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To Cite or Not, What’s the ‘Write’ Thing to Do?

By Michael Stelzner

Let’s say you found some really excellent content that spurred you to create a white paper.  Only one problem, that content is the property of another—possibly competing—company.  What should you do??

Here’s my take…

But first, the back ground on this question…

Recently someone I’ll call “Dan,” sent me the following message:

I read your book several months ago and would appreciate a clarification on when ‘references’ should be included in a white paper.  What is the guideline on when to use and when to exclude the use of such.

Perhaps some specific information might help framing the answer. We are developing a series of white papers on topical material found in the mainframe space.  The source material comes from other papers and tech presentations made by subject matter experts at conferences.  The purpose of the white papers is to narrow the focus of the broad content available via these resources.

Do we need to acknowledge on the last page of the white paper the titles of the specific documents that contained the content which we analyzed and extracted for inclusion in the white paper we are producing?

Now I don’t know Dan or his circumstances, but here are my thoughts…

Ideas are fare game:  Just because someone wrote something does not mean you cannot also write something on the same topic.  Thus, if I were the first one to introduce a novel new idea and other decided to also write about my ideas, there’s no stopping them.  I think it would be fare to reference the original source of the idea rather than claiming it as your own, but no company can fully lock down others from writing about similar or the same topics.  And no, you do not need to cite other materials that inspired you in the first place.  I think the exception is when you quote the material.; then you would need to cite it.

Plagiarism is illegal and immoral: You said, “extracted for inclusion…”  IF your purpose Dan is to take some other documents and simply come up with a “Cliff Notes” version of those documents (or an abridged version), then you are crossing the line if you don’t have permission.  For example, if someone took my book and created a 20-page version of it, using my language, that would be bad.  Thus, if you are trying to ride the success of someone else’s work and simply edit it down to a shorter piece, I think that is unacceptable.  However, if are citing a line here or a line there and then adding your own commentary, you must cite the original work.

A few other thoughts on citations:

  • I only cite statistics and material I quote or paraphrase
  • I read many documents  for general knowledge, then write new and original work
  • When in doubt, cite

Anyone else have any thoughts or suggestions for Dan?

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 5:32 am and is filed under Writing White Papers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Plagiarism is not new and is probably as old as literature itself. But with the rise of the internet, it has become so easy to copy other people's work, students do not think twice about doing it
  • Michael, I think you hit the nail right on the head in providing a contrast between the two. If Dan is going to quote or paraphrase these sources, then yes, he better cite. Furthermore, if he extrapolated statistics or other research findings from sources, then they need to be cited as well.

    However, if he took an idea from the source, and built upon it, or applied it to his own product, then he might be able to get away with it... though I would suggest referencing it on the last page of his document.

    It really all depends on what kind of material he's using from the sources and whether he's implementing his own ideas from it, or simply utilizing those that he had read.

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  • I believe citing is the honest, honourable thing to do... I also believe that creative evolution necessitates the adoption and modification of others' ideas, melding them with your own.
    As for Dan's problem, citing someone else shows that he's put the extra effort into his work and adds a certain level of credibility to his own efforts. Even if they are competitors, if he does it well he can show that he's taken their ideas and built on them, creating a newer, more advanced and more effective strategy.
  • i don't see what's wrong with citations. those people who plagiarize cannot possibly think that people would think that it's their original work (especially if people know how they really write). citations imply that you've done your homework and researched about a topic thoroughly enough to help you come up with an original work. there's nothing wrong with picking the brains of people you think are worth mentioning in your work. :)

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  • This post really seems to touch on a few nerves that many of us have seen happen in the past so much with plagiarism. It is something that is rampid all over the net for sure. I see this when surfing around for my email marketing work and I do my best to keep things open and honest. Its just my style.
  • The chances of coming up with truly unique content are quite scarce. Finding inspiration from the work and observations of others can lead to some pretty tight situations where plagiarism can raise its ugly head very easily.

    I agree with the golden rule of citing if in doubt, especially if what you wrote suspiciously reads similarly to your reference work. LOL.
  • Plagiarism is rife on the internet, in a myriad of forms. That is why quality original content is such a valuable commodity. However garnering ideas from other people's work and implementing these concepts in a piece you are writing is part of a logical research process, and you don't necessarily have to credit your source of inspiration. Direct quotations should be given full credit for, and taking somebody else's work and rewriting it is a big no-no, period.
  • Most American universities and colleges require you to upload your stuff in websites that check it for plagiarism and, believe me, I've seen many people get busted, because of their own lack of knowledge on how to cite and use sources.
    And, although some people think that as long as they're out of college they can copy and paste whatever they want, I'd say think about how your blog's rating would be affected if one reader has read what you've taken from and decides to say it out loud. :)

    Michael mentions something that must be like a golden rule for everybody who deals with writing with sources: "When in doubt - cite!"


    Best regards,
    Phil
  • I would cite whenever I am quoting a few lines from someone's work. Even just a few lines, it is still not my own work so citing will keep me safe from any legal actions. Unless if we rewrite the lines with our own interpretation.
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