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Information Literacy information for students and faculty.: Information Literacy for Students

Don't Forget to Cite Your Sources!

Plagiarism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed) as "The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft" ("Plagiarism").  If you do not cite your sources both within your essay and in a Works Cited or bibliography page, you are plagiarizing, or stealing, someone else's work.

Any student found in the act of cheating or plagiarism may be subject to disciplinary action (Atlantic Cape Policy No. 209).

For additional information and guidance see the Guide on Academic Writing : Plagiarism and Citing Sources

Fair Use

Fair Use is " a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner." 

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the factors to consider in determining fair use include:

  1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

Evaluating sources

Some guidelines to help evaluate your research materials for accuracy and usefulness

Why can't I use Wikipedia for my research?

Wikipedia is okay to use for PRE-search information; it can give you a general overview of your topic, and you can check the links cited in the article. A better place to begin general research, however, is an encyclopedia.

Login required for off campus access  Off Campus access username and password can be found in Blackboard on the Institution Page. Students: look for Student Tools to Stay Connected at Atlantic Cape. Faculty: look for Key information about Libraries and Tutoring. Or you can contact the library for username and password.

Atlantic Cape Style Guides

Check out these Citation Guides to see examples of citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago formats.

Atlantic Cape Subject and Research Guides

Subject and Research Guides are specialized web pages created by the Atlantic Cape libraries which are designed for students and faculty to provide subject specific resources to help:

  • Locate books, eBooks, reference sources, articles and databases for a subject.
  • Conduct research, prepare essays and research papers with the proper citation format.
  • Use the services provided by the libraries. 

They often feature databases/resources that are most often used for a subject and research tips specific to a given field. They are a great place to start if you aren't sure what to do first when researching. There are Guides to help with writing, and citations, and where to get tutoring. You can also explore the history of Atlantic Cape.