do I do?

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words or ideas and do not acknowledge that you have done so. In this culture, we consider our words and ideas intellectual property: like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and cannot be used without giving credit.

Therefore, whenever you write a paper that requires research, you must tell your reader where you obtained any ideas or assertions that are not originally your own. Whether you quote directly or summarize the information, you must acknowledge your sources by citing them. In this way, you give that person credit for the work s/he has done.
 

Forms of plagiarism

Regardless of intent, all of the following constitute plagiarism:

• unacknowledged verbatim quotation (direct plagiarism)
• mixing paraphrase and unacknowledged quotation (mosaic)
• unacknowledged paraphrase and/or use of ideas
• unacknowledged use of graphics, tables, charts, or web pages

The Undergraduate Honor Council's page on plagiarism gives examples of direct plagiarism, the mosaic, paraphrase, and insufficient acknowledgement.

When in doubt, cite your sources!

Prepared for the Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to MIT Libraries for granting permission to modify and use their "Information Navigator" tutorial.