When is it cheating?

[Marlet]

I know this is going to be more of a personal interpretation type situation but thought I'd throw it out there.

I'm currently working on medical terminology. My textbook says that when in doubt on a word in regards to the rules (i.e. the word makes no sense in context such as cardiectomy [removal of the upper part of the stomach NOT removal of the heart]) then consult 1.your medical dictionary 2. a regular dictionary OR the internet.

Currently my regular dictionary IS the Internet (more specifically dictionary.com). I don't google the terms but check there or in cases of abbreviations abbreviations.com. I've been able to figure out 90%-95% of the words when asked but for those I'm unsure of I use dictionary.com.

My textbook says this is ok. However, I feel like I'm cheating. At what point do you think it is considered that (or even just abuse of a resource)? I wouldn't dream of doing it on any other question but here I am doing it for word definitions and somehow that's ok?

I think I'm overthinking this.

[outlier]

I think I'm missing something. Is this for a test or are you just studying?

An online dictionary is still a dictionary, and as long as you trust the source I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't use it, especially if your textbook says it's okay. The tricky part would be if you're submitting these definitions as part of an assignment, in which case I would put them in my own words and, most importantly, cite the source where you got the information.

[Marlet]

Ack. Yeah I forgot to mention that. It's for both the study units/self checks AND the test. I think it's just me being a weenie. I'm so used to not using the internet as a primary source for anything school related that I'm off my game being able to use it now.

[Ruthla]

I don't think it's cheating unless you're married, having sex with the online dictionary, AND your spouse isn't OK with it.

[Marlet]

[lolar2]

I don't think it's cheating. However, I can envision a scenario where an individual professor might not like it for some reason-- I've had a couple of professors who had a dislike for something that was fine with other professors-- so I would ask the professor.

[hillymum]

I know when doing my drug test the tester wanted to see I had a good knowledge base of my drugs and that I had the initiative to acknowledge when I didn't know something and to research it (look it up in the drug book) to check for interactions and recommended dosages. I say it's not cheating!!!

[Carita]

if in doubt, ask the professor.

and never 100% trust wikipedia!