Simply put, plagiarism is the submission or presentation of work, in any form, that is not one's own, without acknowledgment of the sources. Plagiarism may occur through incorrect documentation of sources, failure to cite sources altogether, or by paraphrasing improperly. Always provide appropriate citations for all quotations, summaries, paraphrases, or any other work that is borrowed from others.
When you use another person's words or ideas without clearly acknowledging the source of your information and giving proper credit, you are committing plagiarism. You must provide appropriate citations for all quotations, summaries, paraphrases, or any other work that is borrowed from others.
Plagiarism is considered unethical and in some cases illegal. At Buffalo State, plagiarism is considered academic misconduct and is taken very seriously. The library offers style guides to help students give proper credit to the works they are citing. Style guides also ensure that the necessary information is included in a citation to allow others to find the material cited.
Turnitin.com is a web-based service that instructors may use to deter and detect plagiarism. Your instructor may utilize this service for source verification of student papers. If your professor requires your class to submit papers to Turnitin.com, and you have questions about submitting your work, please contact your professor, or view the Turnitin Student Instructions. Faculty will find information about Turnitin on the Electronic Learning Office web page, Faculty Resources.
All students are expected to display honesty and integrity in completing course requirements and college academic regulations. Academic misconduct refers to plagiarism or cheating on examinations or assignments, and is inconsistent with the aims and goals of Buffalo State. Specifically, students may neither use the work of another individual without proper acknowledgment nor perform work for another individual. Other examples of inappropriate academic conduct include prior acquisition or possession of an examination or submission of false data. As a result of a sustained allegation of academic misconduct, a low or failing grade for part or all of the coursework may be given to the student, at the discretion of the instructor. No penalty for an alleged instance of academic misconduct may be imposed unless the student has been apprised of the allegation, the penalty, and the procedures of due process that are available.
The AP Stylebook is a writing style guide for journalists. It is published and updated annually to reflect changes in writing style and new guidelines.
Updated regularly since its initial publication in 1953, the AP Stylebook is a must-have reference for writers, editors, students and professionals. It provides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. It is the definitive resource for journalists. Description from AP.
Search for information about AP style in this section, "Ask the Editor."
Examples from Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
When editors or teachers ask you to write in APA Style®, they are referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have adopted to present written material in the field. APA Style was first developed 80 years ago by a group of social scientists who wished to establish sound standards of communication. Description from APA.
A help sheet provided by E. H. Butler Library.
This PowerPoint seminar, based on the sixth edition of the APA manual, was created by Angela L. Patti and Colleen A. Wilkinson, instructors in the Exceptional Education Department.
Homepage of the American Psychological Association's style guide including information on electronic references.
Examples from Purdue University.
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref BF76.7 .P83 2010 may be borrowed for two hours from the Reserve desk.
The fifth edition of the ASA Style Guide is the authoritative reference for writing, submitting, editing, and copyediting manuscripts for ASA journals and other publications following ASA's unique format. Description from ASA.
Quick Tips for ASA Style
From the American Sociological Association.
The Chicago Manual of Style, used primarily in literature, history, and the arts, presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.
The Chicago Manual of Style offers this guide with examples and a link to questions and answers.
Examples from Purdue University.
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref Z253 .U69 2003
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref LB2369 .T8 2007
The MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association, the authority on MLA documentation style. Widely adopted by universities, colleges, and secondary schools, the MLA Handbook gives step-by-step advice on every aspect of writing research papers, from selecting a topic to submitting the completed paper.
The Modern Language Association's website includes a link to MLA style with a list of frequently asked questions.
Examples from Cornell University for citing sources in the text and a works cited list.
Examples from the latest edition of the MLA style from Purdue University.
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref LB2369 .G53 2009 may be borrowed for two hours from the Reserve desk.
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref QD8.5 .A25 2006
Political science style manual provided by The Policy Studies Organization.
This second edition, published online in 2007, is continuously updated.
Reference book in E. H. Butler Library. Call number: Ref T11 .S386 1994
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Formatting style guides are available for APA, MLA, and Chicago.
An interactive Web tool to help format citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles.
The new RefWorks increases researcher productivity by simplifying the research experience. RefWorks allows researchers to gather, organize, read, and cite their research materials. It also makes it easy to collaborate with others on joint projects.
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network. Make your own fully-searchable library in seconds, cite as you write, and read and annotate your PDFs on any device.
Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself.
EndNote is a personal citation/bibliography manager software program. EndNote helps researchers organize references in a database, which can be used to format citation and create bibliographies automatically in word processing software.
Download EndNote (Buffalo State students, faculty, & staff)
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources used in your research with a summary for each cited source. Provided by E. H. Butler Library.
Preparing an Annotated Bibliography (PDF, 107K)
Get the facts on copyright law, and find multimedia sources for your projects and reports.
Copyright Education for Students (PDF, 3.8MB)
See also: U. S. Copyright Law and Fair-Use Guidelines for Books and Periodicals.
