Writing is the primary mode of online communication.

During the process of writing and

researching, the use of other people's work is inevitable. In most professional fields, research
has been initially done; however, new findings continue to emerge. With the help of the initial
research, the researcher proves that some of the findings have been proved initially. However,
using other people's thoughts and ideas proves academic dishonesty and unethical behavior
known as Plagiarism (Brown & Janssen, 2017). Therefore, incorporating an author's work, idea,
and words and giving the credit creates a form of appreciating the idea and helps in avoiding
Plagiarism. In the field of psychology, the use of citations acknowledges authors and helps to
give accurate facts and finding to incorporate for scientific work. In addition to accuracy, citing
in academic writing helps create a source of credibility, authenticity, and accountability for the
findings and writings free from doubt. Learning and understanding when and how to use and
cite using quotes, summary, and paraphrasing is essential in academic writing. Therefore, using
other people's works and ideas is accepted and allowed with the proper use of citation as a
writer to avoid Plagiarism and uphold ethical and academic integrity.

The prevalence of Plagiarism and academic dishonesty, according to research, is at 78%.

Discussions about academic dishonesty are sometimes ignored because of the shame that it is
accompanied by. Also, people rarely want to reveal academic dishonesty because it makes
research hard for students and writers. Besides, students come from different backgrounds and
settings with different views on academic integrity, which may differ. Furthermore, Plagiarism is
only one method of academic misconduct (Awasthi, 2019). However, Plagiarism, academic
integrity, and academic honesty are mostly interrelated from a personal and university level,
which defines the academic morals that one has.

Academic honesty, integrity, and Plagiarism are mostly used in one statement to describe the
cause of another. Plagiarism is on the rise because of the ignorance that both the students and
the university administration have in line with the degree of academic crimes.

Plagiarism, Academic Honesty, and Academic Integrity

Academic honesty and academic integrity have become an issue across the education spectrum
due to unethical issues in presenting academic work that is mostly brought about by Plagiarism.
The positive ethos at a personal level encompasses the university and course room level. When
a person has integrity, expressing ethical acts from all other levels become smooth sailing.
Academic integrity and academic honesty begin at a personal level and are fuelled by the
university's ethical codes through the academic honor code. Universities and education systems
have administrative units that promote and provide the necessary culture for promoting good
behavior and resolving dishonesty. Plagiarism in academic writing refers to using people's ideas
as your own without giving the necessary credit and acknowledgment. It is some form of
academic crime, as people's ideas as your own are theft (Brown & Janssen, 2017). Plagiarism
can be intentional or unintentional, depending on the conscience used. Some aspects of
Plagiarism can be through buying written papers online, forgetting to cite, or improper use of
quotation marks. Plagiarism, scraps off academic honesty and academic integrity. Both the
student and the university are essential stakeholders in implementing plagiarism policies.
Students should be willing to learn and improve their research skills and understand the tips
that help avoid Plagiarism. Also, integrity should be from a personal level, and there should be
encouragement and motivation that help avoid Plagiarism and uphold academic honesty and
integrity. The advantage that students have from a personal level is that their ethics can be
shaped at any level of education (Bahadori et al., 2020). Therefore, the university study
programs should offer training and programs that help students understand the impacts of
Plagiarism on their ethical and academic life from a personal level and a student perspective.
Another additional procedure to help reduce the concept of Plagiarism in students is
introducing a course at the course room level, which should be mandatory to every student and
guide the research ethics and international guidelines of research publications and writings.

Academic integrity and honesty should be upheld at the course room levels through
information literacy on Plagiarism, and the stern measures put in place for anyone who engages
in plagiarizing. Also, the use of unauthorized materials in the examination rooms should be
termed as Plagiarism. Since assignments are given at course room levels, the objectives of the
assignments are not necessarily fulfilled when the aspect of Plagiarism shows up (Robinson &
Glanzer, 2017). Therefore, the concept of supportive services that help learn and understand
how to use and incorporate outside source information should be used. Understanding the
reasons that contribute to the sharing and plagiarizing of assignments can be a step in reducing
academic crimes a great deal. Academic honesty serves the need to have a good personal
reputation, engage in a degree that has an intrinsic value, competence professionally, and
personal integrity (Texas A&M University Library, 2018).

At the university level, academic honesty and academic integrity have been equipped through
the stakes that students, staff, and the administration unit have taken to maintain the ethical
culture in all aspects that involve academia (Stephens, 2016). University administration takes
academic dishonesty as a serious form of misconduct and can lead to ultimate suspension.
However, students sometimes may either become ignorant or have less or no information
about Plagiarism. The university should enable their tutors and lectures to issue information
about Plagiarism and its effects on academic grades and ethics. It is also the university's
responsibility to uphold academic honesty and integrity through their student's work and
academic excellence. Departmental copyright infringement should be confined and
actualized, to make understudies cognizant that including in counterfeiting exercises is
wrongdoing. A disciplinary game plan ought to be taken, which will go about as an
impediment to staying away from unoriginality.

Principles and Protocols of Citation

Citing sources saves the reader on time and also creates a source of credibility for the writer.
General citations are basically to back up our development of ideas and research the American
Psychology Association (2020). As much as there is minimal use of outside sources,
acknowledgments are necessary to have academic integrity. Some of the basic principles and
protocols of citation include:
 1. The American Psychology Association (2020), both in text and the end references,
directs the reader of the source of information from an outside source. The reference
page in APA should contain detailed information of the outside sources in alphabetical
order. That way, the reader would know how to locate the exact source of information if
and when he or she wishes to. Each in-text citation should have a correspondence to the
reference list.
2. All the citations in the reference list should provide categories of information in the
form of name or names of the book writers/authors, date and year of publication, title
of book, article, journal, and name of the journal article, publication information for
books, this may include city, place, and name of the publisher (University of the Fraser
Valley, 2018). Articles and journals should have the year of publication, volume number,
and page numbers.
3. In the APA formatting style, the reference part acts as a cross-referencing form, which
should contain the author's last name or authors' last names, date, and year of
publication. The American Psychology Association (2020) follows the Author-date
principle for in-text citation and at the end of the document as the reference page with
the source.
4. A writer should also ensure that the name and year of publication in the in-text and
reference list are correct. Also, the credibility of the source of information should be
ensured before using the information. For instance, the use of peer-reviewed journals
and published books rather than online web pages and Wikipedia.
5. Cite used sources only as references and ideas that have been used in writing. When
writing, both primary and secondary sources come in handy as sources of information
and as references. However, a writer should use primary sources when possible and
secondary sources sparingly.
6. The citations should be used to document facts and findings that are not common
knowledge and avoid data fakery.

Protocols of Citation

There are several citing forms based on the method that the writer has used to incorporate
another person's idea. These forms include:

1. Direct quotation

The use of direct quotations is used when facts are in line and unique to the research. The
writer chooses to use the exact words and ideas, there is the use of dialogue, and a writer
would like to critique or agree to words as written in the original article. When using quotations
in APA format, the writer should first use the exact words in the original piece, enclose the
copied words in quotation marks, include an in-text citation that corresponds to the citation in
the reference list, and finally integrate the quoted text with a signaling text. Citing a quoted
sentence or statement requires the last name of an author, year, and page number.

1. Paraphrasing
Before paraphrasing, the writer should read and completely understand the original piece and
the context of use. Put down briefly, the idea of the original and ensure the meaning and
message are not altered. The context is the same as the original piece without necessarily using
the same words (University of the Fraser Valley, 2018). It is necessary to cite a paraphrased
paragraph because the message's concept and context are from a different author, which
makes the written idea borrowed. Citing a paraphrased sentence or paragraph requires the last
name of an author and year.

1. Summarizing

A writer can put down the concept of the idea into their own words. Summarizing and
paraphrasing share the same concept but differ such that summarizing is a condensed version
of the original and captures the main points only. Citing a summarized paragraph requires the
last name of an author and year.

Difference between Quoting, Summarizing and Paraphrasing

Quoting refers to the use of an author's idea fully without alteration of any word. A quotation
can be used in several instances in writing. First, when a writer has used an interview as a
source of information, secondly, when a writer tries to agree or critique information from a
source, and lastly, when there are facts and unique information that cannot be paraphrased in
any way. For instance, factual information such as numbers, diseases, and data findings cannot
be altered, hence using the same terms as the source (Capella University, 2017). Quotations are
allowed in writing but with proper citing, because it helps in indicating that the words are not
your own. Long quotes can be independent, while short quotes from a text can be supported or
integrated into a text with a signaling start.

Paraphrasing refers to expressing the original idea of a text using different words without
necessarily altering the original meaning but achieving better clarity (Kings College London,
2017). Paraphrasing is important when dealing with definitions and sometimes facts and when
the data is gathered from one specific source. Unlike summarizing and quotations, steps
involved in paraphrasing are intense. They include: reading and understanding the meaning and
context of the original piece, writing down in your own words, and finally proofread to ensure
that the information is not altered in any way. Paraphrasing helps in supporting writing ideas
and findings.

Summarizing refers to condensing the main ideas into a simpler paragraph with your own
words but not changing the meaning. Summarizing helps in presenting the original information
in a shorter text because it collects the main points only. Paraphrasing, quoting and
summarizing come in handy when writing because they all help incorporate other people's
ideas in different ways.

Steps to Avoid Plagiarism

Gathering information without involving other people's information can be hard. Plagiarism
being a serious offense according to the Academic Honor Code and from a personal point of
view, it creates Plagiarism can be avoided despite the use of outside sources when writing.
Plagiarism is considered an ethical lapse that has allowed me to focus on and understand the
importance of ethics and academic integrity in line with my writing skills. Some forms of
Plagiarism such as accidental Plagiarism can go undetected, especially due to the extreme use
of people's idea due to several issues such as poor time management, lack of knowledge on
what and when to quote, paraphrase and summarize, ignorance and lack of credible sources to
cite. Also, it has enabled me to know my areas of strength and weakness in writing. The steps
that I would use to avoid Plagiarism are:

1. Poor time management in writing assignments is one of the contributors to Plagiarism.

Lack of ample time creates tension, which may make a writer copy and paste relevant
work from relevant sources. Therefore, managing time properly and doing assignments
on time will be part of the step that I will take to avoid Plagiarism.
2. Using credible sources and combining technology used will also help avoid Plagiarism by
understanding the author behind the journal, book, or article.
3. Understand the different types of Plagiarism and how they come about. Plagiarism
occurs in different forms: direct, unintentional, or accidental, mosaic, and self-plagiarism
(Satija & Martínez-Ávila, 2019). Understanding these would help me in avoiding and
being keen on any form of Plagiarism during my writing.
4. I will include quotation marks on the directly quoted statements that I have used
without altering any word and use both in-text citations and references to show
acknowledgment of the author and credibility of my source to avoid any form of
Plagiarism. Also, these will help the reader in knowing.
5. I will paraphrase other people's work that I use to support my ideas and proofread to
ensure that the information is not exactly in the same words. However, I will be using
my own words while paraphrasing, I will give the credit where it is due through proper
citations.
6. I will add value to my information by doing my research and incorporating my ideas and
insights to avoid using other people's information fully.
7. As much as writing, paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing are allowed, the extent and
intensity of combining these should be limited because of the possibility of drowning my
thoughts, which may lead to accidental Plagiarism.
8. Since ignorance has no defense, I will make consulting efforts when not sure of the way
forward to strengthen and improve my writing skills.

Conclusion

Ethical problems in science fields have been increasing over the years compared to any other
field. This has been contributed by the lack of a good understanding of Plagiarism and how it
comes about, especially in academic work. Student's academic integrity and honesty have
deteriorated because of the different backgrounds of views and integration of ethics in
academics. All institutions, including universities, should support and promote academic
honesty and integrity to enhance their ethical standards and improve education systems. To
help students in reducing and avoiding Plagiarism and the academic misconduct and crime that
it creates, the American Psychology Association ha guidelines and protocols on how to
incorporate a person's information into your own. The best way to avoid Plagiarism as a writer
is to quote, paraphrase and summarize and insert the necessary in-text citations and reference
to acknowledge an author's information as to his/hers and not your own. Also, the use of
credible sources of information should be part of the steps to avoid Plagiarism. Although
Plagiarism is hard to detect through personal proofreading, the use of software and
technological applications such as Turnitin and authenticate to detect Plagiarism can help in
avoiding the academic crime caused by Plagiarism. A disciplinary game-plan ought to be taken
which will go about as a Respect and sharing information—the consideration you assume to
appropriately quality acknowledgment and the true way you connect with material from
different creators—show others the sort of author/analyst/mastermind you are deterrent to
keep away from copyright violation.