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CTVA 100: Introduction to Mass Communication

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using facts or ideas from another source without attribution, thereby presenting it as original work.

Adapted from CSUN Policies and Procedures

 

Tips

Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism:

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Adapted from: Vega García, S.A. (2012). Understanding plagiarism: Information literacy guide. Iowa State University. Retrieved  from http://instr.iastate.libguides.com/content.php?pid=10314. [Accessed February 8, 2018]

Do You Need to Cite AI?

Is AI a Source or a Finding Tool? 

When using the AI research tools recommended on this site, you will cite the sources you found using the tool, not the AI tool itself. This is similar to how using OneSearch, you cite the sources you find, not OneSearch, in your work.  

Standard writing practice is to trace the source of a piece of information back to original source. Since Generative AI always draws on other sources and is not a source of original information, you are responsible for fact-checking the information and determining if the sources it provided are credible. 

Moreover, generative AI may produce citations or quotes within their content. or hallucinated information with phantom citations. If AI provides you with a source, use the library's OneSearch. to try and locate the material to evaluate. 

Citing your sources (MLA and Chicago)

APA Style Guides, 7th edition

APA stands for American Psychological Association and is the citation style most commonly used in social and behavioral sciences, inclduing fields like psychology, education, sociology, and business.

Basic APA Formatting Guidelines 

  • Reference list entries are alphabetized by author’s last name or equivalent.
  • Reference lists are doubled spaced with a hanging 1/2 inch indent after the first line of each entry
  • References (in bold) should appear at the top center of the page.
  • When referring to books, chapters, articles, or webpage titles, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns
  • Cite up to the first 20 authors. Separate the authors name with a comma, and place the & symbol prior to the last name. 
    • Example: Last, F. M., Last, F. M., & Last, F. M.
  • In-text citations are placed directly after the quote or paraphrase. Information needed: (Author's Last Name, Year, page number). 
    • Parenthetical citation: “Direct quote” (Furlong, 2015, p.25).
    • Narrative citation, if the author is mentioned in the sentence, place the year after the last name and the page number after the quote. Example: Furlong (2015) found that “direct quote” (p. 25)

View the APA Style website for additional style and grammar guidelines.

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