Avoiding plagiarism

Turnitin

In order to detect plagiarism in an assignment or thesis, Metropolia lecturers have access to plagiarism software; Turnitin. Students also have access to this so you can check your work for similarities yourself. All bachelor and master’s theses are subject to testing in Turnitin before assessment and publication. A student whose thesis contains a high percentage of similarity will be faced with disciplinary action including possible failure of the thesis.

In-text citations

To avoid plagiarism, you must use in-text citations (author-date Harvard system) whenever you write or present information that you have obtained from another source. If you use a direct or indirect quote, you must also always use a reference. Use of in-text citations gives the reader an idea of the original context of the text.

It is important to remember that each time you use a source in the assignment/thesis, you reference it appropriately both in your text and in the final reference list at the end of your paper. You must use in-text references each time you use a source, even if you have used it in a previous paragraph. Remember that using the same reference several times throughout your text or in the same paragraph gives the reader the impression that you have made a shopping list of sources. As McMillan & Weyers state, the student may be stringing together citations without making the underpinning connections or interpretations (2007: 182). In a thesis, repeating the same reference often may give the reader or examiner the impression that the literature review has not been carried out very scrupulously (Oliver 2004: 69). 

References:

McMillan, K., and Wyers, J., 2007. How to write Essays & Assignments. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Oliver, P., 2004. Writing Your Thesis. London: Sage.