LBSU
302
Week 6- Academic Integrity and Open
Access Articles
My Journey Continues…..
According to the website
plagiarism.org, 36% of college undergrads admit to paraphrasing and/or copying
from an internet source without siting it. I think that it is important to note
that this percentage is probably hugely distorted due to the fact that admitting
to plagiary is admitting to a crime.
This week’s readings were highly
informative for me. Although I was aware of the simple definition of plagiarism,
I did learn something new. Specifically, I didn’t know that each source could
have its own set of copyright terms. As a rule, I simply assumed that I could
use any information in my research as long as I sited it. With that said, I
have used many sources during my college education without searching for their
copyright terms and adhering to those terms. I am embarrassed of my ignorance,
however, now I can move forward with a better understanding and appreciation
for copyright laws and how they pertain to me on my research journey.
With my new knowledge, I set out this
week to find a source of information on my topic in Open Access Journals. It
proved to be the most challenging research assignment for me thus far. I had no
luck with the suggested online collections DOAJ and OAJSE, so I tried Google
Scholar Open Access with the same results. I resorted to just plain Google and
ended up with a great source! Although I had some trouble finding an Open
Access source I am pleased that I now know many locations on the WWW to find
free information. During my search I
looked very closely at each sources copyright terms and was shocked at what I saw.
For instance, one source stated in its terms that it could be used as a source
as long as no more than 500 characters were used, and of course, it was cited. I
had no idea that copyright restrictions could be so specific! Having this new
knowledge will forever change the way I look at information, as well as the way I use the information I find while doing research.
Thanks for reading my blog, and have
an amazing week!
Information retrieved on 12-6-2015 from the following URL:
http://www.plagiarism.org/
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a really good point the percentage could be inaccurate since most people would not want to admit to doing something wrong! I think it is great how much you learned from this week's readings, I too learned a lot. Don't be embarrassed about not knowing, I think it is a pretty common thing for people to not know, and like you said, now you know and can cite things knowing you are doing it correctly!
I was also unaware of copyright terms before this weeks assignments. I was under the impression "as long as you cite it, you can use it." It is very good information to know. I also agree with you about that percentage. I thought it would have been a lot higher.At least 50%. Great post and keep up the good work.
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