Plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using someone else's material and pretending you created it yourself.

Two examples:

Plagiarism can also happen by accident. Example: You copied a piece of text from an article or a newspaper and you forget to mention the source. Although this is accidental, it is still plagiarism. So you remain responsible for this.

Not everything is plagiarism. Some things are common knowledge and it is not (or no longer) clear who the originator is. For example, "The earth rotates on its own axis in 24 hours."

This knowledge is so general that there is no need to mention who ever discovered that the earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours.
Note! When in doubt about whether something is general knowledge, always give the source where you found the information.

Plagiarism Scanner

The UvA uses electronic detection programs (Ephorus, Turnitin, Ouriginal) to check what information you wrote yourself and what information was borrowed from other sources. These plagiarism scanners search websites, scholarly articles and student papers for this purpose.

It is usually okay to use information from other sources, but be sure to include a source statement. If you do not include a source citation, you are committing plagiarism.

Many courses have rules regarding the ratio of your own text to the use of other people's texts, for example, "A report should consist of only 10% citations." Keep a close eye on this ratio while writing. In the report from the plagiarism scanner, the teacher can see the ratio exactly.

Sanctions

The reports you write for your studies should reflect your own ideas and opinions. Of course, you may use the information of others. The condition is that you clearly state your sources (see citing sources) and that most of your report consists of your own text.
If you violate someone else's copyright, for example by not citing sources, you run the risk of having your report rejected. In serious cases, you may even be expelled from the program.

Solutions

You can avoid plagiarism. Make sure you pay attention and think carefully while writing about which ideas are your own, which ideas are common knowledge, and which ideas you borrow from someone else. Are you using someone else's material? Always cite the source.

See also source attribution.

Illustratie door Jurriaan Gorter, gepubliceerd onder een Creative Commons Naamsvermelding 3.0 Nederland licentie