Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Advancement in science and engineering requires honesty in reporting procedures and evidence. Scientists and engineers are expected to go about their work in an ethical manner. The same is true for participants in NVSEF.
The schools participating in NVSEF do not tolerate plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, ideas, or words and calling it your own – either intentionally or by accident. Plagiarism often involves copying what someone else has written without proper citation. Using a substantial amount of someone else’s writing (more than a paragraph), even with proper citation, can be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism can include copying from print or online sources.
NVSEF projects should also be reported with academic honesty. Your submission should accurately reflect the work that you did on the project. You and your group should complete and write all parts of the project. The data that you report should be collected by you and not made up or changed.
The success of NVSEF requires that students and teachers participate ethically. Students should monitor the work being done in their group to make sure that they are honestly representing their work and providing appropriate attribution to the ideas and words of others. Teachers must uphold the integrity of NVSEF by monitoring student work to identify intentional or accidental instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. These instances should provide an opportunity to educate students about ethical behavior by giving students the chance to make revisions and corrections. Projects that do not adhere to standards of academic honesty, including plagiarism, should not be submitted for judging in rounds two and three.
Specific examples of violations of academic integrity that will result in disqualification from the fair either in round II or III:
Plagiarism – presenting the work of others as your own without acknowledging the source. In this case, “work” means scientific results, conceptual development of a topic and substantive formulation or reformulation of a problem. This includes work done by a family member or a mentor.
Fabricating and/or falsifying data
Entering a project that is either derived from a previous project, or a continuation or revision of a previous project by the student (or by another), without documentation of the previous work.