Common Knowledge
"Common knowledge" is information that you know already and would expect other people to know.  These pieces of information may be common knowledge:

• Pi = 3.14....

• Columbus is the capital of Ohio.

• Shaking babies can cause irreversible brain damage.

• Some forest fires are set by arsonists.

• Julia Roberts is one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses.

• "Dover Beach" is probably the best-known of Matthew Arnold's poems. 

You do not have to create a citation for information that is common knowledge, but if you had to look up a piece of information or if you learned it while you were doing your research, you need to cite the source.  

It is unlikely that these pieces of information are common knowledge:

• "Matthew Arnold's poem 'Dover Beach' concludes with a pessimistic lamentation relative to the possibility of human happiness in a time bereft of faith" (Schow). 

• Julia Roberts' husband is David Moder (Schneider).

• The 2002 Hayman fire in Colorado was the worst in that state's history (Fires 619).

• One study of shaken baby syndrome reported that "... of those infants who were comatose when initially examined, 60% died or had profound mental retardation, spastic quadriplegia, or severe motor dysfunction" (American 208).

• 1,071,524 people lived in Franklin County, Ohio, as of July 1, 2001 (Ohio).

• Pi  is 3.03232214303… in base 5 (Trotter).

Acknowledge, Cite, Document
Acknowledging or documenting a source means indicating where you got your information.  In a paper, cite your source by providing a brief citation in the text of the paper and a corresponding full citation in the list of sources at the end of the paper.  Citations may also be called references. 

Clark Memorial Library provides free access to NoodleBib, an online bibliography composer.  Please ask at Reference for the Username and Password that you will need to create an account. 

See Citing Resources for more information about creating citations. 

Plagiarism can include not only quoted material that is not cited and credited but also summaries or paraphrases of material that are not cited and credited.  Plagiarism can also include submitting a paper that someone else wrote or a paper that was substantially revised by someone else.  Plagiarism can be unintentional as well as intentional.  To avoid plagiarism, submit your own work and be sure to credit sources and properly cite them.

Plagiarism constitutes academic misconduct according to university policy.  The consequences of plagiarism include a failing grade for the Senior Seminar paper and a failing grade for the course. (Course)

Works Cited

American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect.  "Shaken Baby Syndrome: Rotational Cranial Injuries-Technical Report."  Pediatrics 108 (2001): 206-210.  CINAHL. EBSCOhost. Clark Memorial Lib., Portsmouth, OH.  6 Mar. 2003. <http://bll.epnet.com/>.

"Course Syllabus.  Senior Seminar.  Interdisciplinary Studies. IDST 490S."  Shawnee State University. 11 March 2003.  <http://www.shawnee.edu/off/gep/sen.html>

"Fires and Explosions." Time Almanac 2003. 618-619.

Ohio. Department of Development. Office of Strategic Research.  Ohio Total Population Estimates: July 1, 2001.  Apr. 2002.  6 Mar. 2003. <http://www.odod.state.oh.us/research/FILES/P102.pdf>.

Schneider, K.S. "Hideaway Bride." People  22 July 2002: 68-74.  Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated. WilsonWeb. Clark Memorial Lib., Portsmouth, OH.  6 Mar. 2003.  <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/>.

Schow, H.W.  "Arnold's Dover Beach."  Explicator  57 (1998): 26-7. Humanities Abstracts.  WilsonWeb.  Clark Memorial Lib., Portsmouth, OH.  7 Mar. 2003. <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/>.

"Shawnee State University Student Handbook."  11 Mar. 2003. Shawnee State University.  <http://www.shawnee.edu/acadamics/Student%20Handbook.pdf >

Trotter, Terrel.  "Let's Take Another Look at Pi Day."  Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 7 (2002) 374+ .  Academic Search Premier.  EBSCOhost.  Clark Memorial Lib., Portsmouth, OH.  7 Mar. 2003.  <http://web24.epnet.com/>.