UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Plagiarism occurs when a researcher presents someone else’s work, ideas or words as their own without giving appropriate credit through citation or acknowledgment. It violates academic honesty and misleads readers about the origin of the ideas or text. Plagiarism undermines trust in research and can lead to serious professional and legal consequences. Because the stem describes using another author’s words or ideas without proper acknowledgement, it is clearly referring to plagiarism.

Option A:
Fabrication involves making up data, results or sources that never actually existed, then presenting them as genuine. Although it is also a serious ethical violation, it differs from plagiarism, which is about misappropriating existing work. The stem does not mention inventing data, so fabrication is not the correct answer.

Option B:
Plagiarism can take many forms, such as copying text verbatim without quotation marks, paraphrasing without citation or submitting someone else’s work as one’s own. In all cases, it falsely suggests that the plagiarised material is original to the current author. Since the stem mentions using another author’s words or ideas without acknowledgement, plagiarism accurately names the misconduct.

Option C:
Informed consent refers to obtaining voluntary permission from participants after explaining the nature, purpose, risks and benefits of the study. It is concerned with the rights and autonomy of research participants, not with the use of published material in reports. Therefore, informed consent does not fit the situation described.

Option D:
Debriefing is the process of explaining the true purpose and procedures of a study to participants after their involvement, especially in cases where some deception was used. It relates to ethical treatment of participants during and after data collection, not to the handling of other authors’ texts. Hence, debriefing is not the appropriate term here.

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.

Referencing is the practice of formally acknowledging the ideas, words or data taken from other authors by providing complete details of the sources used. It typically follows specific styles such as APA, MLA or Chicago, which standardise how author names, publication years, titles and other information are presented. Proper referencing allows readers to locate the original sources and shows respect for intellectual property. Because the stem describes writing author, year and source details in a standard manner to acknowledge sources, it is clearly referring to referencing.

Option A:
Plagiarism occurs when someone uses another person’s work without proper acknowledgement, effectively presenting it as their own. It is the opposite of correct referencing, which aims to avoid plagiarism by giving credit to original authors. Since the stem is about acknowledging sources rather than misusing them, plagiarism is not the correct answer.

Option B:
Referencing demonstrates academic honesty and enables critical readers to verify claims, follow up on original studies and assess the reliability of the evidence cited. It is an integral part of scholarly communication and is governed by detailed formatting rules. The description in the stem, involving standardised author and year details, matches this practice exactly, so referencing is the appropriate choice.

Option C:
Sampling deals with selecting a subset of individuals or elements from a population for the purpose of data collection. It concerns who is studied, not how sources are cited in a written report. Therefore, sampling does not fit the context of acknowledging sources.

Option D:
Coding refers to assigning numerical or symbolic codes to responses or data categories for ease of analysis. While coding is crucial in data processing, it is distinct from the documentation practice of listing authors and sources. Hence, coding is not an accurate completion for the stem.