Introduction: Why is Internet plagiarism so common these days? Can one generation be singled out as being the most guilty?
This article will try to determine the answer, offer some fact finding and sources, as well as help with some quick tips on how to appropriately use free information to help publishing an article or essay, while appropriately citing your source, whether they be found in books, or on the web.
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Seems that our latest generation of young adults think it's OK to basically churn out a report about the history of the sundial after copying the article in its entirety from Wikipedia and turn it in as their own.
A recent study by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee may confirm this.
The report based on the findings in the study has given an overall opinion that we have a Google generation on our hands not because they are "smarter" than their counterparts, but because of their tendency to want instant answers and not just "do the math".
"[They] demand 24/7 access, instant gratification at a click, and are increasingly looking for `the answer’ rather than for a particular format: a research monograph or a journal article for instance. So they scan, flick and `power browse’ their way through digital content, developing new forms of online reading6 on the way that we do not yet fully understand (or, in many cases, even recognise)." [1]
Seems also that grown folks think this is OK to do as well when writing articles for blogs, news sites or their own web sites. It's fine, so long as you don't claim the work as your own!
Even people in high offices have been guilty of cut & paste [2] for their own gain/recognition.
We do have a) the right to free speech and b) the right to access public information available at our disposal.
However, when using the web to do research, write articles, etc. it's important to understand that what's determined as copyrighted or is someone else's intellectual property is not yours to post and re-post, willy nilly all over the World Wide Web, without some consideration and respect/credit to your sources.
Tips on citing sources/styles to use:
Yes, we are in an information age which allows us freedom on the Internet, but please be cognizant of what your are using as your source materials and always be sure to check and see *if* the content is re-publishable/re-distributable/reproducible. If not, you do need to contact that person or his/her agency for permission to use the material. It is quite OK to quote someone or something so long as you link give full credit.
If you are quoting a book, italics are appropriate for posting your source to the web. If your material will be printed on paper instead of the web, though, it's an underline style that you should use. Unless it is a link to the book's website or author's website.
"On the Web, underlining should never be used for typographic emphasis. Since Web links are underlined, underlined text that is not a link will confuse users" [3]
For example, if you are writing a scientific article on the web about Captain Kirk, and your source was a book, you would do like so:
James, Nancy E. "Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth According to Kirk and Spock." Spectrum of the Fantastic. Ed. Donald Palumbo.
Westport: Greenwood, 1988. 219-223.
To cite a website article, following is the example style to use:
Horton, Sarah. "Links"
Universal Usability. 2006 26 Jan 2008
< http://universalusability.com/access_by_design/links/underline.html >
In the example above, the first date is the date of the page's article posting, then the second date is the date you accessed (read, downloaded or printed) the page/site.
It seems to me that web users think we're in a new age of lack of responsibility and what's right, as many think this is a free-for-all sort of library where everyone who comes in can just start photocopying pages out of everything from reference materials to magazines and send it in to their local paper with their own name and byline on it.
It's just about the equivalent, I think.
Bobbi Jo Woods, CEO/Fanatic
B. Woods Design - Steering Professional Managed Websites for Business
© Bobbi Jo Woods - B. Woods Design
(edited to fix a typo and add copyright info, 1/27/08 10:17PM CST)
