How to avoid plagiarism: What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the use of another's work without clearly indicating of the source of the information. Another's work doesn't just mean their words. It could be their ideas, images, statistics, data, and so on.

It is a serious disciplinary offence in DKIT. Lecturers here use software called Turnitin to check your work for plagiarism.

Plagiarism may be deliberate or accidental. Deliberate plagiarism is when you  purposely set out to copy someone else’s work. Accidental plagiarism is when you don’t correctly acknowledge someone else’s work, either because you didn’t know how to or you didn’t know you had to. You need to avoid both types.

There are various types if plagiarism, such as:

• Directly quoting other people's words or using their work without stating where the information came from. This includes both online and print sources.
• Paraphrasing or summarising someone else’s work or ideas without indicating where the information came from. You must acknowledge someone else's work even if you put it into your own words.
• Incorrect referencing. This guide will show you how to reference correctly.
• Inventing a reference that doesn't exist.
• Working on an individual assignment as a group.
• Copying from someone else or asking them to do your assignment for you.
• Re-submitting work you already got credit for in another module.

(Adapted from DeSales University Avoiding Plagiarism libguide)