What defines plagiarism in an academic context?

Plagiarism in an academic context is primarily defined as failing to give credit to the original ideas or works of others. This means that when a student, researcher, or writer utilizes another person's intellectual property, whether it is their ideas, expressions, or research findings, they must properly acknowledge the source. This acknowledgment includes citations and references to avoid misrepresenting someone else's work as one's own. The concept here revolves around the respect for intellectual contribution and the ethical responsibility to credit those who have produced original content.

Options that suggest using resources in general, summarizing information without permission, or including citations incorrectly do not fully capture the essence of plagiarism. While the act of summarizing and citation practices are important to understand, the core issue of plagiarism lies in the lack of proper attribution to the source of the original ideas. Therefore, failing to give credit accurately describes the fundamental violation that constitutes plagiarism in academic settings.