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Academic integrity is defined as the commitment to and demonstration of honest and moral behavior in an academic setting (UNC Writing Center). It is shown through proper citation and acknowledgement of one's sources.

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What is academic integrity?

Academic integrity is the commitment to and demonstration of honest and moral behavior in an academic setting. This is most relevant at the university level as it relates to providing credit to other people when using their ideas. In simplest terms, it requires acknowledging the contributions of other people. Failure to provide such acknowledgement is considered plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

At UNC, plagiarism is defined as "the deliberate or reckless representation of another's words, thoughts, or ideas as one's own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise." (Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, Section II.B.1.). Because it is considered a form of cheating, the Office of the Dean of Students can punish students who plagiarize with course failure and suspension.

What does "reckless" mean?

Often when international students and scholars plagiarize, they do not intentionally steal another person's work. Instead, they plagiarize by accident because they do not have a complete understanding of what constitutes plagiarism. This is what we mean by "reckless". Unfortunately, failure to give proper credit to someone else's ideas because you didn't know you were supposed to or because you didn't know how to do so is considered just as bad as intentionally stealing someone else's work. Therefore, it is your responsibility to understand when and how to acknowledge someone else's contribution. See below for strategies.

Cultural Differences

If you are not from the United States, the concept of plagiarism might be hard to understand because what constitutes stealing someone else's work in the US may not be considered stealing in other cultural contexts. In some domains outside of the US, it is fine to take ideas and even entire passages of text from other authors without mentioning where the information was obtained. This differs greatly from the US (and several other countries) in which all words taken from another author as well as every idea taken from another author - even if the words are changed - must be accompanied by a formal citation or acknowledgment of the original author.

Strategies

Tell your professors that you'd like to make sure you're not plagiarizing. Ask them if they'd be willing to meet with you to review your draft *before you turn it in for a grade.* Ask if they'd be willing to help you identify any passages that need better citation. Bring your draft, your notes, and your sources so your professor can see the original. Be proactive in this process! Point out areas you're not sure about. Don't wait silently, thinking that a passage must be okay if the professor doesn't point it out. Have this conversation well before the draft is due, and explain to your professor that you are trying not to be reckless.

Make an appointment with a Writing Center coach. Bring your draft and source materials, and show your coach the passages you're concerned about. They'll teach you strategies for paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting effectively, and for attributing properly.

Read the publication manual of your disciplinary citation style. Undergraduates most often use either MLA or APA style. The Libraries have copies of these manuals and citation tutorials online.

Take full advantage of the resources below.

Resources

Avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic honesty can be learned just as any other skills, and they are essential to your success at UNC and to your work as a professional clinician, academic or researcher. Below are a list of resources to help you learn more.
Office of Student Conduct (for Students)Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, Appendix A Why We Cite Plagiarism How We Cite Quotations Paraphrasing Citation Resources
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

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What is academic integrity? Academic integrity is the commitment to and demonstration of honest and moral behavior in an academic setting. This is most relevant at the university level as it relates to providing credit to other people when using ... Continued

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What are some common challenges in maintaining academic integrity?

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What are some common challenges in maintaining academic integrity?

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Fear, double standards, personal connections, formal processes, and corruption of power.

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Obstacles to academic integrity, a paper by Brian Martin
published in the Proceedings of the 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity: Creating a Culture of Integrity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 6-7 December 2007

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What are some consequences of academic dishonesty?

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What are some consequences of academic dishonesty?

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In academic institutions, plagiarism is considered a form of cheating. Consequences include course failure and suspension, and in some cases expulsion. Professionally, a plagiarist faces a destroyed reputation and legal/monetary repercussions.

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At the University of Central Missouri, plagiarism is considered a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy. This policy clearly defines what plagiarism is and describes the process that will be used for a student who has been accused of plagiarizing. Most if not all universities and colleges have a similar policy in place.

While plagiarism is a problem often associated with school or college, these are not the only places where one can face the consequences of plagiarism. iThenticate, a leading producer of anti-plagiarism software, reports on six different consequences of plagiarism:

The consequences of plagiarism can be personal, professional, ethical, and legal. With plagiarism detection software so readily available and in use, plagiarists are being caught at an alarming rate. Once accused of plagiarism, a person will most likely always be regarded with suspicion. Ignorance is not an excuse. Plagiarists include academics, professionals, students, journalists, authors, and others.

Consequences of plagiarism include:

Destroyed Student Reputation

Plagiarism allegations can cause a student to be suspended or expelled. Their academic record can reflect the ethics offense, possibly causing the student to be barred from entering college from high school or another college. Schools, colleges, and universities take plagiarism very seriously. Most educational institutions have academic integrity committees who police students. Many schools suspend students for their first violation. Students are usually expelled for further offences.

Destroyed Professional Reputation

A professional business person, politician, or public figure may find that the damage from plagiarism follows them for their entire career. Not only will they likely be fired or asked to step down from their present position, but they will surely find it difficult to obtain another respectable job. Depending on the offense and the plagiarist's public stature, his or her name may become ruined, making any kind of meaningful career impossible.

Destroyed Academic Reputation

The consequences of plagiarism have been widely reported in the world of academia. Once scarred with plagiarism allegations, an academic's career can be ruined. Publishing is an integral part of a prestigious academic career. To lose the ability to publish most likely means the end of an academic position and a destroyed reputation.

Legal Repercussions

The legal repercussions of plagiarism can be quite serious. Copyright laws are absolute. One cannot use another person's material without citation and reference. An author has the right to sue a plagiarist. Some plagiarism may also be deemed a criminal offense, possibly leading to a prison sentence. Those who write for a living, such as journalists or authors, are particularly susceptible to plagiarism issues. Those who write frequently must be ever-vigilant not to err. Writers are well-aware of copyright laws and ways to avoid plagiarism. As a professional writer, to plagiarize is a serious ethical and perhaps legal issue.

Monetary Repercussions

Many recent news reports and articles have exposed plagiarism by journalists, authors, public figures, and researchers. In the case where an author sues a plagiarist, the author may be granted monetary restitution. In the case where a journalist works for a magazine, newspaper or other publisher, or even if a student is found plagiarizing in school, the offending plagiarist could have to pay monetary penalties.

Plagiarized Research

Plagiarized research is an especially egregious form of plagiarism. If the research is medical in nature, the consequences of plagiarism could mean the loss of peoples' lives. This kind of plagiarism is particularly heinous.

The consequences of plagiarism are far-reaching and no one is immune. Neither ignorance nor stature excuses a person from the ethical and legal ramifications of committing plagiarism. Before attempting any writing project, learn about plagiarism. Find out what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. The rules are easy to understand and follow. If there is any question about missing attribution, try using an online plagiarism checker or plagiarism detection software to check your writing for plagiarism before turning it in. Laziness or dishonesty can lead to a ruined reputation, the loss of a career, and legal problems.

("6 Consequences of Plagiarism." Plagiarism Detection Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2017.)

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Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic; Katie Elson Anderson

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This guide is meant to raise awareness of plagiarism and help students prevent both intentional and unintentional plagiarism.

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What is a good way to fact check my sources?

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What is a good way to fact check my sources?

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Links:

FactCheck.org - http://www.factcheck.org/

Politifact - http://www.politifact.com/

Snopes.com - http://www.snopes.com/

Washington Post Fact Checker - http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/

Browser Extensions:

MyBib

Chrome Fake News Detector

Chrome Know News

How to avoid Fake news:

Check author credentials - Are they related to this field?

Read the "About Us" - Look for one and look for biases

Check dates - Look for most up-to-date info

Check sources of the source

Check URLs - Look for variations (Ex: .edu.co)

Judge The source

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Fact checking links

Fact Checking Links

Chrome Fake News Detector Simple extension that shows an alert when you visit a site known for spreading fake news.

Chrome Know News Monitors for unreputable sites and displays a browser notification based on a reliability score (1-10)

Macdonald-Kelce Library - The University of Tampa - 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. - Tampa, FL 33606 - 813 257-3056 - library@ut.edu -Accessibility

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Macdonald-Kelce Library: "Fake News" & Misinformation: How to Fact Check

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Learn how to evaluate news sources, identify unreliable sources, misinformation, and conspiracy theories

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How does academic integrity affect the educational community?

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How does academic integrity affect the educational community?

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Can negatively impact:

Students

miss out on opportunities to learn

Academic Community

Could possibly use incorrect info

Future Relations

You are falsely qualified for a job and might not know how to do the job because you cheated, depriving the workspace

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Why is Academic Integrity Important? | Office of the University Provost | ASU

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Academic integrity is a fundamental value and is paramount to your success as a student. Protecting the ASU community from violations of academic integrity is everyone’s responsibility.

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What are the differences between intentional and unintention plagiarism?

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What are the differences between intentional and unintention plagiarism?

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Intentional plagiarism occurs when a student knowingly passes off another's work or ideas as their own and refuses to give credit.

Unintentional plagiarism is more common and occurs when students fail to give credit for others ideas, usually because they don't know how to correctly cite a source.

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Subject & Course Guides: Academic Integrity: Plagiarism

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Subject & Course Guides: Academic Integrity: Plagiarism

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How can proper citation and referencing contribute to academic integrity?

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How can proper citation and referencing contribute to academic integrity?

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It gives credit to the source where you got the information from. It shows that your arguments are built on solid research which can help build credibility. Also demonstrates your ability to properly research and synthesize information

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Research Guides: Write and Cite: Academic Integrity

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This guide offers information on writing resources, citation style guides, and academic writing expectations and best practices, as well as information on resources related to copyright, fair use, permissions, and open access.