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Ebooks

A guide for all users to get the most out of our ebook collection.

Citation Tools

The databases will often offer to create a citation of the ebook or e-resource for you. Look for a widget or button in the margins of the resource that says "Cite" or has a little icon such as a quotation mark. If it isn't offered on the main page of the resource, you may have to go into the specific chapter or section you're referencing in order to access the generated citation.

Databases will produce the citation in the three main citation formats: APA, MLA, and Chicago. Make sure to double check that you've selected the correct one!

In order to use the citation in your own bibliography, there are usually one or more of three standard options: copy, download, or export.

While copying and downloading are fairly straightforward one-step processes, exporting can appear confusing. There are a couple options, some of which include exporting the citation to other online bibliography sites, such as EasyBib, RefWorks or CiteULike. For the exporting to software options, as we generally recommend the use of Zotero, that would entail exporting the file as a RIS file.

For more information on how to use Zotero and how to differentiate between different citation styles, check out the Citing Sources LibGuide.

Public Domain

Works in the public domain are free to reuse and repurpose, without needing to secure the permission of or paying a fee to their creator or former copyright owner. They enter the public domain once their term of copyright protection has expired. As of January 1st, 2019, works published in the United States up through 1923 are now in the public domain.

More recent works can also be designated for public use at the time of their creation; these are labeled "Open Access" and often operate through Creative Commons licenses.

If you have further questions about how to check if a resource you are working with is in the public domain, check out our Copyright Resources LibGuide and this handy FAQ from Duke University's Center for the Study of the Public Domain.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Pratt's Self-Test

Plagiarism is defined as the uncredited copying of another person's words, images, which is another way of saying that plagiarism is theft. Upon entering Pratt, students agree to the Academic Integrity Code that lays out the penalties for copying another's work, and professors take it seriously. 

Ask yourself:

"1. Am I deliberately recalling any particular source of information as I write this paper?

2.  Am I consulting any source as I write this paper?

If the answer to these questions is no, the writer need have no fear of using sources dishonestly."

(Pratt Student Handbook 2012, p. 137)

 

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