Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

Abstract

Plagiarism is an act of appropriating or copying another's written, artistic, or other creative work into one's own – whether partially or completely – without properly referencing the source of authorship. It is an illegal and unethical representation of another person's work as original. Plagiarism can appear in many forms. It harms the scientific community and is highly problematic for professional journals that publish legitimate scientific work. Numerous international organizations and institutions work intensively on mitigating this problem, looking for ways to minimize or even eliminate plagiarism and other forms of unethical scholarly practices. Plagiarism among students using "copy-and-paste" techniques has become a paramount issue. Regular use of current methods of detection, such as internet plagiarism detection tools employed by the publishers, can significantly mitigate the incidence of plagiarism. However, these tools alone cannot eradicate the problem without proper education of students and academics on the repercussions of plagiarism. Academic scrutiny and valid sanctions must be in place for those who may violate creative authorship laws and ethical principles. This chapter provides a glimpse into the ongoing discussion of plagiarism, the burden of plagiarism in academia, and methods of its detection and prevention.

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