Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s original creative work or ideas without giving credit to the original creator. This is considered a breach of ethics, as it conflicts with the accepted rules and conventions of academia and publishing in both the physical and digital realms.
Plagiarism is most often recognised in the form of literary theft, but other forms are possibe such as music, video, artwork, software, and code. For instance, writing a computer program without noting the authorship of an original source would be a form of plagiarism.
Authors must provide quotation marks for words and phrases from another source, as well as providing accurate sources for all information presented as part of a larger work. If a work is found to be plagiaristic, the guilty party may be subjected to penalties or fines, and in some cases, criminal charges.
Unintentional plagiarism may also be subject to these consequences, and any individual or professional user of the digital space should take extra caution to make sure that they properly attribute any of their own work, and exercise vigilance when copying the work of others. Instances where quotes or paraphrasing are used may require the addition of disclaimers or other safeguards to protect the original source.
Ultimately, understanding the ethical implications and risks of plagiarism, as well as having an understanding of the proper conventions for attribution and quotation, is the best way to ensure that digital users remain in compliance with accepted standards of practice.
