Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism - Assignment Example

Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism Research is necessary when doing any academic work; I tend to conduct research on the topic that I ought to handle before handling the topic. I can attest that I fall under the spectrum of over-researching. This emanates from the fact that I do a lot of research before writing my assignments. I engage in intensive research that always yields a lot of information from which I can do my assignments. Both over-researching and under-researching have some advantages and disadvantages.

One of the advantages of over-research is that it yields adequate information that can be used to write research papers (Coffield & ESRC Learning Society Programme, 2000). On the other hand, over-research is disadvantageous since it to wastage of time that can be used to fulfill other crucial duties. In the case of under-research, the advantage is that little time is used to collect research information, yet the results may be adequate to address the research question. However, under-research may give inadequate information, which may not necessarily be enough to complete the research question (Fryxell, 2004).

DQ2Plagiarism is a serious academic offence that cannot be taken lightly; it is unacceptable to engage in plagiarism since the act goes against academic standards that have been set by many education boards and institutions of learning. In my opinion, plagiarism matters because it is not right to use another person’s ideas without acknowledging the source of information. In my opinion, I think that plagiarism in most cases can be regarded as deliberate. This is because most people who plagiarize are aware of the consequences of their actions (Neville, 2010).

In addition, most of the people who engage in plagiarism know that it is wrong to plagiarize, and they are aware of how they can avoid this action. A plagiarist should be treated as an offender who has done something wrong in the face of the law. The appropriate penalty for plagiarism should be cancellation of an academic degree that was given to a plagiarist who published plagiarized. In addition, a plagiarist should be prosecuted and sentenced to a jail term (Randall, 2001).ReferencesCoffield, F.

, & ESRC Learning Society Programme. (2000). Differing visions of a learning society: Research findings. Bristol: Policy Press.Fryxell, D. A. (2004). Write faster, write better. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books.Neville, C. (2010). The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw Hill.Randall, M. (2001). Pragmatic plagiarism: Authorship, profit, and power. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.