Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Academy/Plagiarism and how to avoid it

Plagiarism is among the worst things that a user can be accused of. Plagiarism also hurts Wikipedia by providing ammunition to our critics and the media, who compare it to other sources of information.

On Wikipedia, plagiarism is a constant problem. Although much of our content traces its roots to public domain information, material is frequently copied and pasted to Wikipedia from web pages, books, magazines, and other sources that are not credited. The material is usually added by good-faith contributors, but when plagiarized and unsourced information is added to an article, it typically ends up being reverted by veteran editors.

Lastly, although not strictly the same, plagiarism is a good indicator of copyright infringement. Plagiarism is one of the fastest ways to endanger an article. If the material was plagiarized from a copyrighted source, the article will be reverted to the last good version or even deleted for copyright infringement. Due to the various legal issues surrounding copyright, the violating editor also finds themselves in trouble with the community. The user could face a wide variety of sanctions, ranging from a stern warning to blocking.

What follows below is a shortened and slightly edited version of "Let's get serious about plagiarism" by Awadewit, Elcobbola, Jbmurray, Kablammo, Moonriddengirl, and Tony1.

Definition
Plagiarism, as Wikipedia's article on the topic explains, "is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as one's own original work." At best it is intellectual sloppiness and at worst, an outright theft. It can bring the encyclopedia into disrepute. You should create your own articles, not adopt the work of others. But while this is an easy approach to recommend, plagiarism may not be as simple as it first seems—it is often committed inadvertently. The best way to prevent plagiarism is to understand clearly what it is, how to avoid it, and how to address it when it appears.

There are three major ways to plagiarize:
 * 1) Failing to acknowledge the source of quotations and borrowed ideas;
 * 2) Failing to clearly mark copied language with quotation marks;
 * 3) Failing to sufficiently adapt a summary or paraphrase and thus following the wording of a source too closely

To construct articles that read smoothly while still remaining faithful to their sources, it is essential to learn how to properly use other people's ideas and words. You need to know when to give credit, how to adapt source material so that it can be used in an article, and when to use quotations.

Quotation
When you want to use word-for-word excerpts from a source, there is one simple way to avoid plagiarism: use direct quotations. The words from the source should be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original, enclosed within quotation marks or in a block quote, and identified by an inline citation after the quotation.

Quotations should generally be used in the following situations:
 * "When language is especially vivid or expressive"
 * "When exact wording is needed for technical accuracy"
 * "When it is important to let the debaters of an issue explain their positions in their own words"
 * "When the words of an important authority lend weight to an argument"
 * "When the language of a source is the topic of your discussion"

Paraphrasing and summarizing
Adapting source text, whether by paraphrasing or summarizing (similar techniques that differ in level of detail), is a complex skill, and you need to be aware of the potential for inadvertent plagiarism. Many editors believe that by changing a few words here or there—or even by changing a great number of the words found in the original source—they have avoided plagiarism. This is not necessarily the case, and nor does the mere rearrangement of clauses, sentences, or paragraphs avoid the problem.

In this example, Wikipedia's article text is an attempt at paraphrasing the source. However, almost all of the original word choices, word order and sentence structure is retained.
 * Problems in paraphrasing

Source:
 * "A statement from the receiver, David Carson of Deloitte, confirmed that 480 of the 670 employees have been made redundant... At least 100 Waterford Crystal employees are refusing to leave the visitors' gallery at the factory tonight and are staging an unofficial sit-in. The employees say they will not be leaving until they meet with Mr Carson. There were some scuffles at one point and a main door to the visitors' centre was damaged ... Local Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Kelly, who is one of those currently occupying the visitors' gallery, said the receiver had told staff he would not close the company while there were interested investors."

Wikipedia article:
 * "A statement issued by the receiver, Deloitte's David Carson, confirmed that, of the 670 employees, 480 of them would be laid off. The workers responded angrily to this unexpected decision and at least 100 of them began an unofficial sit-in in the visitors' gallery at the factory that night. They insisted they would refuse to leave until they had met with Carson. Following the revelations, there was a minor scuffle during which the main door to the visitors' centre was damaged. Local Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Kelly was amongst those who occupied the visitors' gallery."

Analysis:
 * "A statement issued by the receiver, Deloitte's David Carson, confirmed that, of the 670 employees, 480 of them would be laid off" vs. "A statement from the receiver, David Carson of Deloitte, confirmed that 480 of the 670 employees have been made redundant." – The structure of Wikipedia's statement is essentially the same as the original. Changing a single word and slightly reordering one phrase is not enough to constitute a legitimate paraphrase.
 * "They insisted they would refuse to leave until they had met with Carson" vs. "The employees say they will not be leaving until they meet with Mr Carson." – The structure of this sentence is the same.
 * "there was a minor scuffle during which the main door to the visitors' centre was damaged" vs. "There were some scuffles at one point and a main door to the visitors' centre was damaged." – The structure and language of the two sentences are the same.
 * "Local Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Kelly was amongst those who occupied the visitors' gallery" vs. "Local Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Kelly, who is one of those currently occupying the visitors' gallery." – This slight rewording does not change the fact that the underlying structure and language are the same. Minor changes, such as "was amongst those" --> "is one of those" and "occupied" --> "currently occupying," are not enough to constitute an original rewriting of the passage.

In terms of both plagiarism and copyright, the author of a text not only "owns" the precise, creative language he or she uses, but less tangible creative features of presentation, which may incorporate the structure of the piece and the choice of facts. In terms of plagiarism, but not copyright, the author also "owns" the facts or his or her interpretation of them, unless these are common knowledge. Revising to avoid plagiarism means completely restructuring a source in word choice and arrangement while giving due credit for the ideas and information taken from it.

Research and writing methods: tips for avoiding plagiarism
You can minimize the tendency to inadvertently plagiarize through several note-taking and drafting techniques.

1) Use multiple sources. You might find it difficult to avoid copying a source's language, structure, and selection of details if you rely on only one source; therefore, try to use multiple sources to construct the article you are working on.

2) Organize your notes by topic. You might find it difficult to rewrite a source if you copy and paste text from your sources directly into your working drafts; therefore, you should read and absorb the material and take notes in your own words, quoting only what you feel is important material. If you will only have access to the sources for a short time, you might want to quote extensively for archival purposes, but do this in a separate document: separate your notes and writing from this collection of quotes.

3) Write a draft in your own words designed around your own organizational schema. Rather than relying on the sources for organizational suggestions, wait until you have absorbed the material from all of your sources and thoughtfully considered your notes. This will help you develop an independent structure for your writing.

4) Check your draft against the sources. When you're finished, compare your draft with your source material (or your collection of quotes) to be sure you haven't accidentally used the author's original words.