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Guidelines for Ethical Writing
Avoid questionable practices when publishing research results
Thie content of this guide is adapted from "Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-plagiarism,and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing", by Miguel Roig, a publication of the Office of Research Integrity, US Department of Health and Human Services. See "Additional Resources" below for a pdf.
More detailed information is also available at the ORI website.
An important principle of ethical writing is that the information presented is assumed to be the sole work of the author or authors with ideas that are not original to the author carefully identified. It is the responsibility of the author to exercise due diligence for accurately representing information and providing attribution for information that is not theirs by following scholarly conventions. These scholarly conventions include footnotes, block-indented text and quotation marks.
Plagiarism in a variety of forms is the most common form of unethical publishing. It can be described as taking ideas, words, images, design elements, or processes and representing them as one's own. Researchers and students are offered training in correct methods for acknowledging the source of ideas and citing their sources in presentations and publications to prevent plagiarism but carelessness or inadvertent plagiarism is still common. Plagiarism can have significant consequences, resulting in retraction of publications, loss of professional reputation and serious academic and career impacts.
OSU students are encouraged to get writing assistance as needed when preparing manuscripts. The OSU Library routinely offers writing workshops where ethical authorship is taught and students are encouraged to consult the OSU Writing Center when they need guidance. Below are guidelines for ethical authorship and avoiding plagiarism. More detailed information is available in the ORI guide.
Guidelines for ethical writing
- An ethical writer ALWAYS acknowledges the contributions of other to their work.
- Any verbatim text taken from another source must be enclosed in quotation marks and be accompanied by a citation to indicate it's origins.
- When we summarize others' work, we use our own words to condense and convey others' contributions in a shorter version of the original.
- When paraphrasing others' work, not only must we use our own words, but we must also use our own syntactical structure.
- Summarizing and paraphrasing without giving credit is plagiarism.
- It is also important to be sure that when paraphrasing or summarizing other's work the exact meaning of the ideas or facts are conveyed with our own words and sentence structure.
- In order to do correctly convey the meaning of the original work, it is important to have a complete grasp of the language, ideas and terminologies being expressed.
- When in doubt about whether a concept or fact is common knowledge, provide a citation.
Additional resources
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Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical WritingThe purpose of this module is to help students, as well as professionals, identify and prevent questionable practices and to develop an awareness of ethical writing. This guide was written by Miguel Roig, PhD, from St. Johns University with funding from ORI.
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Office of Research Integrity Responsible Conduct of Research videosThis video series will introduce key topics and ethical dilemmas in the responsible conduct of research. We hope it will prompt the exchange of information and discussion about research integrity principles among undergraduate/graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, scientists, and administrators.
- E. R. Fisher & K. M. Partin (2014) The Challenges for Scientists in Avoiding Plagiarism, Accountability in Research, 21:6, 353-365, DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2013.877348
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2017 AGU Scientific Integrity & Publication Ethics Guidelines
Updated code of conduct for AGU members, staff, volunteers, contractors, and non-members
who participate in AGU programs
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American Sociological Association Style Guide byCall Number: Main Library Stacks 808.066301 A512 2014ISBN: 9780912764214Publication Date: 2014-01-01
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The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition
by
Call Number: Architecture library Stacks 655.25 C532m 2017ISBN: 9780226287058Publication Date: 2017-09-05Technologies may change, but the need for clear and accurate communication never goes out of style. That is why for more than one hundred years The Chicago Manual of Style has remained the definitive guide for anyone who works with words. In the seven years since the previous edition debuted, we have seen an extraordinary evolution in the way we create and share knowledge. This seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been prepared with an eye toward how we find, create, and cite information that readers are as likely to access from their pockets as from a bookshelf. It offers updated guidelines on electronic workflows and publication formats, tools for PDF annotation and citation management, web accessibility standards, and effective use of metadata, abstracts, and keywords. It recognizes the needs of those who are self-publishing or following open access or Creative Commons publishing models. The citation chapters reflect the ever-expanding universe of electronic sources--including social media posts and comments, private messages, and app content--and also offer updated guidelines on such issues as DOIs, time stamps, and e-book locators. Other improvements are independent of technological change. The chapter on grammar and usage includes an expanded glossary of problematic words and phrases and a new section on syntax as well as updated guidance on gender-neutral pronouns and bias-free language. Key sections on punctuation and basic citation style have been reorganized and clarified. To facilitate navigation, headings and paragraph titles have been revised and clarified throughout. And the bibliography has been updated and expanded to include the latest and best resources available. This edition continues to reflect expert insights gathered from Chicago's own staff and from an advisory board of publishing experts from across the profession. It also includes suggestions inspired by emails, calls, and even tweets from readers. No matter how much the means of communication change, The Chicago Manual of Style remains the ultimate resource for those who care about getting the details right. -
The ACS Style Guide byCall Number: Main Library Stacks 808.06654 A105 2006ISBN: 9780841274006Publication Date: 2006-01-01"The ACS Style Guide's Third Edition continues its long tradition of providing invaluable insight on ethics in scientific communication, the editorial process, copyright, conventions in chemistry, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and writing style for any STM author, reviewer, or editor. The Third Edition is the definitive source for all information needed to write, review, submit, and edit scholarly and scientific manuscripts
