Professional Practices

In

Computer Science

And

Information Technology

By

Babatunde B. Olofin
 Table of Contents
Page

1. Concept of Information 1

2. Privacy & Confidentiality 24

3. Legal, Ethical & Intellectual Property Issues 29

4. Computer Crime & Fraud 45

5. Professional Issues & Professional Bodies 58

6. Information Technology & Society 73

7. Distributed System Issues 81

8. Quality Management Process 82

9. Emerging Technologies & Current Issues 91

10. Principles of Team Work 124

11. Job Application Process 141

12. Making a Successful Presentation 164

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Chapter 1
Concept of Information
Introduction
The terms ‘data’ and ‘information’ are used interchangeably in everyday speech as meaning the
same thing. However, the terms have distinct meanings. Data are raw facts, figures, images or sounds
collected from observations or recordings about events, objects or people, which can be stored on a
manual or computer-based medium, e.g. employee’s name and number, number of hours worked in a
week, inventory part numbers, or sales order. Data has little meaning or value in its own right, it only
has meaning when it is processed and put into context as information. For example, if we are told
that John scored 85 in a test, it does not tell us a lot. Is it 85 marks? If it is 85%, it may appear a good
result, but how did the other people taking the test perform? What is the pass mark in the test? If it is
85 marks, what was the number of marks available? To be of any value, it needs to be processed in
some ways to produce information, e.g. collected, sorted, organized, and presented in acceptable
formats. Data is the input raw materials from which information is produced.
Information is a data that has been processed and presented in a useful format that will enable
an individual to gain knowledge in order to be able to make a decision. The act of producing data
does not itself produce information. Information is data that have been interpreted and understood by
the recipient of the message.
Information has meaning within a specific context and is useful for making a decision,
solving a problem, performing a task, etc. It is important to note that different individuals may need
the same data arranged in a quite different ways to give them information. The information required
varies with the type of person and his/her needs.

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Data

Data
Collected Processed

Data
Presented

Information
Figure 1.1: Description of Data and Information Activities

Table 1: Examples of Data and Information

Payroll System Sales Ledger System

Raw Data Rate of pay, hours Customer Sales, customer

worked, deduction, remittances, etc.
etc.

Information Pay slip, report for Balance owing statements,

management, etc. debtors balances, etc.

Quality of Information
Good information is the one that is used and which creates value. Research shows that good
information has numerous qualities as follows:
1. Relevance or Appropriateness. Information must be relevant to the problem being
considered. Too often, reports contain irrelevant parts which make understanding more
difficult and cause frustration to the user and lead to information overload.

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2. Accuracy. Information should be sufficiently accurate for the purpose for which it is
intended. The need for accuracy varies according to information usage. For example, the
marketing director is only interested in sales figure +/- N15000.00?

3. Completeness. The information should be complete in respect of the key elements of the
problem.

4. Timeliness. The information should be communicated in time to be used.

5. Reliable. The users must have confidence in the source of the information for it to be used.

6. Communicated to the right person. Information suppliers need to analyse the key decision
points in an organization in order to direct information exactly where it is required.

7. Must contain the right level of detail. Information should contain the least amount of detail
consistent with effective decision making. The level of detail should vary with the level in the
organization; the higher the level, the greater the degree of compression and summarization.

8. Communicated by an appropriate channel of communication. To be used by the manager,

information must be transmitted by means of a communication process.

9. Communication involves the interchangeable of facts, thoughts, vale judgment and

opinions. The communication process may take many forms: face-to-face conversations,
telephone calls, informal and formal meetings, reports, tabulations, VDU transmissions, etc.
Whatever the process, good communication results where the sender and the receiver are in
accord over the meaning of a particular message.

10. That which is understandable by the user. Understandability is what transforms data into
information. If the information is not understood, it cannot be used and thus cannot add value.

Information Levels
Information within an organization can be analysed into three levels – Strategic, Tactical and
Operational.
1. Strategic Information – used by senior managers to plan the objectives of their organizations
and to assess whether the objectives are being met in practice, e.g. population statistics,
investment statistics, national resource availabilities. Much of this information must come from
environmental sources, although internally generated information will also be used. It relates to
long-term planning in an organization, typically 3-5 years.

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2. Tactical Information – used by middle management to ensure that the resources of the business
are employed efficiently and effectively to achieve the strategic objectives of the organisation
e.g. sales analyses and forecasts, production requirements, annual financial statements, predicted
course/student numbers. A large proportion of this information will be generated from within the
organisation. Tactical information is usually prepared regularly – perhaps weekly or monthly and
it is for medium-term planning, typically 6-24 months.

3. Operational Information – used by frontline managers such as foremen or head clerks to ensure
that specific tasks are planned and carried out properly within a factory or office. Operational
information is prepared regularly – perhaps weekly or daily and it is used for a short term
planning, days, weeks, possibly hourly e.g. stock levels, overdue purchase orders, production
control, and module enrolments. The destination level of information is very important as the
information must be material to the user, but without going into unnecessary and time consuming
detail in order to achieve pointless accuracy to the nearest penny. Management control may be
satisfied with costs to the nearest hundred or thousand dollars or naira. Greater detail would serve
no purpose. Strategic planning may be satisfied with figures to the nearest ten thousand, hundred
thousand or even million dollars or naira. In all cases, the information and reports must be
relevant to the particular user.

Types of Information
There are five types of information: facts, concepts, procedures, processes, and principles. A
description of each type of information is provided in below, as well as an example of each type.
 Fact: - This is a unique bit of information that identifies an object, person, place, or date. The
description of each type of information is described below. Example is the driver’s license
number.
 Concept: - This is a category of items or ideas that share common features. Example is a
Cheetah or a Leopard.
 Procedure: - A series of steps that show how to make or do something. An example is the
procedure in a brushing the teeth.
 Process: - A description of how something works or operates. Example is the process of
photosynthesis.
 Principles: - These are rules, heuristics, guidelines, criteria that predict an outcome. An
example is the preparation of a research paper using the school guidelines for writing perfect
research papers.

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Sources of Information
Written information can be divided into several types. It is easier to explain what kind of information
the formats cover if the formats are contrasted.
 Primary vs. secondary sources
 Books vs. periodicals
 Scholarly vs. non-scholarly
 Reference vs. general books
 Print vs. electronic

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

There are two kinds of sources for information, primary and secondary. Primary sources are
firsthand, "direct from the source" information. Secondary sources are analyses of primary sources.
If you write an autobiography, that's a primary source for your life. If someone reviews or writes a
criticism of that autobiography, then that's a secondary source for your life. Or if someone writes a
biography of you, that would also be a secondary source.
 For literature, the works by an author are primary, and the criticisms of the works are
secondary.
 For historical issues, letters, diaries, and contemporary accounts are primary sources, while
anything written after the event is a secondary source.
 For the sciences, the output from the original research on the issue (an article on a survey
conducted or the study done) is the primary source, while any analysis or summaries of
research done by others is a secondary source.

Books vs. Periodicals

Books
Written information can also be divided into two other forms, books and periodicals. Books
themselves come in different types. Monographic books, a.k.a. monographs are "written once," or are
books that stand on their own, rather than being part of a series. The information in monographs
tends to be comprehensive information on a general topic, or at least more general than what is found
in articles. A good monograph should give you a sense of scope, historical background, and a
thorough analysis of the issue. To get the most out of monographs, you really should read it in its
entirety, rather than just breezing through a few selected chapters.
But not all books follow the monographic format. Some are actually a collection of essays or
articles, written by different authors. And while the articles are related somehow, the issues within
the articles can be much more focused on a smaller aspect of the issue.

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And occasionally you will find books that just cite sources of information on an issue, called
bibliographies. Bibliographies are either comprehensive for a particular issue (within a particular
date range), or attempt to be selective, just citing the "best" sources of information (again, within a
date range), but most bibliographies in book format are comprehensive.

Periodicals
Periodicals are any written information that comes out periodically. Newspapers, magazines, and
journals are all periodicals. The articles within periodicals tend to be more specific or about certain
aspects of an issue, versus monographs. Periodicals take many forms.
 Newspapers usually offer articles that are factual accounts of events, but they can be an
analysis of trends or issues as well. Newspaper articles usually aren't written by experts in the
field and don't offer suggested readings or sources of where they got their information.
Newspaper articles are great for current events and primary source material.
 Popular magazines are the least scholarly and are mainly for entertainment. Articles tend to
offer general tips or advice, or interviews with celebrities.
Examples: Good Housekeeping, GQ, People, Road & Track, Vogue, etc.
 Trade magazines are those published by associations and/or aimed at practitioners in a
particular field, offering mainly practical, how-to articles, or news useful to the field. If the
magazine looks like it might be scholarly, but the articles within are clearly not, then it's
probably a trade magazine. Examples: Advertising Age, Computerworld, Progressive
Farmer, etc.
 News magazines are more similar to newspapers, in that they offer factual, current events
news and analysis. Examples: Economist, Maclean's, Newsweek, Time, etc.
 Opinion magazines only offer analysis of issues and trends, sometimes with a political
agenda. Examples: Christianity Today, The Nation, National Review, New Republic, etc.
 A journal is the name given a periodical that is scholarly in nature. Articles are written by
researchers or academics and should offer citations to sources consulted. How a particular
article winds up in the journal depends on the kind of journal it is.
 A peer-reviewed journal accepts manuscripts and farms them out to other experts
in the field to judge the article, usually without the name of the author. The article
is then critiqued and is either accepted, sent back to the author for revisions, or
outright rejected.
 Other journals do not accept unsolicited manuscripts; rather they recruit particular
individuals and ask them to contribute an article. So while this type of journal isn't
peer-reviewed, it is very selective and just as prestigious to be published in.

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 And some journals aren't quite as rigorous as the two above. The works are
scholarly, but article proposals are judged in-house by the editor or the editorial
board, rather than peer-reviewed.
Most journals will tell you straight out if they are peer-reviewed or not in the description of
its scope, near where the journal lists the editor/editorial board. Otherwise you can consult a
reference set called Ulrich's Periodical Directory, kept behind the Information Desk on Level 2.

Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly

One could also divide information into two camps, scholarly and non-scholarly. Sometimes your
instructors will place limits on the types of sources you may use for your research, stating that you
can only use scholarly information. Periodicals can be clearly divided this way, usually referred to as
journals vs. magazines. But to judge whether a book is scholarly or not, it's best to note who the
author is and what his/her credentials are, and whether there is a bibliography and notes to sources
consulted. To a certain extent you can judge this also by the publisher. As a rule, university presses
almost always publish scholarly works, while other presses may or may not. But whenever your
instructor states that you can only use scholarly sources, be more vigilant in critiquing the
information. Note the credentials of the author. And if there are no references to sources, you may
want to dismiss it.

Reference vs. General Collection

Another dichotomy in information sources is reference sources vs. general collection books.
Reference works are those resources that you only want to "refer" to a small section of the work,
either to find a quick fact, or to get a general overview of an issue. The information sources found in
the reference collection vary widely, but here are some common ones.
 Encyclopaedias are the best sources for reading an overview of a topic. There are both
general encyclopaedias, which try to summarize all knowledge, and subject-specific
encyclopaedias, which focus only on a general topic like health or the environment, and offer
overviews of aspects of the general topic. The entries within encyclopaedias can range from a
paragraph to 30 pages. Most subject-specific encyclopaedias will also offer a short
bibliography or suggestions for further reading.
 Dictionaries offer shorter definitions and summaries of terms. Like encyclopaedias,
dictionaries can be general or subject-specific. Also, just to make it even more confusing,
some reference works are entitled Dictionary of something, but are in fact encyclopaedias in
terms of scope and length of the entries.

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 Handbooks/Manuals/Guides are works that offer quick facts, formulas, equations, or names
and addresses for a particular subject.
 Atlases offer information in cartographic form. While you may think of atlases as just
offering maps of countries or U.S. states, some atlases describe historical events or social
issues in map form, e.g. the changing borders of European countries, or the percentage of
people in poverty around the world.
 Almanacs offer quick facts, either for all subjects, e.g. The World Almanac and Book of
Facts, or subject-specific, e.g. The Almanac of Illinois Politics.
 Statistical compilations describe issues with numbers. Some are general in scope, the best
known being the Statistical Abstract, but there are some that only cover a general subject,
such as criminal justice or economics. Most statistical compilations are published by state,
federal, or international agencies, and may then be found in the Government Publications
area, rather that Reference.

Print vs. Electronic

And finally, there's print vs. electronic information. Like print, electronic information encompasses
all the formats mentioned above. You can find electronic books, electronic periodicals, electronic
reference works, etc.
But print is not dead, for a variety of reasons.
 Publishers themselves have been somewhat wary about going completely digital, and some of
them package the electronic versions with purchase of print copies.
 Libraries have centuries worth of print information, and a lot of it is not going to be digitized
anytime soon, if ever, simply because it wouldn't be profitable to digitize it.
 Some types of information don't lend themselves to being read on a computer because of the
current technology, and it isn't cost effective for individuals to print out the information.

Most e-books, e-journals, databases, and online encyclopaedias are not free. The library
purchases them, and then gives free access to their patrons who have paid for library resources, either
tax dollars for public libraries and/or tuition to academic libraries.
And then there are all those free websites. There's a lot of useful information out there in
cyberspace, as well as lots of unsubstantiated, worthless information as well. You can find
information on any topic, assuming that someone bothered to creat e the website. So why would
someone take the time and effort to put the website together?
 For commercial enterprises, they bothered because they want to sell you something, or they
want to attract your attention to bring in advertising revenue.

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 For mainstream news organizations or publishers, they are already set up to make money via
advertising, so they may be able afford to offer free content. But they may only have a week's
worth of articles available, or selected articles to entice you to subscribe.
 For federal and state government agencies, they have a legal mandate to disseminate
information gathered via tax dollars back to the public. So the Internet is seen as a cheaper
method of dissemination than print.
 For non-profit organizations, they want to "get the word out" about their cause, so the Internet
is a perfect medium to distribute their own reports.
 Scholarly information generated by academics can be found, but we are still in the infancy of
the Internet being used for this. There have been a number of big pushes to have more e-
journals, to counteract the costs of scholarly journals, especially in the sciences. And there
are a number of digitization projects of historical, primary documents on the Web, many of
them sponsored by academic institutions.

Locating Information
Once you know what type of information you need and what sources of information are likely to
have that information, you can start looking for those sources. Although there is no one best path for
searching for information, there are a few steps that every researcher needs to take:
 Library databases vs. the public Web
Determine whether a library database or the public Web is more likely to have the information
you need.
 Subject specific vs. general databases
If a library database if more likely to have the information you need, determine whether you need
a subject specific database or can rely on a more general tool.
 Types of searches
Once you have identified a database or other research tools, choose a search strategy for using
that tool.
 Keyword searching
 Subject searching

Library Databases vs. the Public Web

Library Databases
For example, all of Penn's University (in the USA) research databases are accessed through the
physical library or the Library Web. Most of these resources are paid for by the Library and provided
to students free of charge. Because library databases contain mostly scholarly information and are

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designed to allow convenient searching of scholarly topics, they are very well suited for scholarly
research.

Public Web
The public Web includes information on the Web that can be accessed at no cost, including sites that
can be accessed with search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Because anyone can place a site on
the public Web, only a small percentage of the information available is appropriate for scholarly
research (see Penn's Web evaluation tutorial for help evaluating public Web sites).
Examples

Library Public
 Ebsco Megafile  Wikipedia
 ISI  Google
 JSTOR  Yahoo
 E-Journals  CNN

Content: Library Databases vs. Public Web

Library databases have especially good The public web has especially good coverage
coverage of: of:
 Books  Very current (today's) news
 Journal, magazine and newspaper articles  Primary resources
 Scholarly and general reference materials  Information about popular culture
 Government documents  General reference information
 Primary resources  Recent government documents
 Statistical information  Statistical information
 Pictures and images  Pictures and images

Features: Library Databases vs. Public Web

Library databases Public web

Credibility of material Generally high Varies widely

Level of resources Mostly scholarly Mostly popular

Availability of full-text Moderate High

Search capabilities Sophisticated Simple

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Subject-specific vs. general databases

Subject Specific Databases
Some resources provide content with a specific discipline in mind; these tools typically provide
comprehensive coverage of scholarly literature in a defined field. For instance, a database might
strive to list every scholarly journal article written about American History. Works listed in such
databases usually range from merely scholarly to highly technical.

General Databases
General databases typically include information about articles from many disciplines, but don't cover
any discipline as comprehensively as a subject specific database would. Examples

Library Public
Ebsco Megafile Psycinfo
ISI Medline
JSTOR ABI-Inform (business)
E-Journals Historical Abstracts

Keyword vs. Subject Searching

If you don't know the title or author of an item, or if you are searching for literature on a topic, you
will probably rely on keyword or subject searches. Successful searching often depends on
understanding the difference.

Keyword Searches
Keyword searches are similar to Internet searches with Google in that the database will look for the
words you use wherever they may be on a page. Regardless of whether the word is in a title, author
name, place of publication or footnote, the page will be returned as a result.

Subject Searches
Subject searches, on the other hand, only return results in which the term being used appears in the
subject field. Databases have different interfaces and use different terms, but most will provide these
two options for searching

Keyword or Subject Search?

 Do you know appropriate subjects? Use a subject search unless you want to combine terms.
 Do you want to combine terms? Use a keyword search.
 Is there little information about your topic? Use a keyword search.
 Does your subject search return 'no results'? Use a keyword search.

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Comparisons of Keywords and Subject searches

Keywords Searches
 Search for: Records that have the search term anywhere within them.
 Volume: Depending on the terms you use, searches may retrieve no results or thousands.
Searches with general terms often return many results.
 Relevance: Varies. Results may be completely unrelated to your topic. For example, a search
for 'Philadelphia' returns records for every book published by the University of Pennsylvania
Press (located in 'Philadelphia') regardless of whether the work is about Philadelphia.
 Flexibility: High: Terms can be combined in complex ways to design effective searches.

Subject Searches
 Search for: Records that have the search term in the subject headings part of that record.
 Volume: Varies widely. Some searches will retrieve hundreds of results, but, if you choose a
nonexistent subject term, you will get none.
 Relevance: High as long as you identify the correct subject for your topic.
 Flexibility: The flexibility of your search is limited by the manner in which subjects are
structured in the database that you are searching.

Using Subject searches

Subject Heading Searches
Subject heading searches look for categories instead of words, and the exact name of a category is
often required to get successful results. Furthermore, names of subjects can be quite unintuitive.

Assume that you are doing a subject heading search in Franklin for books about
the history of French film. If you tried the following searches you would receive
the following results:

films history france 0

france motion pictures history 0
motion pictures france history 69
motion pictures french history 0
cinema france history 0

Only one combination of terms is successful! The others return no results! This
aspect of subject heading searches can make such searching difficult unless you
already have some idea of what the subject heading is.

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Alternatives means of identifying subject headings

If you don't know and can't guess the correct subject heading, you have a few alternatives:
1. Try a keyword search. This will frequently work fine, but by using keyword searches you
lose the benefits of subject searches.
2. Use a keyword search to locate a subject heading.
3. Some databases will allow you to do a subject heading keyword search. This will search for
specific words in the subject headings area of records--you will not need to know the exact
combination of words in the subject heading to get quality results.

Evaluating Information
Before you can use the information you've found you need to evaluate it to determine its
appropriateness for your purposes, which can often be done by applying a number of standard
criteria. These criteria include Credibility, Accuracy, Currency, Relevance and Bias.

Credibility
A credible resource is one that is deserving of belief. A credible resource may provide incorrect or
misleading information, but it is much less likely to do so than is a resource that lacks credibility.
What could go wrong? You may run into a number of problems if you use information that
does not come from credible sources.
 The information may be incorrect
 The information may be lead you towards a flawed analysis
 Scholars may see that you have used untrustworthy sources and assume that your research is
untrustworthy as well.
To avoid the above listed problems or troubles, use the signs of a credible source to determine
whether a work deserves your consideration or not.

Signs of a Credible Source:

Sources of information can usually be determined to be credible or not by considering who is
responsible for the information in it, who made it available, and where you learned about it:

Signs of a credible author

• advanced degree (PH.D, MD, JD, etc.) in the area being written about
• affiliation with an institution of higher learning
• reputation as an expert within area of publication

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• relevant publication record

Signs of a credible publisher

• publisher has a reputation for scholarly publishing
• publisher is affiliated with a university, college or other research institution
• there is an editorial board consisting of multiple experts in the field
• the board makes its decisions on the basis of the results of a blind review process

Signs of a credible referring source

• Reference is from a professor or other expert
• Reference is from a scholarly database (MLA, Medline, etc.)
• Reference is from a scholarly reference work (Encyclopaedia of Religion, etc.)
• Reference is from a citations or bibliography of a scholarly book or journal article

Accuracy
Even if a work is credible, it may not be accurate. It might rely on or present incorrect information.
This is a particular problem when the work is old, emotionally charged or addresses a disputed or
unclear issue. Look for the following signs to determine whether a work is accurate:

Signs of Accuracy
• the work uses facts and presents results that agree with your own knowledge of the subject
• the work uses facts and presents results that agree with those of other specialists in the field
• the work provides clear explanations of how data was gathered and results were reached
• the work provides citations and detailed explanations of reasoning
• the work addresses theories and facts that may negate the main thesis

Currency
Information about an event will appear over time in different types of resources. Depending on the
type of research you are doing, you may need to consider the time frame in which the information
has been published. This time line indicates the minimum amount of time after an event takes places
or an idea is developed that information about it filters into various types of media information may
always appear later.

Minutes-
days Day-Days Week Months Year-Years

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WWW Newspapers Popular Scholarly Journals Books

Magazines Reference Works

What could go wrong?

• You may run into a number of problems if you don't consider the currency of information.
• The information may have been proven incorrect.
• More recent interpretations may have become standard.
• You may use a source that isn't relevant to your topic.
• Scholars may see that you have used inappropriate sources and disregard your research.

How to avoid it:

• Understand when and why currency is an important factor in choosing sources.

What to look for! - Time-Sensitive Research:

• Research about current events: - Research about events occurring in the present or very
recent past must rely on media with a short information cycle. Events that happened less than
a week ago may only be covered on the Internet, newspapers and radio transcripts.
• Research that relies on time-sensitive information and theory: - Researchers needing
current data such as statistics, scientific breakthroughs or current events may want to use
journals, newspapers or even the Internet to access information. Furthermore, researchers
should be careful with older works that may be dated.
• Time sensitive historical research:- Researchers needing primary resources that are very
contemporary with an event will likely have more luck using newspapers, magazines and
personal accounts from that time period than using books or journal articles, which often
appear long after the event being considered.

Relevance
Relevant information is about your topic and helps to answer your question. Some of the information
may be related to the concepts in your topic and yet still not be relevant. To make good relevance
judgments you need to know a good deal about your topic and what sorts of information are
available. To determine the relevance of information you need to answer the following questions and
use the answers to make smart decisions:
• What is your research question?
• What information would help to answer it?
• Do you need popular or scholarly resources?

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• Do you need opinions or more objective information?

• What formats (book, journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.) of information resources would be
useful?
Bias
According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, bias is "an inclination of temperament or
outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment: PREJUDICE." All authors have
inclinations of outlook and are to some degree biased, but bias damages the reliability of some works
more than others.

Signs suggesting bias

• the work is created by a person or organization that is committed to a viewpoint that may
colour their views on the subject at hand
• the work is published by a person or organization that would benefit by promoting a
particular point of view
• the work is actively trying to sell a product or service
• the work does not document information or cites unscholarly or biased works

The Cautious Researcher Should

• learn about the author of a work to identify particular interests and commitments that may
lead to significant bias
• independently verify facts and statistics with a reliable source
• consider whether the biased analysis is the only one that fits the data
• try to identify general and specific ways in which the bias may have influenced the argument

Evaluating Resources Worksheet

This worksheet can help you evaluate any resource you may want to use for your research.

Authority
Does the author have a relevant degree?
Is the author connected with an institution of higher learning?
Is the publisher known for quality publications?
Did you learn about the work from a reliable source?

Bias
Is the work trying to promote a product or service?
Is the author strongly committed to a viewpoint espoused in the
work?
Was the work sponsored by an organization that is committed to
the viewpoint being espoused?

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Does the work cite material that seems biased?

Accuracy
Does the work agree with your own knowledge?
Does the work agree with that of other specialists in the field?
Does the work avoid questionable assumptions?
Does the work document sources and explain its methodology?

Currency
Is the work current enough to include relevant events?
Does the work clearly state when it was published and most
recently revised?

Relevance
Does the work address your research question?
Is the work at the level of scholarship you require?
Is the work objective enough for your purposes?
Is the work the correct type and format?

Documentation
The first step in the research process is often to develop a research question that is appropriate for
your assignment, interesting and neither too broad nor too narrow. Although researchers have
different techniques for developing topics, this section guides you through a standard path.

Penn's Plagiarism Policy

The University of Pennsylvania's Code of Academic Integrity defines Plagiarism as:

Plagiarism: using the ideas, data, or language of another without specific or proper
acknowledgment.

If you present someone's words, thoughts or data as your own, you are committing plagiarism—
you are stealing. The location of the information is irrelevant: when it comes to plagiarism,
information from the Internet is equivalent to information from a physical book or journal. To
avoid plagiarism you must cite the original author every time you:
 Use an author's exact written or spoken words. In this case, you must also identify the
words by enclosing them with quotation marks or indenting the quote on both sides of the
margin.
 Paraphrase someone's written or spoken words
 Use facts provided by someone else that are not common knowledge.
 Make significant use of someone's ideas or theories.

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It is also plagiarism to pay a person or Internet service for a paper, hand in someone else's paper as
your own, or cut and paste text from the Internet to your paper without citing the source.

Consequences
Students caught plagiarizing may face either academic or disciplinary negative consequences.
Instructors who determine that a paper includes plagiarized material can take academic measures,
such as giving a failing grade for the paper. If the instructor decides that disciplinary measures
should be taken, the case will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. If the student is found
responsible following formal procedures, the student may face a number of sanctions —including
suspension. Whatever the sanction, academic integrity action by the Office of Student Conduct
becomes a part of the student's permanent record and may have an adverse impact on future
academic and career goals.

Examples of Paraphrase
Of course, direct quotations require quotation marks and citations, but even paraphrases—
rewordings of text—need to be cited. Paraphrasing without providing a citation is plagiarism. Even
paraphrases with citations can be instances of plagiarism if they are so similar to the original that the
paraphraser claims credit for the original author's language.
A paraphrase that avoids plagiarism:
 Cites the source of the material being paraphrased.
 Differs enough from the original that it doesn't require quotation marks.

Following are two examples of paraphrases, one that is plagiarism and one that is not. The original is
taken from Maguelone Toussaint-Samat's A History of Food (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1992. 263).

Original:
Wines drunk at Greek tables did not always come from Greece itself. The wine snobbery of the
time extolled the merits of wines from the slopes of Mount Lebanon, from Palestine, Egypt and
Magna Graecia-Greater Greece, i.e., southern Italy. The ten litres a day drunk by the famous
wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived: this wine, Ciro, is still
made.

Plagiarism:
Wines drunk by Greeks were not always made in Greece itself. The wine snobs of that period
celebrated wines from Mount Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. The famous wrestler Milo of Croton,

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who consumed ten liters of wine a day, drank wine made in Calabria outside of Greece; this wine,
Ciro, is still made.

This paraphrase fails for two reasons:

1. By having no citation, the paraphrase misleads readers into believing that the ideas, facts and
sense of the passage are a result of the author's own research and knowledge.
2. The language of the paraphrase is too similar to the original. Even if the author had provided
a citation, some instructors would consider this plagiarism.

Not Plagiarism:
Although Greeks were picky about their wine, they enjoyed wine from outside Greece. Upstanding
Greeks enjoyed wine from many of Greece's local trading partners—including Palestine, Egypt
and southern Italy. One story tells of the famous wrestler Milo of Croton, who consumed ten litres
of foreign wine daily (Toussaint-Samat 263).

This paraphrase cites the original and rephrases its words to create an original construction.

Example of a paraphrase with a citation that is still plagiarism

The original is by Thomas Childers (Wings of morning: the story of the last American bomber shot
down over Germany in World War II, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. 1990. 83.) The use of the
original is by Stephen E. Ambrose (The wild blue: the men and boys who flew the B-24s over
Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster, c2001.164.)

Original:
Up, up, up, groping through clouds for what seemed like an eternity ....No amount of practice could
have prepared them for what they encountered. B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of
the clouds all over the sky.

As used:
Up, up, up he went, until he got above the clouds. No amount of practice could have prepared the
pilot and crew for what they encountered-B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of the
clouds over here, over there, everywhere.
(There later followed a citation to the original quotation).

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Ambrose cites but does not quote Childers' original work, and therefore he claims responsibility for
the beautiful prose. Because the prose and imagery is Childers,' Ambrose is plagiarizing. Ambrose
should have either used Childers' passage as a direct quotation or modified his own passage so that it
consisted of his own language.

Examples of Common Knowledge

Not every fact in your paper needs to be documented. Facts that are widely known—common
knowledge—can stand by themselves.

Examples of statements expressing common knowledge:

George Washington was the first president.
Plato spent most of his life in Athens.
Maine has a lower yearly average temperature than Florida.

Any statement that originates from another source and contains information that is not common
knowledge must be cited.

Examples of statements that don't express common knowledge:

Civilizations that were aware of geese usually considered them intermediaries between heaven and
earth (Toussaint-Samat 352).
The Chinese fishing industry produces 800,000 tons of fish annually (Toussaint-Samat 328).
The first international coffee syndicate was based in Germany (Toussaint-Samat 590).

These statements aren't surrounded by quotation marks because they aren't the original
authors' words but must be cited because they express information that involves facts that are not
commonly known.
Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism
1. Be sure to give yourself enough time for research and writing.
You are most likely to plagiarize when you are struggling to write a paper at the last minute.
If you haven't done any research and haven't had time to construct a true argument, you might
be tempted to save time by relying heavily on one or two resources. In your rush you might
closely paraphrase large sections of text or unintentionally use direct quotations without
giving credit. To give you time for research and analysis, start thinking about the paper well
before it is due.
2. Take careful notes and keep records of sources.

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When done well, research includes taking lots of notes. Note taking style varies from
researcher to researcher, but certain patterns should always be followed. Clearly indicate and
provide location information for any duplication or paraphrase of original text in your note.
This will help you avoid accidental plagiarism and allow you to quickly locate the original
text. Furthermore, maintain a working bibliography while you research. This will assure that
you don't forget or lose a work that needs to be cited.
3. Limit quotations and paraphrases to instances when they are really necessary.
The more you rely directly on the work of others, the more likely you are to accidentally
plagiarize. Remember, research papers rely on but do not simply duplicate the work of others.
An over-reliance on quotes or paraphrases when they are unnecessary could suggest that you
do not understand the information well enough to synthesize it for yourself. Quotes or
paraphrases are useful when another's work is being used as a primary resource, when you
want to appeal to authority, or when you are summarizing.
4. When in doubt -- cite.
You will not always be clear about what needs to be cited. In times of doubt, err on the side
of caution. If a paraphrase seems similar to the original source, cite it. If it includes complex
ideas that you wouldn't have thought of on your own, cite it. If large sections of your paper
were generated through consideration of someone else's argument, include a general citation
that explains how it influenced your work.

Copyright
Copyright is a form of legal protection granted by the government to authors of original
works that have been 'fixed' in a tangible medium of expression. A 'fixed' work is in a form that
allows it to be communicated over time, and copyrightable items include textual, musical, pictorial,
graphic, audiovisual, architectural and choreographed works.

Copyright potentially extends to:

 published and unpublished works
 works in any format, including physical, textual, visual, audio and digital
 works of popular culture, including television shows, movies, photographs and songs
 works that you own but did not create, including DVDs and digital files
 works that are widely available for free, including items available on the public Internet
 works that do not indicate their copyright status

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In most cases, copyright protects original works from being reproduced, distributed,
displayed, and performed, etc, without permission from the work's owner--its copyright holder.
Improper use of copyrighted works--copyright infringement--is illegal and may result in fines or
other remedies. Copyright status can be difficult to determine, and, with few exceptions, you should
assume that every work is covered by copyright until you can prove otherwise.

Documentation and Copyright

Some people believe that it is permissible to use a work if an acknowledgment or citation is

provided. For example, one may think that it is acceptable to reproduce a photograph for publication
in an article as long as the name of the photographer is included. This is not true. Acknowledgment
of the copyright holder may play a role in determining whether a work was used fairly, but it will not
protect against a claim of infringement.
On the other hand, proper documentation must be used even for works that are not covered
by copyright (government documents, for example). The failure to do so may result in plagiarism.

Limits of Copyright and the Public Domain

Copyright has limits: it does not cover everything. Works that are not protected by copyright
are in the public domain; that is, they are not owned by a copyright holder but rather by the public,
and no permission is required to use them. Some works are in the public domain because copyright
does not cover them. Other works are in the public domain because their copyright has expired.
Works falling in any of the categories described below are in the public domain.

Works that are not protected by copyright:

Phrases, Facts, Ideas
Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, methods, or simple lists (such as recipes)
although it may protect expressions of them. For example, the expression of an idea as words can be
protected by copyright, but the idea itself cannot. Note: although copyright does not protect names,
titles, slogans, or short phrases, they may be protected as trademarks.

Works that have not been 'fixed'

Copyright does not protect works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression. For
example, improvised speeches or performances that have not been written, recorded, choreographed,
etc., are not protected by copyright.

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Government Documents
Copyright protection does not extend to any work created by the government of that country or to the
work of any federal employee insofar as the employee created the work as part of their official
responsibilities. For instance, a presidential speech could be printed and sold on street corners
without first receiving permission from the president. However, state and local government
documents may be protected by copyright.

Works with Expired Copyright

When applicable, copyright is granted for a certain number of years from the creation or publication
of a work, with the specific length of coverage depending on when the work was created. Because of
changes in copyright law over the years, it is not always clear when copyright protection for a
particular work will expire.

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