Internet Plagiarism

Internet plagiarism is an issue I have already wanted to write about for some time but never got to it. Four days ago I had this problem myself because I had inadvertently comitted an internet plagiarism – specifically, I used some other authors’ ideas without citing the sources. Fortunately, I have already credited the sources and thus managed to solve this accident quickly enough. There is still much more I need to read in order to fully understand this problem and its consequences. Nevertheless I have learned plenty of new information regarding this issue in just a couple of latest days and thus, in this short post, I would like to share this newly accumulated knowledge with you.

What Exactly Is Plagiarism?

First, let’s take a look at definitons of plagiarism from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
2. to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
3. to commit literary theft
4. to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Surely everyone would agree that to simply copy and paste someone’s idea (often word by word) falls within these definitions.

Now – look at the fourth definition. To me it seems extremely important. It clearly implies that it is not enough to change the words or word order of an original source. No matter how much you alter the original text, how much you tweak or paraphrase the sentences, you have still plagiarized. Unless you have cited the sources, of course. Citing the sources is highly beneficial. Not only an author of the original text will certainly appreciate it and you won’t get into trouble as I did, it helps anyone who would want to find out more about your ideas and where they came from.

Lately, I have been realizing I might have plagiarized like this few more times in the past so it is time now to fix that and cite the sources. More than that – I hope I will never make a similar mistake in the future.

Conclusion

Paraphrasing ideas of others is, at least judging by myself, the most common yet often overlooked form of plagiarism on the Internet. Moreover, it is very difficult to detect. Most of the time, people are not even aware they are plagiarizing and they will be very surprised once you tell them (I am the perfect example).

To fight and prevent plagiarism, there isn’t much you can do. Possibly the only deterrent is to inform and educate about this problem more and more people. Awareness is the the most important first step.

For detailed information about plagiarism in general (mainly about school plagiarism though) you can visit www.plagiarism.org.