Plagiarism is when someone uses another author's words, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as their own. Plagiarism is defined differently in educational settings depending on the institution. Plagiarism is regarded as a breach of academic integrity and journalistic ethics. Penalties, suspension, expulsion from school or employment, large fines, and even jail may be imposed. In academics, examples of "extreme plagiarism" have recently been discovered. Plagiarism is not a crime in and of itself, but it can be penalized in court for discrimination created by copyright infringement, violations of moral rights, or torts, just like counterfeiting. It is a significant ethical violation in academics and industry. Plagiarism and copyright infringement have a lot of overlap, but they're not the same thing, and many sorts of plagiarism aren't considered copyright infringement, which is specified by copyright law and can be adjudicated by courts.

Plagiarism laws may differ from country to country. Plagiarism is a felony in several countries, such as Nigeria and there have been incidents of people being imprisoned for plagiarizing. Plagiarism may be the polar opposite of "academic dishonesty" in some cases; in fact, plagiarizing a professional's work is considered as flattering in some places. 

Plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud in Nigerian academia, and offenders face academic sanctions, including expulsion. Plagiarism detection software is used by some universities to detect potential plagiarism and dissuade students from plagiarizing. Plagiarism detection software, on the other hand, does not always produce reliable results and has flaws. Academic integrity is addressed at certain universities by providing students with detailed orientations, obligatory writing courses, and clearly stated honor codes. Indeed, college students are almost unanimous in their belief that plagiarism is unethical. Despite this, students are summoned before disciplinary committees at their universities every year on grounds of misusing sources in their assignments. However, as students and unethical academics aim to keep ahead of detection technologies, the method of plagiarizing by using sufficient word substitutions to avoid detection algorithms, known as rogeting, has rapidly evolved.

All associated academic certification is significantly jeopardized if plagiarism is permitted to become the norm inside academic submissions, which is based on an expected level of learning and comprehension. Plagiarism is punishable by sanctions ranging from suspension to termination for academics and researchers, as well as a loss of credibility and perceived integrity. Internal disciplinary committees, to whom students and teachers have chosen to be bound, frequently hear plagiarism charges against them. Plagiarism is a typical factor for retraction of academic research papers.

Plagiarism is the unethical practice of borrowing another author's/words researcher's or ideas (either intentionally or unintentionally) or your own previous efforts without proper acknowledgement. Plagiarism is a serious academic and intellectual infraction that can have major ramifications, including article retractions and loss of author credibility and reputation. It is currently a serious issue in academic publication and one of the leading causes of manuscript retractions.

As a result, it is critical for scholars to gain a better knowledge of plagiarism. Academic traditions and nuances in some cultures may not need verification by specifying the source of words or ideas. This type of validation, on the other hand, is required by the global academic code of conduct. Non-native English speakers confront a greater challenge in expressing technical information in English while also adhering to ethical guidelines. Plagiarism is affected by the digital age as well. On the internet, researchers have easy access to materials and data, making it simple to copy and paste information.

WAYS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM IN A RESEARCH PROJECT

a)Paraphrase the content of your work: Do not copy and paste the reference paper's text verbatim. Rephrase the concept in your own terms instead. To paraphrase correctly, you must fully comprehend the idea(s) of the reference source.

b) Use Quotations: To show that the material was derived from another source, use quotation marks. The quotes should be written precisely as they appear in the source paper.

c)Cite your Sources: It is necessary to cite any words or ideas that are not your own and were copied from another article.

d)Cite Your Own Material: You must cite yourself if you use material from a previous publication. Self-plagiarism is when you use stuff you've already published without citing it; the scientific data you acquired after executing your tests should not be cited; and acts or common knowledge should not be cited. Include a reference if you're unsure.

e) Maintain records of the sources you refer to: Keep a record of the sources you consult. To handle the citations used in the paper, utilize citation software such as EndNote or Reference Manager. For the background information/literature survey, use numerous references. Rather than citing a review, for example, individual publications should be linked to and cited.

f) Use plagiarism checkers: Several plagiarism detecting software are available to check your research work.

Tip: While it is OK to review previously published material, it is not acceptable to paraphrase it with significant similarity. The majority of plagiarism occurs in any document's literature review section (manuscript, thesis, etc.). As a result, you will never be accused of plagiarism if you read the original work carefully, try to comprehend the context, take good notes, and then explain it to your target audience in your own words (while remembering to cite the original source) (at least for the literature review section).

 Caution: The preceding sentence applies only to your document's literature review section.