by Dayren Santamaria January 29, 2022
Permissions, plagiarism, and ethics are attributes and qualities that technical writers must think about while creating documents. Permissions are the legal authorization that an author would need to be able to use other people’s creations. These creations are also called intellectual property or IP, and legal consequences can occur when using other’s work without permission. Digital communication like email correspondence, is an option when wanting to ask for this type of permission. Since creator’s availability could be an obstacle to receive authorization, properly citing the work will be considered permissible. Plagiarism is the use of a text written by a person in one’s work, without recognizing the originator of that text. “Giving credit where credit is due will build your credibility and enhance your document” (Beilfuss, 2020).
Ethics is a group of qualities that writers must have, and it should be reflected in their works. Being direct, honest, clear, and avoiding manipulation while writing is the best option to maintain a good reputation as a professional. “To avoid using misleading or manipulating words and phrases, it is important to be open to alternative viewpoints” (Lohman, n.d.). Permission, plagiarism, and ethics are salient to writers and authors in general. Types of plagiarism include, self-plagiarism, direct plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, global plagiarism, accidental plagiarism, and verbatim plagiarism. To exercise any of these types would result in a violation of ethical and professional principles. These methods or types of plagiarism can be avoided by properly citing documents and works that need to provide the recognition of other creators.
When the original source does not grant the permissions requested from a research document, publication or a licensed content, citations must be provided if possible. If citations are not available, the author must find a different source that could be used to replace the desired document. A plagiarism occurs when authors use materials from a different author without permissions or written acknowledgement on the document that is being created. Here are six possible methods of plagiarism explained. Self-plagiarism is when creators utilize portions of their own creation without citing themselves. Accidental plagiarism is when an author forgets to cite or does not use the citation and quotation marks appropriately. Global plagiarism is when a writer copies a whole work from someone else without recognizing the original creator. Having the documents peer-reviewed is a thoughtful way to avoid these types of legal and/or uncomfortable issues (Streefkerk, 2022).
Direct plagiarism occurs when an author replicates a portion or section of someone else’s work without permission. Mosaic plagiarism is when a creator uses another creator’s phrases without citing their creation. Verbatim plagiarism is very common nowadays since technology is a significant part in our lives. This type of plagiarism happens when an author copy-paste text from other sources without recognizing their creation (Streefkerk, 2022).
Technical writers can maintain an ethical practice by allowing friends or other professionals to review their work before publishing. It is common to apply outside sources to documents, but it is crucial to cite those sources properly. “Acting ethically is rarely rewarded from the outside” (Beilfuss, 2020). It is important to have good ethical values while writing a book or document, but also while exchanging conversations with co-workers, family members, friends, or people that are unknown to us. Technical writers learn to use quality standards and requirements in their profession. These qualities must transcend the professional area and must reign in the personal environment too. Managers, administrators, and CEOs have an enormous responsibility in their jobs and ethical values are often equivalent with their professional outcome or state of the company. When personally acquiring this behavior, it can translate automatically to every area of our lives. This allows us to transform into a better version of ourselves, and this is the reason why it is crucial to maintain moral and behavioral standards in professional and personal endeavors.
One solution to avoid legal repercussions with permissions, plagiarism, and ethics in general, is to use citation correctly. The creation of a document is not always an easy task, but the use of sources accordingly allows authors to find ways to promote their creativity through the process of reading and/or examining the work of others. Technical writing requires numerous skills that are essential for any type or field of work. With these skills authors can promote the work of other professionals through citing, while improving their own projects. Another solution to avoid errors in citing sources, is to proofread the work two or three times, before asking a friend or colleague to revise it. Lastly, authors and creators must maintain an honest behavior with their own work. To follow and practice these conducts leads to a reflection of those great qualities in one’s projects.
References
Beilfuss, M. (2020, January 1). Chapter 4: Ethics. Technical and Professional Writing Genres. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://open.library.okstate.edu/technicalandprofessionalwriting/chapter/chapter-4/
GCFGlobal.org. (n.d.). Use information correctly: Avoiding plagiarism. GCFGlobal.org. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/useinformationcorrectly/avoiding-plagiarism/1/
Lohman, E. (n.d.). Technical writing. Lumen. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/technicalwriting/chapter/ethics-and-technical-communication/
Roig, M. (n.d.). Tips for avoiding plagiarism – Ori – the office of … ori.hhs.gov. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://ori.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2019-02/Tips%20for%20Avoiding%20Plagiarism_Rasterized.pdf
Streefkerk, R. (2022, January 14). Types of plagiarism and how to recognize them. Scribbr. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/
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