Combating Plagiarism – part 3
Accurate citation of authors
In the body of a research paper where you utilize most the ideas of others like great author, make sure to state accurately who really said this and that to avoid confusing the readers. This is more important when you refer to various authors and experts. It is when ideas from them and yours are mixed up that you find it hard to show which are really from this author and which are from that person and which are from yours. In instances where you have to use pronouns to refer to your sources, you have to make sure that there will be no puzzle in identifying who you are referring to. Due credit to the authors are important and readers must not be confused whom to give this credit.
Correct paraphrasing
One way to convey the idea of others in your research paper is to paraphrase it. Paraphrasing is simply modifying the statement of your source by using your own terms and altering the sentence structure but still retaining the main idea of that statement. Moreover, when you paraphrase, it does not mean that you can already own that concept as yours. This still require proper citation of your sources so as not to be accused of plagiarism.
Paraphrasing is used to avoid so much direct quotations in a paper but to most students, this is purposely used to conceal the fact that they have used the ideas of others in their work. It is a stigma to them to let others know they have used someone elseТs idea to support their arguments. But what they do not know is that it would be much helpful if they explicitly admit referring and using the work of others so that they will have a stronger argument. This will also make the readers more convinced of the points and views you believe in especially when your sources are prominent and reliable experts. Using paraphrased statements in a paper is not bad as long as the sources are cited correctly and the authors are given due credit. Furthermore, paraphrased statements are significant to make your paper coherent and clear.
Assessment of all references
The information technology advances particularly the internet, and in this advent, it does not follow that everything found in the World Wide Web is correct. There is information which is wrong and there are sources which are not reliable. It is then very important to know what helpful websites to consult and who are the reliable authors to refer to. It is also suggested to know if these sources and information are updated and accurate so that there will be no problems in your paper especially when you are dealing with survey results, statistics in general.
