Getting access to PhD dissertation database: how to use others’ work without plagiarizing


Here are a few tips to keep you from plagiarizing:

  •  Read others’ works very carefully
  •   Have access to a thesaurus
  •   Use your imagination

Read others’ works very carefully

No one likes a plagiarizer so it is important to first know what others have written before you write your own dissertation. Maybe even jot down other peoples’ ideas so that you avoid using them or can incorporate them without directly using what they wrote. Having a clear understanding of what others’ have already published will keep you from gaining the attention of a nasty spotlight, as plagiarizers are never popular except as a source of boot kicking among the literary world. You do not want to be a plagiarizer because that will not help your dissertation any. Know what is and is not available so that you can make your own way.

Have access to a thesaurus

 There are more than a hundred thousand words in the English language, plenty of material to keep you from plagiarizing. Having a thesaurus should help limit the desire to plagiarize. With a thesaurus you can type in a word that someone has already used and find the equivalent matching words that correspond to the meaning of the used word. This will save you time in trying to find another way in saying something that has already been said one or two ways so far. There will be some words that will, sadly, have no replacements but the best you can do in that case is to find other words that will come the closest to what you want to say without plagiarizing.

Use your imagination

To avoid plagiarism you have to be creative and using your imagination is the best to do that. The more active your imagination is the more likely you are to have an easier time rewriting someone’s previous work into sounding like your own original content. Perhaps you find an idea that you know you could do better or rework into something else, that is usually fine but try to make sure that you use nothing from the original author except the idea, which you must put into your own words in order to take credit for it. The imagination can be a very powerful tool if used correctly and often help many a writer out of a tight corner when trying to get away with plagiarizing was looking like the better option.

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