What Is Academic Integrity?

When we write, we often rely on other sources to strengthen our argument. We might refer to articles, books, or digital media to help readers see a more varied experience, one that we might not have been able to create on our own. As a result, it is important to give credit where credit is due. This practice is not only ethical, but it also shows our integrity as a writer and adds ethos to our completed work.

Everyday Use of Source Material

In our everyday life, we often point out when we’re talking about someone else’s ideas. When we engage in conversations with other people, we might say things like, “I heard on the news today that…” or “The cashier at the store said…” When we do this, we not only give credit to the originator of the idea, but we also give more credibility to what we’re saying by letting others know the origin of the information.

In many cases, however, we don’t pay much attention to the source of a concept. This is especially true on the internet, where information is frequently cut-and-pasted from one site to another and anonymous authorship is the norm. It’s nearly impossible to find the origin of a viral meme online, and famously difficult to track the flow of information on social media. Stock photos pop up again and again in various contexts, and identical life-hacks and listicles appear on multiple websites. Except where it violates copyright law or a website’s policies, very little of this re-use is a problem in and of itself. By nature, the internet and social media encourage sharing and reposting.

Because internet culture plays so fast and loose with authorship and sourcing, academic standards for using others’ ideas can seem overly harsh or hairsplitting in comparison. As we’ll see, however, taking responsibility for one’s own work and giving credit for others’ work is one of the core ideals of the academic discourse community.

Academic Standards for Using Source Material

Academic research allows us to gain perspectives and understandings from other people through what we read, watch, and hear. In academic work we must tell our readers who and what led us to our conclusions. Documenting our research is important because people rely on academic research to be authoritative, so it is essential for academic conversation to be as clear as possible. Documentation for clarity is a shared and respected practice, and it represents a core value of the academy called “academic integrity.” Of course, this understanding of intellectual integrity isn’t exclusive to academic institutions: businesses expect original work as well. Imagine if you gave a presentation to your company and someone found out that you copied the whole thing from the internet. What do you think the consequences would be?

Defining Academic Integrity

Different universities have different definitions of academic integrity. These are often spelled out in the academic handbook under a heading such as “Academic Honesty Policy” or “Academic Integrity.” One university uses this definition:

Academic integrity is a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action.

According to this definition, academic integrity means taking full responsibility for your work, acknowledging your own efforts, and acknowledging the contributions of others’ efforts. Working and writing with integrity requires accurately representing what you contributed, as well as acknowledging how others have influenced your work.

Here is information from San Diego State University’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities on Academic Integrity.

Taking Responsibility for your Own Work

In the academic context, taking responsibility for your own work means that you stand by the quality of the information you pass on to others. Responsible use of information means not knowingly sharing false data, falsified results, or misinformation. (For more on stopping the spread of misinformation, see the section on Reliable Sources).

Any academic work you turn in should accurately reflect your knowledge, skills, and effort—in other words, cheating on a test or taking credit for a group project you skipped out on would both be violations of academic integrity.

Taking responsibility for your work also means being mindful, attentive, and informed about the way you use language to communicate; at the very least, avoiding statements that express or imply ideas that are sexist, racist, or otherwise biased, prejudiced, or denigrating to any particular group of people (for more on this responsibility, see the section on Writing with Awareness).

Giving Credit for Others’ Work

As long as you give credit where credit is due, using information from others to support your own thoughts, opinions, and research findings is good practice. Not only does it acknowledge the hard work of others, but it also shows that you did your research on the topic, you know what information exists about it, and you can integrate your knowledge into the existing research and contribute to the scholarly conversation.

The following video by NC State University Libraries has a great summary of what citations are and why we use them:

What Is Plagiarism?

The Definition

Sometimes students commit plagiarism intentionally, such as when they cut and paste sections from sources and drop them into the text of their paper. Other times, plagiarism happens by accident. Whether plagiarism occurs intentionally or unintentionally, it carries academic sanctions, which could range from losing points or failing an assignment to failing a class or expulsion from school.

Ethics

What is unintentional plagiarism?

• Using the same paper for two different classes
• Quoting a source incorrectly: for example, forgetting quotation marks or not properly introducing the source
• Failing to properly introduce an idea you’ve drawn from someone else

Most unintentional plagiarism can be prevented by better time management and by managing your sources correctly. If you aren’t rushing to finish a paper, you’ll be able to avoid plagiarism.

What is intentional plagiarism?

• Fabrication. Fabricating a source and quotes.
• Mosaic plagiarism. Changing a few words from the original source and not citing it. (Proper paraphrasing requires more than just changing a few words from the original source).
• Beefing up the bibliography. Adding references to your works cited page that you didn’t actually use.
• Using a pre-written paper. Purchasing pre-written papers or getting someone else to write your paper.

Why should I care?

• Respect for others’ work
• Respect for your own work
• Being a good citizen of the academic community

How do I benefit from avoiding plagiarism?

• Finding your own voice. One of the goals of a college education is contributing to the body of knowledge. You can only do that by doing your own work.
• Learning to Synthesize and Build upon the Knowledge of Others. The process of synthesis in academic writing—interacting with ideas from sources and adding your own ideas and conclusions—is part of becoming a scholar. You are reading and learning from the scholars who have shaped your chosen discipline. By properly citing the words and ideas of experts in your paper, you are bolstering and supporting your own arguments and developing the skills of a scholar.
• Developing Time Management Skills. You need to allocate enough time to do proper research. You must find, evaluate, and acquire sources. You must read, digest, and synthesize information. You must keep track of your sources and cite them properly. Time and project management skills will be useful in your career and your life. It is far better to overestimate the time needed to complete an assignment rather than to underestimate it. A good tool to use is University of Minnesota Libraries’ Assignment Calculator.

What are the consequences of plagiarism?

Possible consequences include:

• Cheating others
• Cheating yourself
• Failing an assignment and/or a course
• Academic probation
• Expulsion from school
• Notation on your transcript

Bad habits are hard to break, and they have consequences. The specific consequences depend on your school’s policies. For a discussion/debate on a noted historian’s encounter with plagiarism, see this Slate.com article.

When in Doubt…

When in doubt, check with your professor or TA, or with your school’s writing center. Remember: you’re not expected to know what to do in every citation edge-case and gray area. It’s better to ask and be safe than to risk failing to cite something that should be cited.