If you use other people's ideas without giving them credit by citing their work, you are committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas or words and presenting them as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
To avoid plagiarism, always provide a proper citation when you quote or paraphrase the idea of another person in your research paper, speech, slide presentation, etc. What constitutes a proper citation will depend on which citation style you're using. You'll learn more about citation styles later in this module.
Learn more about plagiarism by watching this short video.
Source: "How to Avoid Plagiarism in 5 Easy Steps" by Vanessa Garofalo at Southeastern University.Southeastern University, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 U.S. License.
For further information on avoiding plagiarism, see Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Plagiarism by Purdue OWL.