Students sometimes have difficulty knowing how to reference the words or ideas of another author in their own writing. Without proper acknowledgment of authorship, using the words or ideas of another is considered plagiarism. Students found guilty of plagiarism at Middlebury can be suspended for up to a year. It is therefore extremely important that you understand how to avoid plagiarizing.

For general help in learning how to cite and reference materials according to American Psychological Association (APA) style, see the APA Publication Manual. Below are some specific guidelines and examples that may be helpful to you.

USING THE EXACT WORDS OF ANOTHER AUTHOR

Whenever you use the exact words of another author, you must put quotation marks around those words. APA style dictates that the author, year of publication and page number should be put in parentheses at the end of the quotation. For example,

"When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion" (Snow, 1961, p. 24).

The complete reference from which the quotation was taken must also appear in the reference list at the end of the paper. APA style does not rely on the use of footnotes or endnotes.
Keep in mind that it is not a good idea to quote extensively from other sources. It is preferable to put the material into your own words.

PRESENTING THE WORK OF ANOTHER AUTHOR IN YOUR OWN WORDS

When you are paraphrasing another author's work, you acknowledge the source of the material by placing the author's last name and year of publication in parentheses, or if the author's name is used in the text, the year of publication is placed in parentheses after the author's name. For example,

It has been argued that, historically, the cause of most criminal acts is obedience to authority, rather than revolution against it (Snow, 1961).
or
Snow (1961) argued that, historically, the cause of most criminal acts . . .

On the other hand, the following is NOT an appropriate use of paraphrasing, and would be considered plagiarism:

When you think of the dismal history of mankind, you will find more horrible crimes have been committed as a result of obedience than have been committed as a result of rebellion (Snow, 1961).

A few adjectives have been changed, a word or two left out, and "in the name of" was changed to "as a result of". This kind of word substitution is NOT putting the material into your own words -- it is plagiarism.

SECONDARY SOURCES

"Secondary source" is the term used to describe material that is cited in another source. If in his article entitled "Behavioral Study of Obedience" (1963), Stanley Milgram makes reference to the ideas of Snow (presented above), Snow (1961) is the primary source, and Milgram (1963) is the secondary source. Try to avoid using secondary sources in your papers; in other words, try to find the primary source and read it before citing it in your own work. If you must use a secondary source, however, you should cite it in the following way:

Snow (as cited in Milgram, 1963) argued that, historically, the cause of most criminal acts . . .
The reference for the Milgram article (but not the Snow reference) should then appear in the reference list at the end of your paper.

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Two general points to keep in mind:

1. These guidelines apply whether you are using the ideas of a published psychologist from an article or book, your professor from class notes, or your roommate from a paper written last semester. Any words or ideas that are not your own must be properly referenced.

2. Keep in mind that these guidelines are not meant to supersede the college's policy regarding plagiarism (see the College Handbook and the material on plagiarism distributed to all Middlebury students). Rather, they are a supplement to help you in applying these ideas to your writing in psychology courses.

Adapted from:
Denison University Department of Psychology. (1982, September). Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism. Granville, OH: Author.