To quote and refer: a formative strategy for the ethical use of information and plagiarism prevention in academia

Abstract

Starting from the hypothesis of having a greater impact in the prevention of plagiarism if a significant intervention is carried out along the academic formation of the students, in particular in information literacy, it is intended to observe how the specific training in citations and references contributes to prevent plagiarism. A case study is presented, focusing on the analysis of questionnaire surveys for higher education students. A training module is described - To quote and refer with the APA style - considered strategic for the prevention of academic plagiarism, framed as a response to users' needs and supported in the teaching of competences in information literacy, as a strategy to prevent plagiarism. The library's training program, based on international standards for teaching information literacy, and devoted itself to instruction in research, selection, evaluation, use and presentation techniques, added a module whose evaluation and self-assessment results of acquired knowledge proved to be very positive. It is concluded that this case may serve as a reflection and inspiration for other libraries that seek to promote good practices in university student’s academic writing.

Keywords:
Information Literacy; User Education; Plagiarism; Academic Writing; Quotations and References