Nursing 6001 Foundations of Graduate Study

Week 3:  Discussion Post

Academic Integrity

My first experience using Grammarly and SafeAssign was initially very frustrating.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to access either site and spent an excessive amount of time just looking for the means to complete this assignment.  Fortunately, I had blocked a significant amount of time in my schedule this week to complete my class work.  In any event, I did manage to submit my assignment to both sites for review and had little to no feedback from either program.  I received a zero percent from SafeAssign and a few recommended substitutions for words that are frequently over used in writing from Grammarly.  Many other online writing resources exist; I was instantly drawn by a reference management program named Citavi.  The program is designed to help organize academic sources, quotations, and citation information.  The program allows for quotations and other information to be saved directly into a document. The program is free for up to 100 sources.

There is little difference in plagiarizing and paraphrasing. Paraphrasing simply means that you are not using the exact words of another person.  However, even if you use your own words, if you obtained the information or ideas from a source, you must site that source.  A few instances exist where it is acceptable (not plagiarizing) to repeat or where paraphrasing would be vebose and awkward for the reader, but this typically pertains to specific disciplines (like medicine) and genres (such as a scientific study).  In these instances, it is not considered stealing the unique phrasing of an individual writer by using a vocabulary commonly shared by a defined group of readers.

One way to avoid plagiarism is to include citations in your text that clearly state where you found the information. These notations are referred to as in-text citations. APA format stipulates that when citing in the text of your paper you should use the author’s name followed by the date of publication (APA, 2010, pg. 174). For example, if you were to cite  Sigmund Freud’s  book  The Interpretation of Dreams , you would use the following format: (Freud, 1900). The full citation should then appear in your reference section.

Another and less commonly known form plagiarism is self plagiarism. Plagiarism is commonly understood as the practice of representing the words, thoughts, ideas and concepts of others as your own whereas, self plagiarism applies to the practice of representing one’s own previously published work as if it were new (APA, 2010, pg. 170). Self plagiarism frequently occurs in academia and is usually against the institution’s policy. One example of self plagiarism in is when a student submits the same paper to two separate classes for duplicate credit.

In summary, when in doubt remember to cite all of your sources.  Many resources are readily available to assist you with the proper ways to format your work.  Additionally, Walden has a wide variety of tools to help you located in the Student Portal.

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Citavi Your Knowledge Toolkit https://www.citavi.com/en

SELF PLAGIARISM. THE DEFINITION. THE AVOIDANCE.// www.plagramme.com/self-plagiarism

1900.” PBS: A Scientific Oddysey: People and Discoveries. “ Freud’s Book , ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’