Avoiding Plagiarism
From Occult Forum.org wiki
While the occultforums.org wiki invites anyone with occult knowledge to participate, there are some things to consider when writing here at the wiki. One of these things is the practice of plagiairism and the practice of acceptable use.
Plagiarism is the intentional use of someones words or ideas, without giving proper citation. Many who write informal, non-academic writings are not aware of plagiarism and what it does to the quality of writing. Articles here at the occultforum wiki should be properly researched and written, and articles are given citation when it is necessary. Because the quality of writing here at the occultforum.org wiki reflects the quality of information that is presented, it is important to keep these guidelines in consideration. We will begin with the most obvious examples and then move into the arbitrary aspects of plagiarisms.
Definition of Plagiarism: "In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source."[1]
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Instances of Required References
- Direct quotes said by any authors or researchers should be placed within quotations ( "" ) and a citation is necessary for each and every quotation given.
- Large portions of text that are directly copied from books, articles, interviews and other resources should be cited properly. See the wiki guidelines for Citation Standards.
- Citation is necessary for ideas and unique phrases.
- Any ideas or words that did not originate from your own ideas must be cited properly.
- Some materials are common knowledge. If a reference can be found in many books such as dictionaries or it is a commonly known fact, then there is no need for a reference. When in doubt you should attempt to source it with a citation.
Fair Use
The fair use of another author's writings and ideas is permissible in these situations, as defined by Copyright Law:
- Fair use of copyrighted materials includes the following: "quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations;.." [2]
When writing with fair use in mind it is perfectly acceptable to add your own ideas to an authors after giving credit to the original source, such as giving a critical review of an idea or adding to the idea with unique information.
See Also
Resources
References
- ↑ Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Referenced from: http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9 accessed 9/17/09
- ↑ Section 107 Copyright Law. Referenced from: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107 accessed 9/17/09
