Information on Plagiarism
Provided below are several links to web resources that contain important information for psychology students to use when writing papers. The first set of links provide information on using American Psychological Association (APA) style. Students also should purchase or borrow a copy of the APA Publication Manual (5th edition) for use when writing psychology papers. This book may be purchased at the bookstore, via Amazon.com, or directly from APA (click here). Another good book that can help students learn to use sources appropriately is:
Harris, R. A. (2002). Using sources effectively: Strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing.
It can be ordered from the publisher at Pyrczak Publishing, P.O. Box 39731, Los Angeles, CA. Fax (818) 246-1277. To order on-line or e-mail the publisher, click here (look under “writing”).
The second set of links provides information about defining and avoiding plagiarism. These links include web sites from other universities, so you can ignore references to particular schools’ policies or procedures. Click here for details on WVU’s policy and procedures related to academic dishonesty.
These resources provide information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid intentional or unintentional plagiarism. The resources provide a number of examples of plagiarized material and material that is appropriately referenced, paraphrased, or summarized. You should read these materials to help you understand what plagiarism is and how to best protect yourself from a charge of plagiarism. Note that some of the examples use a referencing style that is different from APA style; be sure to use APA style in your own psychology-related writing.
In some cases your instructor may ask you to complete a quiz on this material. Carefully reading this material will insure that you do well on the quiz and that you thoroughly understand how to present the words and ideas of others in your writing without plagiarizing.
Resources on APA style
APA site with information about APA style
APA style summary (Wisconsin)
APA style summary (Purdue) (This site also contains a lengthy list of on-line and other resources related to writing.)
Resources on plagiarism
Establishing Authorship (Alverno College)
Avoiding Plagiarism (Purdue)
Plagiarism and Student Writing (University of Washington)
On Plagiarism (Lebanon Valley College)
What is Plagiarism? (Georgetown University)
Avoiding Plagiarism in Psychological Writing (Monmouth University)
