UHL Quick Guide to Crediting Sources Why We Need to Credit Sources What Constitutes Plagiarism How to Use and Credit Sources By David Montgomery (December 2011) 1
Why We Need to Credit Sources Q: What do we mean by "crediting sources"? A: Providing the name, date and location of the sources of information and opinions that are used in our academic research and work assignments. Academic study necessarily involves interaction with other people's ideas and opinions, whether in private conversation, through course lectures or reading published works. In all cases, whenever we incorporate other people's work in our own study projects, it is necessary to give credit to the sources we use. This is important for at least four reasons: 1. We need to be able to demonstrate to ourselves, our peers and our teachers that we are capable of interacting with other people's opinions in a responsible and scholarly way. 2. The quality and breadth of the sources used in our work demonstrates the amount of effort invested in it, as well as the range of opinion and the likely reliability of the information on which it is based. In short, it gives an indication of the quality of our own work. 3. We need to ensure that the sources used in our work can be retrieved and verified, both by ourselves and others. This is not just academic protocol but serves a purpose: it enables other scholars to carry out research in the same area, and enables us to return to a source to check a citation or a piece of information, or reconsider an opinion in the light of new information. 4. There is an important ethical and legal aspect involved: if we use other people's ideas or work without acknowledging the source, whether consciously or unconsciously, we are guilty of intellectual property theft, or what is called "plagiarism." What Constitutes Plagiarism Plagiarism is the uncredited use of any intellectual material in any form which originates outside of you and is not common knowledge, with or without the intention to deceive. A simple definition of the above terms will make clear what is and is not plagiarism. Intellectual material includes words, drawings and pictures, photographs, audio and visual material, and ideas. The form of the intellectual material includes verbal expression (e.g., conversation, lecture, interview), printed matter, audio or visual media, and all hand-made works. Common knowledge is any widely known myth or accepted fact. It is not necessary to have the intention to pass off the work of others as your own in order to be guilty of plagiarism; it can happen through carelessness or misunderstanding of what plagiarism is, e.g., by forgetting to enclose quoted words in quotation marks, or by paraphrasing a text too closely (see below). NB It is not necessary to credit work which is the result of your own experience, observation, opinion, experimentation, or creativity. 2
The policy of the University of the Holy Land is summarized in the following extract from the Catalogue: Plagiarism, the intentional use of ideas and writings taken from another source without proper credit, is a serious offence... For repeated violations, UHL reserves the right to expel the student. (UHL Catalogue 2011-2012, Student Disciplinary Policy, 18-19) How to Use and Credit Sources Direct quotations, paraphrases and summaries of other people's work all need to be credited appropriately. The following gives guidelines for each category. Quoting directly Direct quotations from other sources should be used sparingly. An appropriate, well-placed quotation from a reliable source can add clarity, weight and authority to an argument. The use of too many quotations diminishes their force and effectiveness, and may become distracting. Quotations are there to reinforce your own words and ideas, not to replace them. Generally, quotations should be short (two lines or less) and enclosed in quotation marks. Quotations of five lines or more should be inset and do not need to be enclosed in quotation marks (see below). The source reference is given in shortened form either within the text or in a footnote or endnote, with the complete reference in the bibliography. Paraphrasing A paraphrase, in which you rewrite someone else's words or idea using your own words, still needs to be credited. In general, it is best to avoid paraphrasing long passages from other people's work because it is too easy to make the mistake of paraphrasing too closely. A paraphrase in which only a few words are changed, or the sentence order is altered, and for which no credit is given, is plagiarism. Summarizing It is often necessary to refer to someone else's idea or opinion in summarized form. Even though it is not enclosed in quotation marks, it still needs to be referenced appropriately. The Basics of Using and Crediting Sources To demonstrate the different ways in which we incorporate sources in our writing, we will use an extract from J.A.T. Robinson's Redating the New Testament. Direct Quotation If our passage were to be quoted in full, it would look like this: 1 Closely connected with the supposed requirements of development is the manifold tyranny of unexamined assumptions. Even (perhaps most of all) in their reactions against each other, different schools of critics take these over 1 J.A.T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1976), 345. This footnote is in SBL Style (see below), the first line indented by a half inch (1.27 cm), and single spaced. In general, the credit given in a footnote is less detailed than the full publishing information which will appear in the Bibliography. See the SBL Style Guide for full details. 3
from their predecessors, and of course individual commentators and writers of introductions take them over from each other. Fashions and critical orthodoxies are established which it becomes as hard to go against in this field as in any other. DAVID, SHOULDN T THE FOOTNOTE NUMBER ABOVE BE PLACED HERE, SO THAT THEY REALIZE THAT THE INDENTED QUOTATION NEEDS A REFERENCE? ALSO, THE QUOTE SHOULD BE INDENTED FROM BOTH SIDES (I ADJUSTED THE MARGIN). FINALLY, I CHANGED THE FONT SO THE EXAMPLES STAND OUT MORE CLEARLY FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS. A quote of part of the extract, used in the course of argumentation, could look like this: J.A.T. Robinson exposes the danger, and pervasiveness, of "unexamined assumptions" in biblical scholarship, giving rise to "[f]ashions and critical orthodoxies... which it becomes as hard to go against in this field as in any other." 2 Paraphrase An unacceptable paraphrase of the complete passage quoted above might look like this: Another problem in biblical scholarship, closely related to the concept of 'development,' is the scourge of untested assumptions. Successive members of the various critical schools adopt assumptions from their predecessors and the writers of commentaries and introductions copy unthinkingly from one other. In this way, monolithic critical 'orthodoxies' become entrenched, which are almost impossible to reverse. If this passage were to appear as written, without credit to the original author, you would be guilty of plagiarism, since the paraphrase follows the original too closely. An acceptable paraphrase might look like this (but it would still need to be credited): Aside from the elusive phenomenon of 'development,' some scholars cite the danger of uncritically-accepted assumptions. These tend to be perpetuated in successive generations of scholars, and reproduced in the study tools on which much of the church's theology is founded, resulting in entrenched, and almost unassailable, critical positions. 3 Summary In summarizing another scholar, it is important to follow their meaning, and not to make them say something they did not say. For example, the following would be an inaccurate summary: J.A.T. Robinson claims that much critical scholarship is based on untested assumptions. 3 Although the source has been properly credited here, the summary distorts the author's words. A more accurate summary, combined with direct quotation, might be the following: J.A.T. Robinson alerts us to the way in which "unexamined assumptions" are perpetuated in biblical scholarship and can foster entrenched critical positions. 3 Paper and Citation Styles 2 J.A.T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1976), 345. This footnote is separated from the previous one by a single line space. 3 See J.A.T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1976), 345. 4
There are different styles used in scholarship for writing papers and citing sources. UHL uses APA (American Psychological Association) or SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) style. For APA Style see www.apastyle.org or http//owl.english.purdue.edu and www.sbl-site.org for SBL style. The full SBL style guide is available online to SBL members, or in printed form (SBL Handbook of Style, published by Hendrickson, 1999). There is a free downloadable Student Supplement to the SBL guide available on their website which gives a helpful summary for students writing term papers. SBL style uses footnotes for source credits. In APA style, the credit can be integrated into the text, as follows (with the full reference included in the bibliography): Robinson (1976) has pointed out the dangers of "unexamined assumptions" (p. 345). The dangers and prevalence of "unexamined assumptions" are well known (Robinson, 1976, p. 345). Other Sources Used in Compiling This Resource Sue Thompson, Toni Olivas, "Plagiarism Prevention for Students," California State University, San Marcos, n.p. [accessed 23 December 2011]. Online: http://library.csusm.edu/plagiarism/index.html Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, "Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it," n.p. [accessed 23 December 2011]. Online: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml 5