Floyd Talbot's Blog - Posts Tagged "citation"
Plagiarism and Copyright
Writing arises from one's own creative efforts. One principle all writers learn early, especially if they earned a degree or three from a university, is that nothing "under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9) is absolutely original. One's ideas build upon those of the past. That is, what has been said reverberates to the present through the ideas of so many books and articles. Present authors just freshen up what others wrote with their own ideas they developed over time in learning from others. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes stated in whole, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun" (1:9)
So, is there no originality? To a certain extent. We all provide a slant on other people's observations and integrate them into our own, but we give due credit when necessary for that person's creative efforts. Even our observations come about from biases we gather in interactions with others over the years. This does not mean that we do not have fresh ideas to share in a unique manner through books, articles, or other media.
We must take care what we write, and give due credit to others for ideas we place on paper or the computer screen for publication. Claiming what others have written for our own plagiarizes. This type of writing steals from others, because it fails to give due credit to them for the ideas they spent time developing and publishing.
When you write, insure that you check copyright law to prevent from overstepping the bounds into plagiarism. Such laws spell out the specific amount you can cite from other authors without obtaining permission. Even after receiving permission, excessive use of another's published work could bleed over into plagiarism or unfair use. Copyright law includes what is known as "fair use," which stipulates how much material may be used from another author.
Some time ago, an author appropriated too much material from another author and ran afoul of copyright law. This author had to pay a substantial penalty for this action and offer a written apology. It pays to know the rules and laws. It also pays not to be sloppy or even deceitful in claiming another's work as yours.
A Christian minister recently appropriated a substantial amount of material from another pastor's presentations and sermons. He is now embroiled in being known as a plagiarist not only by his colleagues but also by the secular media. He tarnished his reputation among his colleagues and in the wider world.
While plagiarism and copyright are different, they overlap. An author must take care in performing a survey of the literature in the context of his or her ideas. If you use published material without proper citation, you will be caught, whether the material has its source from books, articles, blogs, or websites. You must offer a citation of the work for the material you quote. If the quotation is beyond a certain number of words, you must seek written permission.
The Christian minister mentioned more than likely never obtained written permission although he said he received verbal permission. That remains plagiarism and perhaps also copyright infringement. He also used a large amount of material from the other pastor's PowerPoint. That is plagiarism.
Write well but cite well, also.
So, is there no originality? To a certain extent. We all provide a slant on other people's observations and integrate them into our own, but we give due credit when necessary for that person's creative efforts. Even our observations come about from biases we gather in interactions with others over the years. This does not mean that we do not have fresh ideas to share in a unique manner through books, articles, or other media.
We must take care what we write, and give due credit to others for ideas we place on paper or the computer screen for publication. Claiming what others have written for our own plagiarizes. This type of writing steals from others, because it fails to give due credit to them for the ideas they spent time developing and publishing.
When you write, insure that you check copyright law to prevent from overstepping the bounds into plagiarism. Such laws spell out the specific amount you can cite from other authors without obtaining permission. Even after receiving permission, excessive use of another's published work could bleed over into plagiarism or unfair use. Copyright law includes what is known as "fair use," which stipulates how much material may be used from another author.
Some time ago, an author appropriated too much material from another author and ran afoul of copyright law. This author had to pay a substantial penalty for this action and offer a written apology. It pays to know the rules and laws. It also pays not to be sloppy or even deceitful in claiming another's work as yours.
A Christian minister recently appropriated a substantial amount of material from another pastor's presentations and sermons. He is now embroiled in being known as a plagiarist not only by his colleagues but also by the secular media. He tarnished his reputation among his colleagues and in the wider world.
While plagiarism and copyright are different, they overlap. An author must take care in performing a survey of the literature in the context of his or her ideas. If you use published material without proper citation, you will be caught, whether the material has its source from books, articles, blogs, or websites. You must offer a citation of the work for the material you quote. If the quotation is beyond a certain number of words, you must seek written permission.
The Christian minister mentioned more than likely never obtained written permission although he said he received verbal permission. That remains plagiarism and perhaps also copyright infringement. He also used a large amount of material from the other pastor's PowerPoint. That is plagiarism.
Write well but cite well, also.
