Ethically Use Information

"Plagiarism disembowels the entire experience of education. I view it with horror."

Kenneth Dauber

At this stage of research a student will be:

  • Writing a bibliography/works cited page.
  • Citing quotes and paraphrasing into the body of their paper.

Want a librarian to teach this and other competencies? Visit our Library Instruction page!

Discussing Plagiarism

Students are not sure what counts as plagiarism. For example, if they sum up a plot of a book, do they need to include a citation? Project Information Literacy has indicated that providing the grounds for citation in a class enables students to understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Here are some suggested questions for classroom discussion:

  • What do you think plagiarism is?
  • Do you know the University's policy on plagiarism?
  • Why is it inappropriate?
  • Can you name some examples of plagiarism?
  • Why might a student plagiarize?

Explain the need for citing in papers. If a student has questions during the writing process, encourage them to use the Writing Center for review of her paper before submission.

Plagiarism/Copyright Information

NKU's Steely Library has a Copyright & Plagiarism page dedicated to explaining copyright and plagiarism, including clear explanations of the educational fair use law. Designed by Librarian John Schlipp, the page also has activities discussing plagiarism in the classroom (many activities are designed for the high school level but are adaptable to the college classroom).

You can click the link above or copy and paste this address: http://library.nku.edu/research_help/copyright_and_plagiarism/.

RefWorks

To help students keep track of citations and create a bibliography or works cited page, NKU has a subscription to the RefWorks citation program. A student will need to register to use RefWorks. Once she has done so, she will be able to export citations from a database into her RefWorks account.

The export option will be listed next to the title of an article result. It is usually listed next to her options to print or email an article.

We offer in-depth tutorials for using RefWorks @ NKU. For a quick introduction, try RefWorks in 60 seconds.

Application Example

Assignment: Determine Alexander Hamilton's role in shaping America

Research question: Why did Alexander Hamilton collaborate with James Madison and John Jay to write the Federalist Papers? Why did he feel it was necessary to write them?

During this stage, a student will:

  • Use RefWorks to manage citations and generate a bibliography
  • Check citations against APA's rules
  • Proof-read a paper for grammar and correct citations

Classroom Activities

Below are activities and handouts you can use in your classroom to show your students how to pick and define topics.

Library Tutorials

These tutorials are on the library web page and can be accessed at any time.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to Ask Steely Library!

Questions or comments about these pages can be directed to Ellie Jones.