1 – What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is defined as making use of the ideas of another person without giving the relevant credit using an established referencing system. Forms of plagiarism range from copying and pasting text directly from a published source without a reference to copying from a class mate or colleague (Neville 29-30). Plagiarism may occur both deliberately or accidently however, the offence remains the same. Accidental plagiarism can occur where a student paraphrases the ideas of an author or source but forgets to acknowledge the source with a relevant citation. While the intentions of the student in such a case may have been honourable, the fact remains that this is still a form of plagiarism and the student may subsequently face serious consequences as a result.
2 – Valid Sources of Information for Fashion
There are many valid sources of information on the subject of fashion. Key resources include academic books and journal articles. In addition, the student may also consider that there are a wider range of sources of contemporary and statistical information available on the subject in the form of items from the business and trade press. In considering whether or not a source is valid, it may be the pedigree of the author which is most important in the decision. For instance, an author of a book who is able to state their qualifications and previous research published in the field of research may be considered as providing a valid source. On the other hand, a unknown author with no credentials publishing on an open access source such as Wikipedia is likely to be seen as providing a source which lacks validity.
References
Neville, Colin. The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. Maidenhead UK: McGraw Hill, 2007. Print.
