Module 7 - Information Ethics: Citing Sources and Fair Use

Citing Sources

When you quote or paraphrase the idea of another person in your research paper or speech, you must provide a proper citation for the source in a bibliography or list of references to:

1. give credit to the author or creator and
2. enable a reader to locate the source you cited.

Providing references for sources you used also lends credibility to your work, especially if you use authoritative sources. Be sure to provide full citations to all types of sources you use, including:

• books
• articles
• Internet sources
• interviews
• government documents
• nonprint media (videotapes, audiotapes, pictures and images)
• software.

Plagiarism

If you use ideas, facts, phrases, or maps, charts, artwork, or computer programs of others and do not give them credit by providing proper references to their work, you are committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is stealing someone else's ideas and presenting them as your own. Plagiarism also includes using paraphrased or quoted information from a source without proper documentation. Using quoted information without putting it in quotes (or indenting long quotes) is also considered plagiarism, regardless of whether the source is cited.

Cliff Notes, Masterplots, and other study aids must be treated as a source: i.e., if you use them (which is not recommended by the Humanities Division faculty), you must cite them.

Plagiarism is an honor code violation and a federal crime. This offense can follow a student into their professional life. The 2000-2001 Mississippi University for Women Bulletin states: "A student who violates university, division, and/or course policies regarding plagiarism will receive a grade of "0" (zero) for the assignment." See the Bulletin for other comments.

Flagrant Acts of Plagiarism

     For flagrant acts of plagiarism where the intent to plagiarize is clear, such as turning in 
     another student's work as one's own or copying significant portions of published material 
     without documenting sources, the faculty member may assign a grade of "0" on the work and 
     request that the case proceed immediately to the Academic Standards Board for disciplinary 
     action.

Style Manuals

When citing sources, be sure to use a conventional bibliographic style. Most disciplines have a standard style that writers are expected to use. Each style will specify a uniform way of citing sources that will give an orderly appearance to your bibliography and provide all the essential elements of information that a reader will need to locate the source. A citation must include:

APA Style

Style Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: APA, 1994. (Ref BF76.7 .A46 1994)

This book presents APA style requirements and provides examples for all types of information sources.

APA Style (Use Adobe Acrobat to view and print.)

Abbreviated 2-page guide that gives examples for types of sources most commonly cited.

Web Extension to American Psychological Association Style

Gives instructions on how to cite Internet resources of all kinds.

Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1993. (Ref Z253 .C57 1993)

Comprehensive guide to preparing manuscripts for publishing.

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed. by Kate Turabian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. (Ref LB2369 T8 1996)

Chicago Style (Use Adobe Acrobat to view and print.)

Abbreviated 2-page guide that gives examples for types of sources most commonly cited.

MLA Style

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 1995. (Ref LB2369 G53 1995)

The MLA style set forth in this book is used by writers in the humanities.

MLA Style (Use Adobe Acrobat to view and print.)

Abbreviated 2-page guide with examples for types of sources most commonly cited.

Citing Electronic Materials with the New MLA Guidelines

Tells how to cite all kinds of electronic sources.

Observing Copyright and Fair Use

• purpose and character of the use,
• nature of the copyrighted work,
• amount of material to be copied, and
• market effect.

Public Domain

• Materials on which copyright has expired.
• Materials in which the author never claimed copyright, i.e., "dedicated to the public."
• Materials produced by the federal government (code section 105).

Terms of Copyrighted Materials

• Code Section 202
• Personal Author Life + 50 years
• Corporate Author 75 years after published
• Visual Art created after 1990 Life of the Artist (Section 106A)

Reproduction of Materials by Libraries and Archives

It is not infringement for a library, archives or their employees acting within the scope of their employment to reproduce no more than one copy of a work and distribute it if: (1)The reproduction and distribution is made without direct or indirect commercial advantage. (2) The collection is either open to the public or to researchers doing research in the same field. (3) The reproduction and distribution of the work contains a notice of copyright.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. 37 C.F.R. §201.14

Reserve Materials

• Only one copy is distributed to each student.
• The material includes a copyright notice on the first page of the portion of material photocopied.
• The students are not assessed any fee beyond the actual cost of photocopying.
• Single copying for teachers at his/her request for scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
  • A chapter from a book.
  • An article from a newspaper or periodical.
  • A short story, essay or short poem.
  • A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.
• Multiple Copies for Classroom Use (not for personal use such as on a Web page)
• Brevity- Poetry: A poem should be less than 250 words or an excerpt of 250 words from a longer poem.
• Prose: A complete article or essay if less than 2,500 words or an excerpt of not more than 1000 words or 10% of a longer work.
• Illustration: one chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue.
• Spontaneity- The copying is by an individual teacher for classroom use. The copying decision came up quickly and the instructor has not had time to request permission.
• Cumulative Effect: The copying is for only one course and is in the university in which the copies are made. Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, not more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term. No more than nine instances of multiple copying for one course during one class term is allowed.
• Copying shall not: Substitute for the purchase of books; be directed by high authority, or be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
• Exempted Performances & Displays (Section 110)
• (Relevant to Libraries) All works covered-video's, cassettes, plays, etc.
• Non-profit educational institution.
• Face to face teaching activity.
• In a "classroom" use.
• Copy must have been lawfully made.

Computer Programs (Section 117)

1. It is an essential step to utilize that program in conjunction with a machine, i.e., to load it on a hard disk;
2. When it is for archival purposes.

INTERNET/WEB

Articles should never be copied to a person's personal Web page. The copyright law allows for linking of all information. Therefore, if a student or faculty member discovers an article or page or any information they would like to have on a personal Web page, the proper method for handling this access is by linking to that information. That shows ownership of the information and does not put the person in the position of acquiring the information without permission.

MUW students and Faculty do not need permission to download articles from databases such as EBSCOHOST to their email accounts. The Library has paid for permission to use articles for research and scholarship with our subscription to the database vendors. However, these articles cannot be placed in their entirety on a Web page as this would provide access without permission. As previously stated, linking to articles is permissible and should be the method used when sharing access to information with others.

Destruction/Theft of Library Materials

(1)       It shall be unlawful for any person to remove library materials, without authorization, 
          from the premises wherein such materials are maintained or to retain possession of library 
          materials without authorization.

(2)       It shall be unlawful for any person to wilfully mutilate library materials.

 

39-3-309. Penalties for violations of 39-3-303.