Appendix 9

Appendix 9

USE OF UNFAIR MEANS IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS (non-invigilated exams):

ADVICE TO STUDENTS

The University expects its graduates to meet certain criteria relating to good academic practice. (See the University’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy for a complete list of the characteristics of the Sheffield Graduate) These include:

• being able to carry out independent enquiry and engaging critically with a wide range of evidence;

• demonstrating that you can use and handle information in a professional and ethical way;

• demonstrating that you are fit to practice in your chosen professional field, meeting the requirements of relevant statutory bodies;

• being able to work as a constructive member of a team;

• being able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Throughout your programme of study at the University you will learn how to develop these skills. Your assessed work is the main way in which you demonstrate that you have acquired and can apply these skills and characteristics. Using unfair means in the assessment process is dishonest and means that you cannot demonstrate that you have acquired these essential academic skills.

What constitutes unfair means?

The basic principle underlying the preparation of any piece of academic work is that the work

submitted must be your own work. Plagiarism, submitting bought or commissioned work, double submission (or self plagiarism), collusion and fabrication of results are not allowed because they violate this principle (see definitions below). Rules about these forms of cheating apply to all assessed and non-assessed work.

1. Plagiarism (either intentional or unintentional) is the stealing of ideas or work of another person (including experts and fellow or former students) and is considered dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism may take the form of cutting and pasting, taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages, sections, sentences, paragraphs, drawings, graphs and other graphical material from books, articles, internet sites or any other source and submitting them for assessment without appropriate acknowledgement.

2. Submitting bought or commissioned work (for example from internet sites, essay “banks” or “mills”) is an extremely serious form of plagiarism. This may take the form of buying or commissioning either the whole assignment or part of it and implies a clear intention to deceive the examiners. The University also takes an extremely serious view of any student who sells, offers to sell or passes on their own assignments to other students.

3. Double submission (or self plagiarism) is resubmitting previously assessed work on one or more occasions (without proper acknowledgement). This may take the form of copying either the whole assignment or part of it. Normally credit will already have been given for this work.

4. Collusion is where two or more people work together to produce a piece of work, all or part of which is then submitted by each of them as their own individual work. Collusion does not occur where students involved in group work are encouraged to work together to produce a single piece of work as part of the assessment process.

5. Fabrication is submitting work (for example, practical or laboratory work) any part of which is untrue, made up, falsified or fabricated in any way. This is regarded as fraudulent and dishonest.

How can I avoid the use of unfair means?

To avoid using unfair means, any work submitted must be your own and must not include the work of any other person, unless it is properly acknowledged and referenced.

As part of your programme of studies you will learn how to reference sources appropriately in order to avoid plagiarism. This is an essential skill that you will need throughout your University career and beyond. You should follow any guidance on the preparation of assessed work given by the academic department setting the assignment.

You are required to attach a declaration form to all submitted work (including work submitted online), stating that the work submitted is entirely your own work.

If you have any concerns about appropriate academic practices or if you are experiencing any personal difficulties which are affecting your work, you should consult your personal tutor or a member of staff involved with that unit of study.

The following websites provide additional information on referencing appropriately and avoiding unfair means:

The Library provides online information literacy skills tutorials

http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/research/plagiarism_rsch.html

The Library also has information on reference management software

Software for students | IT Services | Student hub 

The English Language Teaching Centre operates a Writing Advisory Service through which

students can make individual appointments to discuss a piece of writing. This is available for all students, both native and non-native speakers of English.

Writing Advisory Service (WAS) | ELTC | Student hub 

What happens if I use unfair means?

Any form of unfair means is treated as a serious academic offence and action may be taken under the Discipline Regulations. For a student registered on a professionally accredited programme of study, action may also be taken under the Fitness to Practise Regulations. Where unfair means is found to have been used, the University may impose penalties ranging from awarding a grade of zero for the assignment through to expulsion from the University in extremely serious cases.

Detection of Unfair Means

The University subscribes to a national plagiarism detection service which helps academic staff identify the original source of material submitted by students. This means that academic staff have access to specialist software that searches a database of reference material gathered from professional publications, student essay websites and other work submitted by students. It is also a resource which can help tutors to advise students on ways of improving their referencing techniques. 

Your work is likely to be submitted to this service.