Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct – UGC NET Question

Plagiarism is a serious ethical violation in which a researcher uses someone else’s intellectual work without giving due credit. It may involve copying text, ideas, data or even structure of arguments and presenting them as original. Proper citation and quotation practices are required to distinguish one’s own contribution from borrowed material. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism.

Option A:
Option A talks about complex language, which is a stylistic issue and not related to ethical use of sources. Complexity does not determine originality.

Option B:
Option B clearly expresses the essence of plagiarism by highlighting misappropriation of others’ work without acknowledgment. This behaviour undermines trust in scholarly communication and can lead to severe academic penalties.

Option C:
Option C describes an acceptable practice where previous work is summarized with appropriate citations. Paraphrasing with acknowledgment is encouraged to integrate literature ethically.

Option D:
Option D refers to the number of references, which has nothing to do with plagiarism. A paper with few references can still be original, while one with many references can still plagiarize if they are not properly cited.