Copyright

This resource guide has information on copyright, using images, and sharing articles.

What is Plagiarism?

 

 

To present an idea or product from an existing source as new and original. To pass off the work of another as one's own.

(Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Copyright Infringement vs Plagiarism. Definition: To present an idea or product from an existing source as new and original. To pass off the work of another as one’s own. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) Copyright infringement and plagiarism are closely related, but not the same. You can break copyright law without plagiarizing, and plagiarize without breaking copyright law. (Brodie, 2018) Copyright Infringement: a legal offence; reproducing or adapting content without permission from the copyright holder; using content beyond limits set by the Canadian Copyright Act. Plagiarism: an ethical or academic offence; using content without giving credit to the author; claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own (even if the work is not protected by copyright). Citing your sources does not protect you from copyright infringement! Questions? Contact copyright@nshealth.ca Ven diagram: Copyright Infringement (Legal) [top circle]; Plagiarism (Ethical) [bottom circle]; Both [overlap].

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Reference

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Plagiarism. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2022 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize.

How do you avoid plagiarizing?

  • Cite sources that you reference using an established citation style (e.g., APA).
  • Indicate direct quotes using quotation marks.
  • When not quoting directly, paraphrase content.
    • Note: Close paraphrasing (just changing a few words or using synonyms) is plagiarism!
  • Remember to cite images, videos, podcasts and other media.
  • Remember to cite presentations and personal communication (e.g. email).

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

The AMA Manual of Style was created by the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 

Disciplines that use AMA include medicine, health and the biological sciences. 

In-text citations and reference list: superscript numerals are used to cite sources in-text. In the reference list at the end of the document, sources are listed in the order that they are cited.

Journal titles are abbreviated in the reference list using National Library of Medicine abbreviations. Find abbreviations by searching the National Library of Medicine Catalogue: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals

Journal article with 1-6 authors

Reference list:

Wei H, Corbett RW, Ray J, Wei TL. A culture of caring: The essence of healthcare interprofessional collaboration. J Interprof Care. 2020;34(3):324-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1641476 

 

Journal article with 7+ authors

Reference list:

Tauben DJ, Langford DJ, Sturgeon JA, et al. Optimizing telehealth pain care after COVID-19. Pain. 2020;161(11):2437-45. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002048

 

Whole authored book

Reference list: 

Beck J. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond. 3rd ed. Guilford Press; 2021.

 

Whole authored ebook

Reference list: 

Beck J. Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. 3rd ed. Guilford Press; 2021. Accessed January 12, 2021. https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/1462544193

 

Indigenous Knowledge

Reference list: 

Last name, First Name. Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. City/Community they live in if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. Date Month Year. 

Example: Cardinal, Delores. Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. 2 April 2004.  

 

Report by a government agency

Reference list: 

Health Canada. Canada Health Act: Annual Report 2018–2019. Government of Canada; 2020. Accessed January 12, 2021. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/publications/health-system-services/canada-health-act-annual-report-2018-2019/pub1-eng.pdf 

 

Webpage with an organizational group author

Reference list:

World Health Organization. Infant and young child feeding. World Health Organization website. August 24, 2020. Accessed January 12, 2021. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infant-and-young-child-feeding 

 

Webpage with an individual author

Reference list:

Oransky I. List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70. Retraction Watch. December 30, 2020. Accessed January 12, 2021. https://retractionwatch.com/2020/12/30/list-of-retracted-covid-19-papers-grows-past-70/ 

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the official style guide of the American Psychological Association. 

A variety of disciplines outside of psychology use APA, including nursing, social work and occupational therapy.

 

Journal article with 1-2 authors

Reference list:

Joshi, A. U., & Lewiss, R. E. (2020). Telehealth in the time of COVID-19. Emergency Medicine Journal, 37(10), 637-638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2020-209846

In-text citations: 

(Joshi & Lewiss, 2020)

Joshi and Lewiss (2020)

 

Journal article with 3+ authors

Reference list:

Wei, H., Corbett, R. W., Ray, J., & Wei, T. L. (2020). A culture of caring: The essence of healthcare interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(3), 324-331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1641476 

In-text citations:

(Wei et al., 2020)

Wei et al. (2020)

 

Whole authored book/ebook

Reference list: 

Beck, J. (2021). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.

In-text citations:

(Beck, 2021)

Beck (2021)

 

Indigenous Knowledge

Reference list: 

Last name, First initial. Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. Where they live if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Month Date, Year. 

Example: Cardinal, D. Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. personal communication. April 4, 2024. 

 

Report by a government agency

Reference list: 

Health Canada. (2020, February). Canada health act: Annual report 2018–2019. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/publications/health-system-services/canada-health-act-annual-report-2018-2019/pub1-eng.pdf 

In-text citations: 

(Health Canada, 2020)

Health Canada (2020)

 

Nova Scotia Health policy

Reference list:

Nova Scotia Health. (2022). Copyright & intellectual property (IP) (No. AD-AO-085). http://policy.nshealth.ca/Site_Published/NSHA/document_render.aspx?documentRender.IdType=6&documentRender.GenericField=&documentRender.Id=71041

In-text citations: 

(Nova Scotia Health 2022)

Nova Scotia Health (2022)

 

Webpage with an organizational group author

Reference list:

World Health Organization. (2020, August 24). Infant and young child feeding. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infant-and-young-child-feeding 

In-text citations: 

(World Health Organization, 2020)

World Health Organization (2020)

 

Webpage with an individual author

Reference list:

Oransky, I. (2020, December 30). List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70. Retraction Watch. https://retractionwatch.com/2020/12/30/list-of-retracted-covid-19-papers-grows-past-70/ 

In-text citations: 

(Oransky, 2020)

Oransky (2020)

National Library of Medicine/Vancouver Style

National Library of Medicine manuscript and citation style, commonly known as Vancouver Style, is used by most biomedical journals. It was established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in 1978 at a meeting in Vancouver (hence the name). It is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Medline and PubMed use this style. 

You may also see this style referred to as: 

  • Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
  • Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals 

 

Reference List and Inline Citations

References must be numbered and listed in the order in which they are cited, rather than listed alphabetically. Inline citations consist of one of more numbers in parentheses or superscript, corresponding with one or more items in the reference list. 

Journal article with 1 or more authors

Reference list:

Han G, Ceilley R. Chronic wound healing: A review of current management and treatments. Adv Ther. 2017 Mar;34(3):599-610. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-017-0478-y

 

Whole authored print book

Reference list: 

Mill MD, Hart JA, MacNight, JM. Essential orthopaedics. Philadelphia: Elsevier, 2020. 914p.

 

Whole authored ebook

Reference list: 

Vincent C, Amalberti R. Safer healthcare: Strategies for the real world [Internet]. Princeton: Springer Cham; 2016. 157p. Available from: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-25559-0 

 

Webpage home page with an organizational group author

Reference list: 

Canadian Diabetes Association. Diabetes Canada [Internet]. Toronto: Canadian Diabetes Association; 2021 Jun 9 [cited 2022 July 8]. Available from: https://www.diabetes.ca/

 

Webpage with an individual author

Reference list: 

Oransky I. List of retracted COVID-19 papers grows past 70 [Intranet]. [New York]: Center for Scientific Integrity; 2020 Dec 30 [cited 2022 Jul 8]. Available from: https://retractionwatch.com/2020/12/30/list-of-retracted-covid-19-papers-grows-past-70/ 

 

Part of a website 

Reference list: 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Index to drug-specific information [Internet]. Silver Spring (MD): U.S. Food and Drug Administration; [updated 2009 Jun 4]. Sleep disorder (sedative-hypnotic) drug information; [updated 2009 May 21; cited 2022 Jul 8]; [about 2 screens]. Available from:  http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm101557.htm

Additional Style Guides & Resources

Evaluating Resources

The CRAAP Test. Ask these questions before you reference resources in Nova Scotia Health content. C. Currency: When was the information published? Does it reflect current practice? Outdated medical info can be dangerous! R. Relevance: Does the resource relate directly to your topic? Have you looked at multiple sources before choosing this one? Does it apply to NS Health practice? A. Authority: Who is the author or organization responsible for this material? Are they qualified to write on this topic? A. Accuracy: Is the information based on evidence? Has the author cited reliable sources? Are there spelling, grammar or other mistakes? P. Purpose: Why was the resource created? Is it intended to sell you something? Are the authors’ intentions and purpose clear?