Plagiarism? What is it?

APA
( American Psychological Association)
• Plagiarism? What is it?
• The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin
word, plagiare, which means “to kidnap.” The
term has evolved over the years to now mean
the act of taking another individual’s work and
using it as your own, without acknowledging
the original author (American Psychological
Association, 2020 p. 21).
• Plagiarism can be illegal and there can be
serious ramifications for plagiarizing someone
else’s work. Thankfully, plagiarism can be
prevented. One way it can be prevented is by
including citations and references in your
research project. Want to make them quickly
and easily? Try the Citation Machine citation
generator, which is found on our homepage
 All about citations & references

• Citations and references should be included anytime

you use another individual’s work in your own
assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased
information, images, or any other piece of
information from another’s work, you need to show
where you found it by including a citation and a
reference. This guide explains how to make them.
• APA style citations are added in the body of a
research paper or project and references are added
to the last page. All about citations & references
 Conti………
• Citations and references should be included anytime
you use another individual’s work in your own
assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased
information, images, or any other piece of
information from another’s work, you need to show
where you found it by including a citation and a
reference. This guide explains how to make them.
• APA style citations are added in the body of a
research paper or project and references are added
to the last page.
 Citations,
• Which are called in-text citations, are included
when you’re adding information from another
individual’s work into your own project. When you
add text word-for-word from another source into
your project, or take information from another
source and place it in your own words and writing
style (known as paraphrasing), you create an in-text
citation. These citations are short in length and are
placed in the main part of your project, directly
after the borrowed information.
 References 
• References are found at the end of your 
research project, usually on the last page.
Included on this reference list page is the full
information for any in-text citations found in
the body of the project. These references are
listed in alphabetical order by the author's last
name.
 WHAT CONTAINS AN APA
• An APA in-text citation includes only three items:
the last name(s) of the author(s), the year the
source was published, and sometimes the page or
location of the information. References include
more information such as the name of the
author(s), the year the source was published, the
full title of the source, and the URL or page range.
Why is it important to include citations
& references
• Including APA citations and references in your
research projects is a very important component
of the research process.
• When you include citations, you’re being a
responsible researcher. You’re showing readers
that you were able to find valuable, high-quality
information from other sources, place them into
your project where appropriate, all while
acknowledging the original authors and their work.
 Common ways students and scholars
accidentally plagiarize
• Believe it or not, there are instances when you
could attempt to include in-text and full
references in the appropriate places, but still
accidentally plagiarize. Here are some
common mistakes to be aware of
 Mistake #1 
• - Misquoting sources: If you plan to use a
direct quote, make sure you copy it exactly as
is. Sure, you can use part of the full quote or
sentence, but if you decide to put quotation
marks around any words, those words should
match exactly what was found in the original
source. Here’s a line from The Little Prince, by
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
 Example 1 of Misquote
• “Grown-ups never understand anything by
themselves, and it is tiresome for children to
be always and forever explaining things to
them.
Here’s an acceptable option:
“Grown-ups never understand anything by
themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p.
3)
• Here’s a misquote:
“Grown-ups barely ever understand anything by
themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p.
3)
Notice the slight change in the words. The
incorrect phrasing is an instance of accidental
plagiarism.
 Mistake #2 - 

Problems with paraphrasing: When we

paraphrase, we restate information using our
own words and writing style. It’s not acceptable
to substitute words from the original source
with synonyms
Let’s use the same sentence from The Little
Prince.
A correct paraphrase could be:
de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares various ways
adults frustrate children. One of the biggest
being that kids have to explain everything. It’s
too bad adults are unable to comprehend
anything on their own (p. 3).
An incorrect paraphrase would be:
• de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares that adults
never understand anything by themselves,
and it is exhausting for kids to be always and
forever clarifying things to them (p.3).
 Citing books in APA
• Print books with one author:
• APA citation format:
• Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial.
(Year Published). Title of work. Publisher.
• Example:
• Moriarty, L. (2014). Big little lies. G. P.
Putnam’s Sons.
• Print books with two or more authors:
• Structure:
• Last name, First initial. Middle initial., Last name, First initial.
Middle initial., & Last name, First initial. Middle initial.
(Date). Title. Publisher.
• Examples:
• Goldin, C. D., & Katz, L. F. (2008). The race between education
and technology. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
• Matthews, G., Smith, Y., & Knowles, G. (2009). Disaster
management in archives, libraries and museums. Ashgate.
 Citing a website in APA

Structure:
• Author Last Name, First initial. (Year, Month Date
Published). Title of web page. Name of Website.
URL
Example of an APA format website:
• Austerlitz, S. (2015, March 3). How long can a
spinoff like ‘Better Call Saul’ last? FiveThirtyEight. 
http
://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-long-can-a-spin
off-like-better-call-saul-last/
 Facebook posts:

• Structure: Facebook user’s Last name, F. M.

(Year, Monday Day of Post). Up to the first 20
words of Facebook post [Source type if
attached] [Post type]. Facebook. URL
• Source type examples: [Video attached],
[Image attached]
• Post type examples: [Status update], [Video],
[Image], [Infographic]
• Examples:
 Gomez, S. (2020, February 4). Guys, I’ve been working
on this special project for two years and can officially
say Rare Beauty is launching in [Video]. Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/Selena/videos/134003150
2835436/
 Life at Chegg. (2020, February 7) It breaks our heart
that 50% of college students right here in Silicon Valley
are hungry. That’s why Chegg has [Images attached]
[Status update]. Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/LifeAtChegg/posts/10767
18522691591
 Citing journal articles in APA

• A journal is a scholarly periodical that presents

research from experts in a certain field.
Typically, but not always, these journals are
peer-reviewed in order to ensure that
published articles are of the highest quality.
That is one reason why journals are a highly
credible source of information.
 Journal articles in print:

Structure:
• Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial.
(Year Published). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, Volume(Issue), page range.
• Example:
• Gleditsch, N. P., Pinker, S., Thayer, B. A., Levy, J.
S., & Thompson, W. R. (2013). The forum: The
decline of war. International Studies Review,
15(3), 396-419.
 Journal articles online:

• If your source is found online, but there is no DOI provided,

you can include the URL instead.
• A DOI (digital object identifier) is basically a number that
links a source to its location on the Internet. This number
isn’t always provided, but if it is, you should include it in
your citation rather than including a URL.
• Unlike previous editions, the current edition does not
require including a retrieval date or date accessed for
online sources. A retrieval date is only necessary if the
source is likely to change (ex. Wikipedia, encyclopedia
entry, Facebook homepage, etc.).
 Structure:

• Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year Published).

Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), page range. 
https://doi.org/xxxx or URL
• Example:
• Burnell, K. J., Coleman, P. G., & Hunt, N. (2010). Coping with
traumatic memories: Second World War veterans’ experiences
of social support in relation to the narrative coherence of war
memories. Ageing and Society, 30(1), 57-78. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X0999016X
• If you need additional help, the Citation Machine APA reference
generator will cite your sources automatically for you.