What constitutes plagiarism in research?

Plagiarism in research fundamentally involves taking credit for someone else's intellectual work. This means claiming ideas, expressions, or words created by another author as if they are your own, which undermines the principles of academic integrity and originality. In essence, it violates the ethical standards of research and publishing by failing to properly attribute the source of ideas and information.

The act of claiming another person's work as one's own obstructs the collaborative nature of research and violates the trust that the academic community places in individuals to conduct and present their work honestly. This includes not only written texts but also ideas that are conveyed orally or through other means, making the proper attribution essential in maintaining the integrity of scholarly work.

The other options generally pertain to improper presentation or citation rather than the core concept of plagiarism. For example, presenting data in a different format may not constitute plagiarism if the original source is credited. However, translating work without acknowledgment does still reflect an ethical breach, but primarily it is the specific act of claiming direct authorship of ideas or words that is central to defining plagiarism. Inaccurate citations, while problematic, are more about misrepresentation and can include unintentional errors rather than the willful act of presenting another person's work as one's own.