When we research a topic for a project or report, we are lucky that other people are sharing their work with us. Why? Although there is a lot of information in the world, people have to work to turn that information into knowledge. The same is true for authors, speakers, artists, musicians, performers, poets, writers, and other creative individuals. All the resources we find and use exist because someone took the time to make them.
If someone works hard and shares the results of their work with us we should show respect. Good people know that it is important to give credit to the author whose words or ideas they are using. We do this by citing the sources we use in our projects. It's a simple way of telling others, "I am grateful for another person's effort, work, and willingness to share." Citing someone else's work is not only good manners, it's also what society expects us to do in order to follow the laws of ours government.
Plagiarism, copying someone else's work or information without citing it, is sloppy, rude, and illegal. Claiming someone else's work as our own is disgraceful. Doing that kind of thing is just like stealing. Thankfully, we can take steps to help us remember to document or cite our work. As we do research for a project like the technology fair, we need to remember to keep a list of all of our sources. The list of our sources is called our Works Cited list. When we keep a Works Cited list we are providing documentation (proof) that we are trustworthy digital citizens in the Bulloch County Schools learning community.
Keeping a Works Cited list also helps us know where to go if we need more information from one of the sources we've already used. Keeping such a list also prepares us to answer any questions others (for example Judges) might have about our documentation (for example, the source of our ideas or why or how we created our project). By creating and referring to a Works Cited list we can document any and all non-student produced materials as well as show that we have ALL the required permissions present or that no permissions were needed because we've created original work.
Helpful resources and strategies for effectively creating and keeping a complete Works Cited list include but are not limited to the following ones listed below.
Copyright
Many works are protected under copyright. A copyright protects works such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed (that is sufficiently permanent). We must be careful about what works we use and how we use them. For example, if a person creates a work, that work doesn't have to be published to be protected by copyright. The person creating the work doesn't have to supply a copyright notice letting us know the work is copyrighted. It is our responsibility to verify the status of a work's copyright.
Helpful resources for understanding copyright rules include:
So, can we ever safely use a piece of art or music without permission? The answer is YES but under certain circumstances. Those circumstances involve the Public Domain.
Public Domain
The Public Domain is a great place to begin searching for works we can use in our project. Why? The answer is simple and memorable: public domain works are not restricted by copyright. Hurray! Even better, public domain works do not require a license or fee to use. We get unrestricted access and unlimited creative use of such works. There are 3 kinds of public domain works:
Helpful resources for understanding Public Domain rules include: