Chemistry Seminar - Fall 2022 (21:160:453 / 26:160:601)

Plagiarism is defined as stealing and using the ideas of another as one's own.  In the academic world, this is considered a very serious charge and, for students, it can lead to dismissal, and, for faculty, it can result in the loss of one's job and/or one's standing in the profession.  When we discussed bibliographies as a test for a reliable information source, we expected the citations to be an accurate reflection of the item's content.  If they are not, how can we make an informed decision?  Plagiarism can be avoided by precision in citing your sources.  When in doubt, cite!

Please take a look at the items below:

Style manuals can help you with citing your sources.  These manuals have been developed by professional associations as well as edited publications to provide standardized formats for authors to report their research results and for readers' convenience and greater understanding.   Examples of style manuals include those listed along the left panel, as well as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style), The Chicago Manual of Style, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Modern Language Association/MLA style), and The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage.  Students often find applying style manuals to their papers more than a challenge.  To help out, below are some excellent web sites to provide more information.

Some journals may prefer a special style.  You will typically find detailed information about its preferences under the "Information for Authors" section.  While this information used to be published in every issue, journals now include "Information for Authors" on their Web sites.

Citation managers can be a great help with organizing, retrieving, storing, citing, and sharing references!