Erwin Library: Laboratory Technology, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, and Phlebotomy: Citations

Academic Integrity and Plagiarisn

Academic Integrity

All WCC students, are held to the same academic and conduct standards regardless of course format: online, hybrid or traditional. The WCC Academic Integrity and Student Code of Conduct Policies apply to all students.

From the 2018-2019 Wayne Community College Student Handbook:

Plagiarism may occur with respect to unpublished as well as published material. Intentional plagiarism is the act of representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own without providing proper attribution to the author through quotation, reference, or footnote. At the discretion of the instructor, any student who violates the academic integrity of the College will be subject to one or more of the following sanctions:

Student receives a grade of “0” on the assignment or test
Student receives “F” in course
Student is removed from program if they are enrolled in a limited enrollment program.

All violations of academic integrity must be reported to the instructor’s immediate supervisor. Students may be subject to the disciplinary procedures and sanctions described herein. All students have the right to appeal any decision by any decision by the instructor, dean, or designee according to the Grade Appeal Process.

Citations Basics

What is a Citation?

Not a result of speeding on the roadway in this case, but a way to avoid breaking the first law of scholarship: give credit where it is due!
A concise record, or documentation, of the book, article, video, image, or even an interview that you have used in your research, generally including:
- author(s)
- title(s) of article, book, web page, periodical or journal
- place of publication, publisher name, date of publication
- issue, volume, and page numbers
- date of access (online resource)

Why Cite?

To find the same book, article, or video that you have used for your research again, either for yourself or for another person examining your work
To avoid Plagiarism, which is taking credit for work and ideas not originally your own

When should I Cite?

Always cite your sources in-text, that is, in the text of your own paper, when you quote or summarize a book, article, interview, etc. that you have used
Always cite any source you've used to develop the ideas given in your own paper in a References page (APA), Works Cited page (MLA) or Bibliography, even if you do not need to give an in-text citation for it

Where do I get a Citation for a resource?

From parts of the work itself, such as a title page for a book or issue of a scholarly journal, which you then arrange according to an authorized print or online citation guide for the citation style you have been instructed to use (APA or MLA for example)
From citation information provided in most online databases for individual works, which you should then verify for punctuation and arrangement according an authorized print or online citation guide

Who can help me Cite correctly?

Authors of standard, authorized print or online Citation Guides, especially to verify the accuracy of citations retrieved from online databases
Your college instructor, who will tell you which Citation style to use (MLA or APA, for example)
A Reference Librarian

How sharp is your Plagiarism Sense?

Try this Plagiarism Practice Test from Indiana University School of Education and see if you know the answers
Not so sharp? Thankfully, many guides and websites give clear instructions on how to cite properly and avoid plagiarism.

Try the Erwin Library Tutorials, Citation and Subject Guides page for all of the resources already mentioned, and more

Online Resource - How to Recognize Plagiarism - IU School of Education Have any trouble with the quiz mentioned above? This resource from IU Libraries will describe the different types of plagiarism and how to avoid them. Try the old version or go to the new 2016 Quiz!
Online Resource - Plagiarism Practice Tests Try this test from the IU School of Education. Hint: If it's plagiarism at Indiana University, it's pretty much a dead cert that it's plagiarism at Wayne Community College.

Online Citation Guides

Purdue's OWL: MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual Style Guides

Created and maintained by Purdue University, this Online Writing Lab (OWL) is an excellent resource for learning to use the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), or the Chicago Manual of Style citation style for documenting your research resources.

The site includes many specific examples of in-text citations, as well as formatting rules for the Works Cited (MLA style) and References (APA style) pages. Navigate the OWL website using the toolbar to the left of the screen.

APA Style Blog

Written by experts on APA documentation style, this blog can be used as a helpful companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Blog entries cover difficult-to-cite materials in APA style, grammar and writing in APA, and other related questions. For example, click on the recent topic Block Quotations to find a brief article covering how to use and properly format block quotations.

UNC Libraries Citation Tutorial

Edited and maintained by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries this website covers MLA citation style, often used for research in the humanities; APA citation style, used for the social sciences; Chicago Manual of Style, used for history and related disciplines; and Council of Science Editors (CSE) style, used for the hard sciences. It also includes a Citation Builder tool, for creating either MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style citations.