The academic world considers ideas and particular ways of expressing ideas to be of such great importance that presenting the ideas of another as if they were one's own, or using the using the words of another author without giving credit to that person, is considered serious academic misconduct, usually treated under the title plagiarism. With the proliferation of electronic resources, it has become easier to plagiarize by cutting and pasting the work of others.

To avoid representing the ideas, facts, or phrasing of others as your own, you must learn to recognize plagiarism. It is common for beginning researchers to plagiarize without even knowing it. The result can be devastating: if you plagiarize, whether intentionally or not, not only will you jeopardize your performance in the class and risk failing and even expulsion, but, more importantly, you will also unwittingly undermine the mutual trust upon which educational institutions rest.