Avoiding plagiarism
General
Good scientists build on each other’s work. They do not, however, take credit for others’ work (Gastel & Day, 2017, p.26). If you include information or ideas that are not yours, make sure you refer to or cite the sources. Otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism, which can be defined as “the unacknowledged use of another’s work as if it were one’s own” (University of Dundee, 2005).
Alongside other forms of academic dishonesty, universities regard intentional plagiarism as a very serious offence. Check the guidelines provided by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences& Arts (German version).
The concept of ‘work’ in the definition of plagiarism given above includes ideas, writing or inventions, and not simply words. The notion of ‘use’ in the definition does not only mean ‘word for word’ (exact copy) but also ‘in substance’ (a paraphrase). You can use (quote, paraphrase, summarize or otherwise refer to) someone else’s work if – and only if– you acknowledge the source.
The practice of cutting (copying) and pasting electronically and using this text without citing it is regarded as plagiarism. Academics now have sophisticated software to identify where this has occurred.
The common knowledge exception
Common knowledge can be defined as knowledge shared by the writer and intended reader (Pecorari, 2013). In this case no citation is needed. The challenge here is to anticipate if your reader needs an attribution of the source or not.
If you are interested in more information on the concept of common knowledge and academic integrity go to.
Note: In many cultures it is not only allowed to directly use other people’s words; it is even considered skilful, as for instance the sayings of Confucius and other respected scholars in China (Hamp-Lyons, 2006). In Arab culture, until recently the main mode of learning was through memorisation and imitation of the Koran. Ballard and Clanchy (1991) point out that these attitudes spread along a continuum from respecting knowledge to valuing its extension. Western cultures, on the other hand, encourage an analytical, questioning and evaluative stance to knowledge. Students are expected to dispute traditional wisdom in order to form their own points of view.
Academic integrity
Students writing a project report or their Bachelor thesis at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences & Arts are requested to sign a declaration of academic honesty/integrity. This can be downloaded declaration of academic integrity.
Copyright©
“Copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter and form of a literary and artistic work. (Here ‘literary and artistic’ is broadly defined and so includes scientific papers)” (Gastel & Day, 2017, p.117).
Therefore, never use or cite somebody else’s intellectual property without permission or acknowledgement.
Fair-use doctrine
“A limited amount of copyright material may be reproduced without infringing coyright laws under the so-called fair-use (or fair-dealing) doctrine, which permits criticism, comment, review or research of such material, provided that it is appropriately referenced” (Young, 2009, p.56).
So it would not be fair-use to quote verbatim 1 page of a 10 page article. If the original text, however, was a book of about 1000 pages, citing 1 page can be considered as fair-use.
For detailed information on what is considered as the public domain in Switzlerland and therefore is not protected by copyright and thus freely available go to.
