The Internet – It Can Get You In Trouble

Talking to people, they think the Internet is just a wealth of information.  And they are right.  What they also think is that the information is free reign to do as they please.  This is where they are wrong.

Just as one needs to cite their research papers to give credit where credit is do, one needs to site where they got their information from on the Internet.  One good reference that all of us ESC students should be familiar with is Citing-Document Sources.  There are many other helpful websites too that can be found on the Internet depending if you are in need of MLA style or APA style.  According to the Cornell University Online Library (2011, Cornell) there are citation management softwares available, such as RefWorks and EndNote that will help you to build your citing references.

The reason to cite your references is to avoid plagiarism.  Plagiarism is a serious offense and can result in some hefty ramifications, ranging from a failing grade to expulsion depending on your center of studies.  During my research on plagiarism (2011, plagiarism), I can across some interesting facts.  According to the Center of Academic Integrity, students actually admitted to cheating and are you ready for the shocking percentage – 80%.  The next fact shows that plagiarism is a growing concern.  According to the Free Press in 1969 only 58.3% of high school students allowed others to copy their work.  In just 20 years, that number grew to an alarming number of 97.5%.  Besides for the risks involved with plagiarism, you will never learn from cheating and isn’t that what we are all here to do – learn?  I know I can honestly say that I have never plagiarized (I many have cited wrongly).  Can you?

Diagram courtesy of library.csusm.edu

References

Cornell University Library. "Citation Management." Cornell University Library. Cornell University, 2011. 19 February 2011 Web.

http://www.library.cornell.edu/services/citing.html

“What is Plagiarism?”  Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_plagiarism.html