The ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, effectively use, and communicate information in its various formats
Components of information literacy
Identify
Find
Evaluate
Apply
Acknowledge
Plagiarism
Using other people's words and ideas without clearly acknowledging the source of the information
Common knowledge
Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be widely known
Interpretation
You must document facts that are not generally known, or ideas that interpret facts
Quotation
Using someone's words directly. When you use a direct quote, place the passage between quotation marks, and document the source according to a standard documenting style
Paraphrase
Using someone's ideas, but rephrasing them in your own words. Although you will use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge and cite the source of the information
Plagiarism has legal implications. While ideas themselves are not copyrightable, the artistic expression of an idea automatically falls under copyright when it is created
Under fair use, small parts may be copied without permission from the copyright holder
Even under fair use, you must attribute the original source
What is considered fair use is rather subjective and can vary from country to country
Strategies in avoiding plagiarism
Submit your own work for publication (you need to cite even your own work)
Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text and cite the source
Paraphrase, but be sure that you are not simply rearranging or replacing a few words and cite the source
Keep a source journal, a notepad, or note cards- annotated bibliographies can be especially beneficial