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*Research 101

What Is Plagiarism?

What is plagiarism? What do you need to know about it?

Plagiarism is when you do not give credit to others for their words or ideas that you use in an assignment. There are two main types of plagiarism:

  1. Word plagiarism - when you use words directly from another source without giving credit
  2. Idea plagiarism - when you use ideas from another source (even if you rewrite the words!) without giving credit

Plagiarism is a very serious charge in college, and the rules and consequences of academic dishonesty at Santa Fe College are in the Student Conduct Code. It is very important that you keep track of the sources you use in your research and give credit for them, both in the body of your paper (using in-text citations or footnotes, depending on your citation style) and at the end in a full list of citations.

Citation Styles

A citation style is a specific way to document the sources you use in your paper. There are three main citation styles used at Santa Fe College: MLA, APA, and Chicago. There are slight differences between all three, but the basic concepts remain the same. You will have one list at the end of your paper that includes all the sources you used, formatted according to the citation style rules. You will also include shortcut citations in your paper whenever you refer to words or ideas you took from other sources. These shortcut citations usually take the form of in-text citations or footnotes, depending on the citation style.

Citation Style Resources

Why Cite?

Citing your sources serves several purposes:

  • You clearly show which ideas and words are not yours, which means you did not plagiarize.
  • You provide your readers information about your sources so they can find them and learn more.
  • Your claims, arguments, and thesis are stronger because you have found sources that support them.
  • You acknowledge the authors of your sources who have created good work.
  • You show off the good research you did as part of your assignment.

What Do You Need to Cite?

Any time you use information or ideas from another person or source you need to cite it. This includes:

  • Direct quotes
  • Information you have paraphrased
  • Summaries
  • Opinions of others
  • Statistics

You do not need to cite your own opinions or very common knowledge that most people would know (e.g., "George Washington was the first president of the United States."). If you are unsure if information is common knowledge, it's usually better to cite the source.

How to Cite Words/Quotes

1. Identify the quote you want to use

Download a PDF with all the steps for citing words/quotes

I am using the highlighted quote from page one of a journal article.

Click the arrows to see the next steps.

Introduction paragraph with a line highlighted

2. Put the quote in quotation marks

Place quotation marks around the quote. You need to include the quote exactly as it is written in your source. If you remove words in the sentence, use [...] to show that there has been an edit.

3. Introduce the quote

It's usually best to introduce the quote with context and the authors' names. The abbreviation et al. is used when there are three or more authors; list the first author's last name and then et al.

Godfrey-Smith et al. state that

4a. Include any other needed citation information: APA

If you are citing in APA, include the date in parentheses after the author's name and the page number (if you have it) in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The abbreviation p. is for page. Use pp. if the quote spans two or more pages: (pp. 1-2). The period of the sentence goes after the parentheses.

Click the right arrow for MLA.

Godfrey-Smith et al. (2022) state that

5a. Include the full citation at the end of your paper: APA

List the full citation at the end of your paper under the heading References. Even though you may have multiple in-text citations for a source, you only need it listed once in your References list. Format each reference with a hanging indent and alphabetize by the first word of the reference.

References Godfrey-Smith, P., Scheel, D., Chancellor, S., Linquist, S., & Lawrence, M. (2022). In the line of fire: Debris throwing by wild octopuses. PLoS ONE, 17(11), Article e0276482. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276482

4b. Include any other needed citation information: MLA

For MLA, include the page number (if you have it) in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The period of the sentence goes after the parentheses.

Godfrey-Smith et al. state that

5b. Include the full citation at the end of your paper: MLA

List the full citation at the end of your paper under the heading Works Cited. Even though you may have multiple in-text citations for a source, you only need it listed once in your Works Cited list. Format each citation with a hanging indent and alphabetize by the first word of the citation.

Works Cited Godfrey-Smith, Peter, et al.

Tips on Introducing Quotes

As you incorporate quotes into your writing, it's usually best to introduce the quote by using a signal phrase. Here are a few signal phrases and signal phrase verbs that might be useful:

  • According to
  • As stated by
  • discusses
  • concludes
  • demonstrates 
  • claims
  • considers
  • found that
  • indicates
  • argues
  • points out
  • explains
  • mentions
  • rejects
  • believes
  • states
  • suggests

Here are three examples of different signal phrases used to introduce the same quote:

  • Krose et al. suggest that "individuals who had poorer self-regulation also reported more bedtime procrastination" (14).
  • According to Krose et al., "individuals who had poorer self-regulation also reported more bedtime procrastination" (14).
  • On the other hand, Krose et al claim that "individuals who had poorer self-regulation also reported more bedtime procrastination" (14).

These examples conform with the MLA in-text citation style; for APA or Chicago, please consult those guides.

Tips on Paraphrasing

As you progress in your academic writing, you will want to directly quote less and paraphrase (put into your own words) more. This shows that you are able to understand and synthesize the ideas that you have read. Again, even though you are putting these ideas and thoughts into your own words, you will still need to include an in-text citation and full citation to credit the source.

The MLA Handbook has a guide on how to quote and paraphrase in MLA. While it's specific to MLA in-text citations, the general concepts will apply to all writing, regardless of citation style.

How to Cite Ideas

1. Identify the information you want to use

Download a PDF with all the steps for citing ideas

Locate the information you want to use from a source. This could be a sentence, a paragraph, or an overall summary of a source.

Click the arrows to see the next steps.

These findings contribute to the growing body of work that explores the nuances of the cell phone addictions that many people currently live with. In this case, the question is whether taking a break with a cell phone in hand serves as a true mental break from actual work tasks, or whether looking at a phone might unintentionally add to the cognitive load of the mind instead of relieving it. The results show that breaks might be better spent without the cell phone, if the goal is to have restored cognitive ability for subsequent work tasks.

2. Rewrite the ideas in your own words

Next, rewrite this to fit your own writing style, using your own words. One tip is to read the information several times, then look away and try to write it out. Remember, though, that while these words are yours, the ideas are not. Don't forget the next steps for properly citing these ideas!

Periodic breaks from focused tasks are important, but research shows that looking at a cell phone during a break can be worse cognitively than no break at all.

3a. Include in-text citation information: APA

If you are citing in APA, you need to include the author's last name and the date in your in-text citation. The abbreviation et al. is used when there are three or more authors; list the first author's last name and then et al.

This example shows two ways of incorporating this information. The first sentence includes the names and date as part of the narrative and the second sentence has both at the end of the sentence in parentheses.

Click the right arrow for MLA

Kang and Kurtzberg (2019) looked at the effect of cell phones on cognitive load, particularly in terms of breaks. Periodic breaks from focused tasks are important, but research shows that looking at a cell phone during a break can be worse cognitively than no break at all (Kang & Kurtzberg, 2019).

4a. Include the full citation at the end of your paper: APA

In APA, list the full citation at the end of your paper under the heading References. Even though you may have multiple in-text citations for a source, you only need it listed once in your References list. Format each reference with a hanging indent and alphabetize by the first word of the reference.

References Kang, S., & Kurtzberg, T. R. (2019). Reach for your cell phone at your own risk: The cognitive costs of media choice for breaks. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(3), 395–403. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.8.2019.21

3b. Include in-text citation information: MLA

If you are citing in MLA, you need to include the author's last name in your in-text citation. The abbreviation et al. is used when there are three or more authors; list the first author's last name and then et al.

This example shows two ways of incorporating this information. The first sentence includes the names as part of the narrative and the second sentence has the names at the end of the sentence in parentheses.

Kang and Kurtzberg looked at the effect of cell phones on cognitive load, particularly in terms of breaks. Periodic breaks from focused tasks are important, but research shows that looking at a cell phone during a break can be worse cognitively than no break at all (Kang and Kurtzberg).

4b. Include the full citation at the end of your paper: MLA

In MLA, list the full citation at the end of your paper under the heading Works Cited. Even though you may have multiple in-text citations for a source, you only need it listed once in your Works Cited list. Format each citation with a hanging indent and alphabetize by the first word of the citation.

Works Cited Kang, Sanghoon, and Terri R. Kurtzberg. “Reach for Your Cell Phone at Your Own Risk: The Cognitive Costs of Media Choice for Breaks.” Journal of Behavioral Addictions, vol. 8, no. 3, 2019, pp. 395-403. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.8.2019.21

Citation Assistance

For more assistance with citations, you can contact a librarian or a writing tutor.

Librarians

Writing Tutors

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