NURSING AND EDUCATION PLATFORM

So you have an idea eg book/article/research/new method. Be careful who you share it with. Is taking the idea of somebody else- plagiarism? According to some definitions of plagiarism, yes it is.There is often the "I could have done that syndrome." If so, why didn't you? This is like saying- I could have invented the toilet. Easy when it is somebody elses idea isn't it? We need to give credit to those who originally have the idea. Yes, sometimes it is ordinary people and not the already established academics.The difficulty is, what can the original thinker do about it? How can it be proved? In some cases it can be proved by keeping dates and times and some written evidence. Really original ideas and publications, can be registered copyright using a UK copyright agency online (if in the UK. These also exisit in other countries). However, of course it is impossible to copyright everything. Also, it is not advisable to fall out with established academics/ institutions  who you may well need in the future. Sometimes myself, I will offer my ideas to others as I know I cannot implement them all. Yet it is nice to be acknowledged now and again.

Carol Dimon