SD103: Academic Integrity

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you would be able to:

explain the importance of academic integrity
discuss academic arguments against plagiarism and elaborate on the
relationship between plagiarism and academic integrity
apply techniques of citing, referencing, paraphrasing, and summarizing to
avoid plagiarism
demonstrate competence in writing proper citations and references in APA,
MLA and Chicago/Turabian style
analyse, evaluate, and make sense of the TurnItIn report

Introduction
This module introduces you to the importance of
academic integrity.
It outlines the arguments against plagiarism, and discusses
techniques for avoiding plagiarism when paraphrasing and
summarizing ideas from published and online materials.
You will also practise citing and referencing in the three
main styles: APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian.

Topics
1) Why academic integrity is important
2) What plagiarism is all about
3) Techniques to avoid plagiarism: citing,
referencing, paraphrasing, summarizing, and
early submissions of assignments to TurnItIn.
4) Citing and referencing styles: APA, MLA,
Chicago/Turabian
5) How TurnItIn detects plagiarism

Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is fundamental to every students learning
experience and your learning journey as a student at UniSIM.
Academic integrity is frequently associated with strict codes of
academic conduct that promote honesty in a students learning, with
particular emphasis placed on ensuring that the work a student
submits is his or her very own.
In recent years, the understanding of academic integrity has evolved to
encompass other core values such as trust, fairness, respect, and
responsibility in all aspects of academia (see
http://www.umuc.edu/cip/vail/faculty/AI_overview/ai_overview.pdf).

Importance of Academic Integrity

The work you submit to be graded must be your own; it
must be representative of your own effort, knowledge,
and understanding of the subject matter.
Whenever you take information and ideas from someone
else, you must give credit to the original author(s) or
originator(s) of the idea(s).
You must respect and acknowledge the intellectual
property of others.

Violation of Academic Integrity

(or what is known as academic dishonesty)
Plagiarism
submitting another persons work;
cobbling together ideas from different sources that make
up the majority of the students work;
copying chunks of text, changing a word or two, without
altering the sentence structure;
failing to acknowledge sources or providing incorrect
information about the source
(see www.plagiarism.org for more details, or
http://www.lib.umich.edu/academic-integrity/typesplagiarism for descriptions of types of plagiarism)

Violation of Academic Integrity

(or what is known as academic dishonesty)
Collusion submission of a whole or a part of an
assignment/report that has been written jointly
with one or many other students
Copying cutting and pasting chunks of text or
material (acknowledging the source does not
excuse the act of copying)

What is considered plagiarism at UniSIM?

Using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across

Copying word-for-word directly from a text
Paraphrasing the words from a text very closely
Using text downloaded from the internet
Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or
source
Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or
diagrams without acknowledging your sources
Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student
Copying from your own notes, on a text, tutorial, video or
lecture, that contain direct quotations
UniSIM Student Handbook section 7.2.2.

Common Reasons for Plagiarism

One common explanation offered by students who have
committed plagiarism is the the problem they have with meeting
TMA deadlines. Many say they have a difficult time trying to
submit their TMAs by the specified due date, to avoid incurring an
automatic mark deduction for late submission. As a result, they
search for answers on the internet and end up copying from
various sources, as they have no time to reflect on the material so
that they are able to paraphrase or reproduce the content in their
own words.

They also sometimes claim they were not aware that they had
plagiarised.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Now that you know what constitutes plagiarism, you can take
steps to avoid plagiarism.
The following are some key techniques and practices you should
observe and cultivate to avoid plagiarism:

Time management
Summarise and paraphrase
Cite and reference your sources
Avoid collusion
Check your turnitin report

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Time management
Give yourself sufficient time to understand the TMA question,
the expectations required of you, and to prepare the answer.
You should not attempt the TMA over a weekend before the assignment
is due
You should start thinking about the TMA questions, breaking them
down into its essential parts, and start researching and collecting
information on the topics assigned as early as possible
You should give yourself sufficient time to understand the material so
that you can effectively write up the assignment

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Summarise and paraphrase
understand the material being assessed, and write
your elaboration and interpretation of the material in
your own words
paraphrase appropriately (using different words and
different sentence structure), and remember to
acknowledge the source of the information or idea

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Paraphrase appropriately by:
using different words
using different sentence structure
acknowledge the source of the information or
idea using the appropriate citation style for
your discipline

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Example: Paraphrasing appropriately
The old idea that we use 10% of our brains is bunk that probably
came from a time when neuroscientists hadnt figured out the
functions of many cortical areas.

Unacceptable borrowing of words:

It was thought that only 10% of our brains was used because
neuroscientists hadnt fully understood the functions of the
various cortical areas.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Example: Paraphrasing appropriately
The old idea that we use 10% of our brains is bunk that probably
came from a time when neuroscientists hadnt figured out the
functions of many cortical areas.

Unacceptable borrowing of sentence structure:

The suggestion that we use 10% of our brains is nonsense that
likely came from when neuroscientists were still unsure of the
functions of many cortical areas.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Example: Paraphrasing appropriately
The old idea that we use 10% of our brains is bunk that probably
came from a time when neuroscientists hadnt figured out the
functions of many cortical areas.

Acceptable paraphrasing:
The origins of the myth that we use a very small proportion of our
brains could be traced back to the earlier days when a full
understanding of the functions of the various brain regions
was not established.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Cite and reference your sources

when using someone elses exact words, put them in quotation marks and
cite the source including the page number(s)
as a general rule, phrases containing 5 or more consecutive words from
the original source should be enclosed in quotation marks
use direct quotes sparingly as they are seldom used in academic and
scientific writing.

Important note: If the phrase youve chosen to quote is a unique expression for
which you are unable to paraphrase competently, you should directly
quote the phrase, putting it within quotation marks, and attribute it to the
author using the referencing style guide for your discipline

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Citations
reference or attribution to a published or
unpublished source (or sources) that provided the
author with the idea or understanding of concept
that s/he is discussing in his or her essay.
If published, the source of the idea may be found in a
book, article, web site, magazine, play, etc.
If unpublished, it could be an unpublished manuscript,
dissertation, conference paper, or even verbal
communication during an interview.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Citation Styles
There are various citation styles that provide a system for
recording these references to original work(s). The most
commonly used citation systems in the humanities and social
sciences are: American Psychological Association (APA),
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), Modern Language
Association (MLA), Harvard System of Referencing. Law uses
the Bluebook, while the Sciences uses the American
Chemical Society (ACS) and American Mathematical Society
(AMS).

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

How to cite
When placed within the body of a work, citations take the
form of either a note at the bottom of the page, or are found
in parenthesis (that is, are put within brackets). A more
detailed citation is provided at the end of the paper, in the
form of an alphabetical reference list or bibliography of the
work in which the original source appeared. These
references would include the authors name, the title of the
work in which the idea or direct quote appeared, page
numbers, date of publication, and the name of the publisher.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

How to cite: Example of in-text citation (Chicago/Turabian
Style)
In recent years, scholars researching on issues of
international migration across disciplines (Aleinikoff 2002;
Green 2005; Hollifield 2000; Lim 2007; Waldinger and
Fitzgerald 2004; Zolberg 1981) have made the urgent call
to bring the state back in (Skocpol 1985).
All names of authors and years of
publication found in the parantheses
had provided the author with the seed
of an idea that s/he is further
developing in the essay s/he is writing.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

How to cite: Example of Reference list (Chicago/Turabian Style)
References
Aleinikoff, T. Alexander. 2002. Policing Boundaries: Migration, Citizenship, and the State. In E Pluribus Unum?
Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation, edited by Gary Gerstle and
John Mollenkopf. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Chan, Kwok Bun. A Returnees Hybridity: Its Upside and Downside. In this book.
Chua, Beng-Huat. Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore. New York: Routledge.
Giddens, Anthony. 1991. Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity.
Gudykunst, William B. and Kim Young Yun. 2003. Communication With Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural
Communication. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Green, Nancy L. The Politics of Exit: Reversing the Immigration Paradigm. The Journal of Modern History 77
(June 2005): 263-289.
Hollifield, James F. 2002. The Politics of International Migration: How Do We Bring the State Back In? In
Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines, edited by Caroline B. Brettell and James F. Hollifield, 137-186.
New York, New York: Routledge.

etc.

Citation Styles
The three main citation styles that are commonly used are:
American Psychological Association (APA);
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS); and
Modern Languages Association (MLA).

At UniSIM, the APA style is most widely used, especially by degree

programmes within SASS and HDSS.
It is important that you master the proper manner of citing and
referencing materials, as this is an essential technique to avoid
plagiarism.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Avoid Collusion
You are allowed to collaborate with other students, and to
discuss your interpretations of the TMA questions.
However, you must write your own assignments, and not copy
from your fellow classmates work.
It would be best if you do not share your notes or drafts of
assignments with other students, so that turnitin would not flag
your assignment and your fellow students assignment as a
possible case of collusion.

Example: Collusion case

Attempts at paraphrasing the text is
evident see the paraphrased words
in grey among the copied red text.

Identifies the student

whose work shows a
high match rate.

Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Check your turnitin report
Submit your TMA early and check the similarity index in your turnitin
report.
If the similarity index is unusually high, review the areas that were
flagged to see if these are genuine instances of plagiarism, or not.
You are encouraged to submit your TMA early as this would allow you
sufficient time to amend the areas where plagiarism was found, and
to resubmit your assignment before the TMA due date.
Do note that you can submit your assignment multiple times before
the TMA deadline, so do make use of the opportunity to use turnitin.

How to Evaluate Turnitin Reports

This is what youll see when turnitin generates an originality report for the TMA
you submitted through MyUniSIM BlackBoard. There is a similarity index at the
top right hand corner, and a detailed list of matches highlighted in the column
underneath it.

Similarity Index

Similarity Index
Indicates the total percentage of similar
words that the turnitin system was able to
match. This means that the figure will also
take into account text that were properly
cited, as well as those that were not.
For more information, see
http://turnitin.com/static/helpCenter/viewi
ng_the_overall_similarity_index.php

Similarity Indices:
What do the numbers mean?
A high similarity index does not necessarily mean that plagiarism was
committed.
Similarly, a low similarity index does not necessarily mean that plagiarism
was not committed.
So, what is considered high and what is considered low?
It is difficult to tell, so you will need to look at and analyse the specific
areas highlighted in your report to determine if you should be concerned
about the high similarity index, and if you need to make adjustments to
your TMA submission, and to resubmit your TMA before the stipulated due
date.

Possible Factor Contributing to a Higher

Similarity Index: Bibliography
You can exclude Bibliography
from the originality report .

Possible Factor Contributing to a Higher

Similarity Index: Bibliography
Excluding Bibliography reduces the
Similarity Index from 50% to 22%.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student A
Plagiarism: Chunks of text were
copied word-for-word without citing
the source.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student B
Matched section was part of a standard text
describing an experimental result attached as
part of the Appendix. This is acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student B
The other matched sections turned out
to be TMA questions. This is acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student C
Plagiarism: Copied text in red are
referenced, however, copying word-forword is not acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student C
Plagiarism: Large chunk of text is
copied word-for-word in blue. This is
not acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality Reports:

Student D
Plagiarism: Large chunk of text is
copied word-for-word in red. This is not
acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality

Reports: Student D
Plagiarism: Large chunk of text (in
green) is copied word-for-word. This
is not acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality

Reports: Student D
Plagiarism: Chunks of text (in blue) are
copied word-for-word; This is not
acceptable.

Evaluating Turnitin Originality

Reports: Student E
The copied sections are all
references. This is acceptable.

Example of Acceptable
Copying: Quotes
The matching section turns out to be quotations (in
green below) which is referenced (although the
page no. is missing here). This is acceptable.

Example of Acceptable Copying:

Experimental Reports
The matching sections are statistical results
(e.g. SPSS output) generated from the same
dataset provided for the assignment. This is
acceptable.

Example of Acceptable Copying:

Bits and pieces
The matching sections are made up of
bits and pieces of text, here and there.
This is acceptable.

UniSIM policies on plagiarism

First offence
warning letter or reduction of grade

Second offence
zero for TMA (no refund of course fees)

Third offence
expulsion from the course for the semester (no refund of course
fees)

Fourth offence
expulsion from the programme (no refund of course fees)
Offences are cumulative
UniSIM Student Handbook section 7.2.2.

Conclusion
Academic integrity is the foundation of academia which
ensures that the degree being awarded by an institution is
of a reputable quality.
Plagiarism is an act that violates academic integrity.
Students have a responsibility to observe and uphold
policies on academic integrity, so as to ensure the quality
and value of the degree programme in which they are
enrolled.
Students can learn and hone techniques that enable them
to avoid plagiarism.

Summary
In this module, you have learned that:
a) as a student, you are responsible for upholding the standards of
academic integrity at UniSIM, and ensuring the quality and value of
the UniSIM degree
b) UniSIM takes a serious view on plagiarism, and has in place policies
to deter students from committing plagiarism
c) there are techniques you can use to avoid plagiarism
d) you must master the proper way of citing, referencing, paraphrasing,
and summarising your course materials using the style guides (APA,
CMOS, MLA) specific to your discipline
e) you should submit your TMAs early so that you can check the
turnitin originality report. This report is a good instrument for
detecting plagiarism

Useful References

UniSIM Associate Handbook

UniSIM Student Handbook
Plagiarism.org (www.plagiarism.org)
Turnitin web site (www.turnitin.com)

Heres a look at what other universities are doing

University of Rochester: Academic Honesty
http://www.rochester.edu/college/ccas/AdviserHandbook/AcadHonesty.html

University of Queensland: Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/academic-integrity-and-plagiarism

University of Alberta: Guide to Plagiarism and Cyberplagiarism

http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/content.php?pid=62200&sid=457651

University of Athabasca: Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/avoiding-plagiarism.php

Pennsylvania State University: Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, and

Copyright
http://istudy.psu.edu/FirstYearModules/CopyrightPlagiarism/Materials.html