Internet sources

Students nowadays are just as likely to use the Internet to do their research as they are to make a trip to the library. It’s easier in many ways - there’s no need to leave home, often there’s more material available than in the library, and you can easily cut and paste sections from web pages into your assignments. If you’ve just read that last statement and alarm bells haven’t started ringing in your head, watch out! The Internet makes plagiarism even easier (and some people think harder to detect too). When you’re using Internet sources, you should be extra careful to put appropriate references in your work. Photos, drawings, and diagrams all count too - they need to be referenced as well. Complicating the whole issue is the fact that many websites themselves plagiarise by not referencing the sources of their information. If something is obviously not originally from the website and isn’t referenced, you should make a good effort to find a legitimate source before you use it in your work.

Generally, the more professional and high quality the website, the less likely any of the information on it is plagiarised. This is a good thing - you should be looking for high-quality websites anyway when you are researching - there is a lot of useless and incorrect information on the Internet.

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