Academic Integrity

Ethical Use of Information

The original slideshow was developed by LV Rogers Secondary School, Nelson, BC 09/2008. It has been modified by Dr LC Gibson-Langford April 11 2015.

Right or wrong?

A person in your PDHPE class fails to close his locker properly. You help yourself to his scientific calculator because you can’t afford one and he was stupid enough not to lock his locker.

Right or wrong?

You find a pair of sweats in the weight room. Someone took yours last week, so you take this pair. Now you’re even.

Right or wrong?

You get an essay back from your teacher, and you’ve scored a good mark. Someone in the class has yet to do his essay and asks you for yours. You let him have it because you don’t want to look like a geek, and anyway, you’re not the one who is cheating.

Right or wrong?

You are researching a project on World War I. You get lots of information from the online encyclopedia and the Internet. You cut and paste it into a great essay, complete with images. You want to impress your teacher about how much you know and how well you have researched. You do not say from where you got your information.

Stealing is wrong…when you take an object, an idea or someone’s work without acknowledgement andsubmit it as your own

Image from Colby’s Cove

Plagiarism is Theft

Plagiarism is using the ideas of others and representing them as your own. Taking the words/images/digital products, etc. of another person and pretending they are your own is intellectual theft. It is wrong.There are ways of presenting research or projects that will allow you to avoid committing plagiarism.

Why do people plagiarise?

• Not knowing any better• Pressure/ competition• Lack of confidence• Work perceived as too hard• Lack of consequences• Boredom/ lack of interest/ laziness• Arrogance

Avoiding Plagiarism in Written Work

Taking notes and keeping track of your sources will help you avoid plagiarism.Three ways to use different sources for your research/ project to help you create your perspective from the information you use:

SummariseParaphrase

Use direct quotes

Why Summarise?

A summary is a brief review of information you feel is valuable to your work but in your own words.This means you read the author’s perspective and write your summary – your perspective - of what the author was conveying.Even though it is your words, YOU STILL NEED TO CITE YOUR SOURCE!

Why Paraphrase?

Translates the source’s perspective into your own interpretation. Helps you understand the material.Records the author’s reasoning and details.This is time consuming so be sure the information you paraphrase is relevant.

YOU STILL NEED TO CITE THIS AS A SOURCE!

Why Direct Quotations?

Records the source’s exact words.

Use only when the author’s wording makes a point extraordinarily vivid, concise or imaginative, or is the exact emphasis you want.

Note-taking

Make separate notes of each piece of information you will use to guide your task eg. facts, images, film clip, or even the quotation you might want to use in your project. These will become your REFERENCES.Be sure to use a note-making method that best suits your style. Be ORGANIZED in how you keep your notes.

Document Everything

Be sure to identify the source of the information, no matter its format.Just write down as much information as you will need to help others find the source.Where applicable, include the author/s name, book title, website, magazine, article title, page number, you tube clip, database, etc. to identify the source of the information.

Creating a Reference List Familiarize yourself with digital tools that will help you develop citation skills.

Look for those sites that will help you use TKS recommended APA style.

Try these recommended sites RefMe Son of Citation Machine

Tip

The less reference information you can find on a website, the less reliable its other information tends to be.

Where to Get Help

There are different referencing styles for each type of source whether online or print, eg. magazines, newspaper articles, films & film clips, personal conversations, images, books, animations, databases.Your teacher librarians can assist you in preparing your reference list no matter what sources you use.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to jyasinchuk@sd8.bc.ca for the use of the original slide share which has been edited and re-developed.