Academic Dishonesty

IntroductionAfter watching the examples of “Under Pressure” and “Ice, Ice Baby” as well as the interview with Vanilla Ice, what do you think academic (or creative) dishonesty means?

We’re going to talk about…

• Cheating• Collaboration• Stealing• Dishonesty• Reuse• Aiding in Dishonesty• PlagiarismLet’s clarify some points.Let’s practice.

Much of this should be common knowledge. However, a lot of it is not, especially when we get to the plagiarism aspect.

Also, many actions of academic dishonesty fall under several categories.

Cheating• General cheating includes:

o Papers written by someone else that you turn in as your owno Using notes of any kind without the knowledge and approval of the

instructoro Using someone else’s answers on quizzes, tests, assignments that are

for a grade, and other assignments

• “to break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something” (Merriam-Webster)

We get it.

Collaboration• Getting assistance from others and/or coming up

with answers (or sentences or phrases) together without knowledge or approval of the instructor

• For instance, an assignment that is supposed to be worked on by yourself should be done by yourself. Looking at someone else’s work and/or sharing answers on homework is academic dishonesty.

• Editing and revising papers together is generally considered fine, but you have to have something written in order for someone else to help you edit or revise. Does that make sense?

We get it.

Stealing• Taking material (such as answers to tests or

quizzes) or using another’s materials without the author’s knowledge or approval

We get it.

Dishonesty• For our purposes, using fake or knowingly

incorrect data or research to support ideas.

We get it.

Reuse• Reusing work done in previous classes or for

other classes without the approval of the instructor(s).

We get it.

Aiding in Dishonesty• Helping or encouraging others do to bad things.

We get it.

Plagiarism• This is a big word to say that you borrowed

information, data, words, ideas, or other material from someone or something without properly citing the source(s).

• Plagiarism is plagiarism whether it is accidental or purposeful.

Plagiarism (continued)• Central Methodist University defines plagiarism this way:“Plagiarism is a form of cheating and stealing. It is morally unacceptable as well as against academic policy. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to [1] representing as one's own work a paper, speech, or report written in whole or in part by someone else (from the uncredited use of significant phrases to the uncredited use of larger portions of material), [2] failing to provide appropriate recognition of the sources of borrowed material through the proper use of quotation marks, proper attribution of paraphrases, and proper citations. Paraphrase is the direct use of others’ ideas, data, or structures of thought stated in language substantially different from the source upon which they depend, and therefore not requiring quotation marks even though the substance of the material is borrowed. As borrowed material, appropriate recognition of the source must be given.”

Plagiarism (continued)• Let’s point out some really important parts of the

previous definition1. “Morally unacceptable”2. All or part: phrases or “larger portions”3. Correct use of quotation marks, paraphrases,

citations4. Paraphrasing: “in language substantially

different from the source”5. Material taken from somewhere else requires

“appropriate recognition”

We get it.

Common Knowledge• “Won’t I have to cite everything I use in my paper

then?”

• The quick answer: no, of course not.

• Let’s explore that a little bit more through the idea of common knowledge.

Common Knowledge (continued)

• Common knowledge: any piece of information that is known by most people. It’s a difficult idea to determine sometimes.

• How do you know if it’s common knowledge?

o You have found this information in more than three credible sources (the Purdue OWL says FIVE!)

o You think your audience of peers (so, other students…not the instructor) should already know this information.

Common Knowledge (continued)

• Examples of common knowledge:o Teachers work with students on a daily basis.o George Washington was the first president of the United

States.o A doctor has to go through a lot of schooling before

working.o There are four seasons every year: summer, fall, spring,

winter.o Coffee has caffeine in it.

• What are some examples you can think of?

More Clarification• If you use information word-for-word (exact

wording) from a source, you must cite it. No matter what. Even if it’s common knowledge.

• Ways to know it’s usually NOT common knowledge (and therefore needs a citation):o There are numbers involved (e.g. a specific salary

amount, number of years)o The information uses specific names or terms for things

(e.g. autotrophs as a classification for plants)

• When in doubt, cite it.

We get it.

Example 1Lily borrows Robert’s math homework over lunch to get some answers that she didn’t understand last night.

This situation is:a) OKb) Academic dishonesty by Lily.c) Academic dishonesty by Robert.d) Academic dishonesty by both Lily & Robert.

Example 2Jimmy is working on his research paper, but he forgot to write down some of the source information he needs to cite his information. He decides to make a citation, but he makes up some of the information because he doesn’t remember.This is:a) OKb) Academic dishonesty

Example 3From the Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Nurses record patients' medical histories and symptoms.”Nellie wants to use the above information in her paper, and she is pretty sure this is common knowledge. She uses the following in her paper without quotes: Nurses record patients’ medical histories and symptoms.

This is:a) OKb) Academic dishonesty

Example 4From the Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Nurses record patients' medical histories and symptoms.”Nellie wants to use the above information in her paper, so she paraphrases it: Nurses write down patient’s symptoms and medical background.

This is:a) OKb) Academic dishonesty

Example 5From the Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Nurses record patients' medical histories and symptoms.”Nellie wants to use the above information in her paper, so she paraphrases it: Nurses ask patients questions about their health and write down the patients’ health issues (“Registered Nurses”).

This is:a) OKb) Academic dishonesty

Example 5 AnswerFrom the Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Nurses record patients' medical histories and symptoms.”Nellie wants to use the above information in her paper, so she paraphrases it: Nurses ask patients questions about their health and write down the patients’ health issues.

This is:a) OK! She did a pretty good job of

paraphrasing AND she cited it like she was supposed to.

b) Academic dishonesty

What questions do you have?

Sources• Central Methodist Academic Dishonesty Policy• Merriam-Webster• The Library at UC San Diego• Purdue OWL• Cal State San Marcos Library