Prevention of plagiarism
Are you working on your bachelor’s or master’s dissertation, your doctoral thesis or another academic paper and are uncertain whether your citations are correct? We are happy to help you avoid unintentional plagiarism. An understanding of the various types of plagiarism and how to avoid them by citing correctly and refraining from paraphrasing is essential in academic writing.
The following section provides an overview of the most important information on this topic.
Must I cite?
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism refers to the incorporation of information from an external source into your own work without mentioning that source and its author. The following practices are considered plagiarism:
- Copying text or content from an external source (another’s intellectual property) without mentioning that source.
- Copying sections from one’s own earlier work without clearly indicating this (self-plagiarism).
- Citing online sources without the DOI, URL and date of access.
- Translating foreign-language texts without citing the original as a source.
- Having another person write your work (ghostwriting).
- Omitting quotation marks or in-text references.
Obvious plagiarism
In the most frequent form of plagiarism, an author copies text without providing information about the source of the information. This ranges from copying a few passages of text (copy-paste plagiarism) to copying entire works and submitting it in one’s own name (complete plagiarism).
Asking a ghost writer to write your work for you and publishing it under your own name is also plagiarism.
Of course, all these forms of plagiarism are unacceptable and break the rules of good academic practice.
Another frequent type of plagiarism results from careless work:
- Direct quotations are used without quotation marks.
- Citations, paraphrases or summaries lack a reference.
- The bibliography is missing one or more sources.
Always work diligently and check for the above issues before submitting a text.
Less obvious forms of plagiarism
Besides the obvious forms of plagiarism described above, there are some lesser-known ways in which others’ work is plagiarised.
Definition
An author uses the entire content, meaning the entire idea, of a source. Although they put the idea in their own words, no reference to the original source is given, and no other sources are used.
Ways to avoid
- If you use a source multiple times, cite it multiple times.
- Also consult other sources.
- The best way of avoiding plagiarism of ideas is by choosing one point from the main source to explore. Use other sources to support your argument. This changes the focus of the original source, while the additional sources turn your text into a new, independent piece of work.
Definition
An author copies the entire structure of another academic work, including its organisation and bibliography. The title, subtitle and complete bibliography are copied one to one.
Of course, academic works follow a common structure, such as:
- Table of contents
- List of tables and figures
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods section
- Discussion
- Bibliography
- Appendices
These structures are not a problem. Anything beyond this standardised structure, however, is individual. Obviously copying structures from other sources can therefore be problematic.
Definition
An author reuses the content of their own published work (this can be a term paper, final paper or journal article) in another work without clearly highlighting this. All written work you have submitted over the course of your studies is considered to be published.
Ways to avoid
- The good news: you are allowed to reuse information from work that has already been published.
- State that parts of your content have already been published in an academic paper or journal article and include a reference citing the title of that work plus the university and date of submission or journal in which it was published.
- This also applies to graphics, illustrations, photographs, etc.
Tools for avoiding plagiarism
We have put together the most important aspects to remember when citing and paraphrasing others’ work.
Always check your work before submitting it to ensure that your citations are correct. Bear in mind the following:
- Have you drawn a clear distinction between others’ intellectual property and your own work?
- Have you used the standard citation style for your discipline or the relevant journal?
- Have you used the citation style correctly and consistently?
- Have you put quotation marks around all direct (word-for-word) quotations?
- Have you provided an in-text reference including the page number for all direct quotations and listed the relevant sources in the bibliography?
- Have you provided an in-text reference for all paraphrases and listed the relevant source in the bibliography?
- Does the bibliography contain every source you have used? (Only list sources you have actually used.)
- If you have used one source several times in the text, are the source references consistent?
- Are your bibliographical details complete?
- Have you included unpublished sources?
- Have you cited a source for all tables, illustrations, graphics and other images you have used?
- Have you checked who owns the rights to content you have used? (This includes images, graphics, videos, etc.)
- Have you marked your own tables, illustrations, graphics and other images as your own work?
- Do all figures have a legend?
- Have you provided the DOI and/or URL for all online sources you have used? Have you included the date on which you last accessed your online sources?
- Have you listed all tools you have used? (For example: translation tools, text generation tools, etc.)
- Have you defined all technical terms and provided sources as necessary?
- Have you signed and attached the declaration of originality?
A direct quotation is a section of text from a source that has been included verbatim in your own work, including any grammatical or spelling mistakes. Direct quotations must always be marked as such using quotation marks. Bear in mind that different citation styles require different quotation marks. Make sure you are using the correct symbols.
As well as opening and closing quotation marks, you must provide a reference to the source at the end of the quotation. Direct quotations use a shortened form for better legibility. It contains the following details:
- Name of the author (unless mentioned in the sentence)
- Publication year of the source
- Page number of the original quotation
You must additionally provide full source information in the bibliography. The structure of the abbreviated reference and the bibliography also depends on the citation style used. As an academic writer, it is essential that you know the correct citation style well and apply it consistently.
This brings us to another question: When should you use a direct quotation in your text? This is recommended in the following situations
- The exact wording is crucial.
- The quotation contains definitions and standards.
- You wish to show that you have acknowledged a specific statement from an expert.
- Another writer gets to the heart of something and you cannot say it better in your own words.
- Your argument is decisively supported by the addition of an important piece of evidence.
- It will stylistically improve your text.
The following is an example of a direct quotation from a master’s thesis on the topic of central acquisition for a library, submitted in 2019 to the Chur University of Applied Sciences. The citation style used is Harvard Style.
Example of a direct quotation
However, according to the author Alex Halle (2002, p. 42), one important criterion remains in the foreground despite all the changes: “[...] customer friendliness, flexibility of the organisation, reception of the library and its services by the university, technological developments and their conceptual implementation.”
The entry in the bibliography for this direct quotation looks like this:
Halle, A. (2002) ‘Centralisation and Decentralisation. Management Aspects of One- and Two-Tier Library Systems’, Library Research and Practice, Vol. 26, Issue 1, pp. 41–43, accessed via <https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/BFUP.2002.41/html>.
Translating quotations
If the original quotation is in a different language from your text, you must reproduce the direct quotation in the original language. Add the translation in a footnote – even if you do not use footnotes otherwise. Also mention that the translation is your own.
Secondary citation
A secondary citation is a citation that another author reproduces in their text. If you also wish to use the exact citation, proceed as follows. Search for the original and check whether the citation is correct and whether the author has understood it correctly in the textual context. If so, cite the original. If you cannot find the original citation, follow the procedure for secondary citations in the guide to the citation style you are using.
Paraphrasing is the method you need mainly when writing your introduction, where you give an overview of the state of the research. This serves to situate your work in its scientific context: you show what other researchers have done in a particular field, make clear how your work fits into the scientific context and why it is important for research. Paraphrasing allows you elegantly to borrow ideas and thoughts from others – a legitimate approach to academic writing.
What does it involve?
A paraphrase is a rendering of the meaning of another’s text in your own words. You formulate information and ideas in new ways but keep the meaning of the original text and do not add information that is not contained in the original text. Bear in mind that you must not leave out relevant information.
A paraphrase, just like a direct quotation, must be identified by indicating the source at the end of the paraphrase. Here, too, an abbreviated reference is usually sufficient, which is provided in such a way that the reader can find the complete reference in the bibliography. The format of the complete reference depends on the citation style you are using, which you must know if you are writing an academic paper.
How do you create a paraphrase?
While you read your source, take notes on its content. Your notes will help you paraphrase the source well. Write down key words or fixed terms that you will use in your paraphrase.
It is best to read a sentence or paragraph multiple times before writing your paraphrase. This allows you to process the content in detail and, in turn, understand it better.
Consider setting up the sentence structure completely differently so as not to mirror the original too closely. For example, you can start the sentence with a key word which, in the original, occurs at the end of the sentence. This forces you to restructure the sentence. Also consider using synonyms to express the same thing in other words.
It is also helpful to start paraphrases with introductory words. For instance:
Scientist XX describes/explains/differentiates/emphasises ... etc.
By announcing a paraphrase in this way, you help the reader to distinguish between your ideas and those of others, which is essential in academic writing.
Example of a paraphrase
Original text
The principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems is defined as the circular economy (Macarthur, 2020).
[AE, Academic Englisch UK, exercise 5: https://academic-englishuk.com/improve-your-paraphrasing-skills/ [konsultiert am 18.04.2023].
Possible paraphrase:
Macarthur (2020) defines the circular economy as the method of eliminating waste and pollution, the continual use of resources and the restoration of physical and biological materials.
[AE, Academic Englisch UK, exercise 5: https://academic-englishuk.com/improve-your-paraphrasing-skills/ [konsultiert am 18.05.2023].
If you wish to practise paraphrasing, enter “paraphrase exercises” into a search engine. We recommend the following websites:
A few more tips: Write down the following details while reading:
- Full title including subtitle
- Publication year of the source
- Page numbers in the case of an article
- Full name of the author (first and last name)
- Document in which the article is found, including the name of the publisher and place of publication
- Title of the journal, including issue number and year, publisher and place of publication
- For electronic resources: DOI (permanent link) or URL and the date of your last access to the item
From the start of your research, always carefully write down these details for all sources used. A reference management software such as Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, Citavi or BibTeX can help you gather the relevant information and keep it clearly structured.
General knowledge refers to information that appears in at least five trustworthy sources without any references and that is neither new nor controversial nor unusual. Here are two examples:
- Einstein studied at ETH Zurich.
- The Second World War ended in 1945.
Academic disciplines also have general knowledge. In this context, it refers to knowledge that students acquire during the first foundation year of their undergraduate programme. General knowledge grows over the course of one’s studies, so a bachelor’s thesis requires more comprehensive citations than a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.
In academic writing, it can be difficult to decide what is general knowledge and what is not. If you are in doubt, think about your audience: colleagues with a similar level of knowledge should possess the same general knowledge as you do. If you are still uncertain, there are two things you can do:
- Either you ask your supervisor if a certain piece of information counts as general knowledge;
- or you simply cite the source. It is never wrong to tell your readers where you have found your information.
There is no such thing as too many citations. An omitted citation, on the other hand, can have undesirable consequences.
Cite Them Right
For detailed information about citations, paraphrases and citation styles, see external pageCite Them Right. This platform has been licensed by ETH Zurich and offers in-depth information about the topic. It also lists the most common citation styles across disciplines.
