University academia entails making students independent researchers. However, the ironclad rule in the academic industry is that researchers must avoid plagiarism. Also, in research pedagogy, students are bound to seek academic material/articles from the field.
So, does taking a reference count as plagiarism? Is it possible to develop a research paper without any research or reference? Well, the answer to these questions is no and yes. You can and must take references from published papers even to know if you plagiarize.
Every new research aims at adding to the body of knowledge but knowing what has been already proven and hypothesized is equally important. So it is not possible to develop research entirely without references.
Hence, plagiarism ensues. Still, can you beat it? Read this blog to know all that is acceptable and unacceptable in academic research. Also, learn ways to beat plagiarism.
What Are the Different Types of Plagiarism?
Firstly, you must know about plagiarism in academic writing to be well-informed about your research options. You may even accidentally plagiarize or aren’t able to decipher it as such. So, here are different forms of plagiarism that you must avoid:
Direct Plagiarism
I bet you understand this one. Copying and pasting texts from any academic source and not changing or referencing them is plagiarism. It is known as direct plagiarism, which can result in failing your assignments.
Self-Plagiarism
Also, you may use your past research or any experiment/analysis result in your current project. Well, it is self-plagiarism and just as bad as any other form of plagiarism. You must cite your sources even if it’s your research.
Mosaic Plagiarism
Next, mosaic plagiarism is used to compile different data, phrases/direct quotes (without quotation marks), and research results from various sources to develop new content.
Students often do this plagiarism unless they develop an annotated bibliography.
Accidental Plagiarism
Misquoting a reference, not properly citing the sources, and incomplete citation fall under accidental plagiarism. It is also considered plagiarism; you can get plagiarism claims for such eros in your research.
What Are 5 Ways to Avoid Plagiarism?
Still worried about plagiarism in your research paper? Try these five effective ways to get rid of any form of plagiarism in your paper:
1. Cite your source
Understandably, developing a research paper or project without references or sample data is impossible. So, the only way to save yourself from plagiarism claims in such a scenario is to cite your sources.
Importantly, cite your sources accurately. Dodge accidental plagiarism. Hire an assignment helper online to help you compile an annotated bibliography.
2. Include quotations
Moreover, there are often pieces of information, quotes or data that must be used in the research paper. So, a better option to beat plagiarism in such cases is to use quotation marks. For example,
“Research is creating new knowledge.” – Neil Armstrong
In academic research, quotation marks directly quote some data/information. But it’s still just as important to mention your sources.
3. Paraphrase,
The most common yet easy way out of plagiarism is to paraphrase your content. Paraphrasing is just using your words to interpret information, idea or data set. It is very effective to beat plagiarism.
4. Present your own idea
Another effective way is to present your data. The easiest way is to research and develop information based on your findings and analysis. It is plausible for experiment-based research. However not always feasible in research.
5. Use a plagiarism checker
Lastly, you may use a plagiarism-checking tool like Turnitin. Such tools are built to scan your content against millions of academic resources online automatically.
It is easier and faster. You get results within minutes. Also, you get a tangible plag-report proving your content’s integrity.
So, these are the five most effective and foolproof ways to beat plagiarism claims. Learners need to compose original and well-researched papers. The easiest way out is to cite your sources. That’s it. If you are giving credit to the original authors, it is not plagiarism.
How Do You Avoid Getting Caught Plagiarizing?
Secondly, what happens when you get a plagiarism remark on your assignment? Well, the consequences vary per the gravity of your plagiarism. The consequences, we’ll discuss in the next section. Let’s decide how’re you going to deal with it.
Try to explain your misconduct this way, so you are salvaged with a few losses:
1. The Misunderstanding
If the amount of plagiarism in your paper is mild, you can feign innocence. Tell your professor or university that you didn’t know it was plagiarism. Just explain that the instruction was unclear or you had issues researching.
2. The Lapse of Judgement
Next, if the plagiarism is over the mild level, you can explain it by saying it was a lapse of judgment. You must take responsibility for plagiarism but explain to the professor that you are still learning. You will likely get a small deduction or a chance to review/edit your work.
3. The Big Escape
Another common escape is to blame technology for all your issues. On the other hand, students also use the excuse of a lack of research skills. Respond by mentioning all the papers and articles that used that particular information.
Try to convenience the professor that you just used a small piece of data from the plethora of information on the internet. It often results in accidental plagiarism.
4. The Honest Mistake
Also, when your plagiarism level is severe, and you can’t get out of it even with all the excuses, you must admit your mistakes. But, always stand the ground. You researched, and the issue is that you didn’t have the time to compose a well-versed paper.
So, these are some of the answers that can get you out of plagiarism. You can always come up with more detailed replies that match your scenario. Moreover, you can hire an assignment helper online and get them to check your work before submission.
You can use such a service to get expert academic writers to edit and proofread your papers. Meanwhile, they perform quality checks on your paper essential for you to get good grades. Such checks also incorporate plagiarism checks. Hence, it’s worth the money.
Lastly, Will Plagiarism Affect Your Life?
The aftermath of plagiarism claims varies per your plagiarism levels and context. A good example is when a student submits an online assignment, there can be severe consequences, from failing to suspension.
However, a few uncited quotations can be overlooked and even accepted as long as you name the author or original owner of the paper. Similarly, not delivering a bibliography is intense misconduct, but incorrect citations may result in review/editing.
A copyright infringement claim makes the researcher lose their research or even the right to their research. The findings can be abolished or claimed fake, while the profession may lose its job and research funding.
So, students need to learn the gravity of plagiarism while in university/school. It takes years and years of experimentation or data collection for the researcher to be able to compose an extensive study that they worked hard on for years.
Now, imagine someone claiming it as theirs. Hence, we conclude that in academia, plagiarism is heinous misconduct that must be avoided at all costs.
You may also want to read,
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this fantastic blog! I suppose for now I’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!