Academic Honesty & Integrity

What is Academic Honesty and Academic Integrity?

Academic honesty is the principle and requirement of ensuring that all academic work submitted is your work alone, and if outside sources have been consulted then those sources have to be cited and referenced properly. If there is no evidence of where the information came from, this demonstrates plagiarism, which in turn affects the integrity of your work and is considered academic dishonesty. Cheating is also considered academic dishonesty.

What is plagiarism?

"Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional."

What is cheating?

Cheating consists of “breaking a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something and/or to take something from (someone) by lying or breaking a rule”.

What are the professional/academic and real life consequences for plagiarism?

• Lawsuit

• Social and professional isolation

• Loss of employment

• Not creditable

• Not trustworthy

• Bankruptcy

• Payment of fines

What is quoting?

Quoting is when you want to use a small proportion of someone's work in your paper, or assignment exactly how it is originally written. You may do this by using quotation marks "..." around the words and cite and reference the source properly.

E.g According to Ms. Morrison "reading 15 books or more a year improves brain function and memory" (2015, p.3).

What is paraphrasing?

When paraphrasing be sure you are not just rearranging a few of the original words or sentences. It is also not enough to keep the original sentence structure while replacing/changing a few words. In order to avoid plagiarism while paraphrasing make sure that you understand what the original text is saying, and then write it in your own words.

What does it mean to cite your sources?

When giving credit for the sources used, there are two things that are required: in-text citations and a reference or bibliography list. In-text citations go directly into your paper after you've used a source. For every source used you must have an in-text citation. You must provide an in-text citation when paraphrasing or quoting. Depending on the Style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc), the way you cite might differ, but typically it looks like this:

MLA Style:

“The kings of Scotland were more interested in spending money than saving it” (Dillon 90).

Dillon found “the kings of Scotland were more interested in spending money than saving it” (90).

Why do we need to create bibliographies/reference lists?

For every in-text citation you have in your paper, you must include the corresponding full bibliographic information of the source, in a reference or bibliography list at the end of our paper. This ensures not only that you don't plagiarize but it gives the reader all of the information they need to read the original source. This is how research and knowledge build upon previous research and findings.