UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Plagiarism occurs when an individual presents another person's work as their own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, without giving due credit. It violates principles of academic honesty and can lead to serious consequences such as loss of credibility or disciplinary action. ICT tools like plagiarism checkers are used to detect such misconduct. Therefore, the behaviour described is plagiarism.

Option A:
Option A, citation, is the correct practice of acknowledging sources and is actually the remedy against plagiarism rather than the wrongdoing itself.

Option B:
Option B, collaboration, refers to working together legitimately and is encouraged in many learning environments, provided contributions are properly recognised.

Option C:
Option C is correct because plagiarism is the established term for unacknowledged use of others' intellectual work, exactly as presented in the stem.

Option D:
Option D, archiving, involves storing documents for long term preservation and does not involve misrepresentation of authorship.

Plagiarism occurs when a person presents another’s work as their own without giving due credit. ICT has made copying and pasting easy, increasing the risk of this unethical practice. Academic institutions enforce policies and use detection software to curb plagiarism. Thus, the behaviour described is academic plagiarism.

Option A:
Option A is correct because plagiarism is the accepted term for unacknowledged appropriation of others’ ideas or words.

Option B:
Option B, referencing, refers to proper acknowledgement of sources, which is the opposite of what the question describes.

Option C:
Option C, citation, is the formal mention of a source and constitutes good practice, not misconduct.

Option D:
Option D, quotation, involves clearly marking borrowed text, which is ethically acceptable when combined with citation.