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Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

Academic Integrity Essentials

What is Academic Integrity?

The purpose of academic integrity is to guarantee the knowledge pools of each

academic field are not contaminated by incorrect or unsubstantiated information. In other words, all written work must be accurate, original work. Northcentral University (NCU) students and faculty must carefully ensure their writing is distinct from the writing

of others. Every day—every discussion post, every assignment, every dissertation document must be thoroughly supported from scholars who have gone before, or who are currently active in the field, along with meaningful original work, all the while

assuring accuracy with the selection of and application of referenced and original information. In sum, NCU is committed to supporting students and faculty in understanding and applying standards of academic integrity by:

 Using an industry-recognized text matching service to screen student assignments (Turnitin).

 Publishing policy standards in the NCU Catalog.

 Providing materials about academic integrity in NCUOne.

 Providing additional tools through the Academic Success Center (ASC) on

APA standards.

Why does it Matter?

NCU is committed to maintaining a community with exceptional ethical standards of professional and academic conduct. Community members of the University are expected to conduct themselves professionally, and refrain from acts of misconduct

including, but not limited to, dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism. Substantiated violations of plagiarism may result in disciplinary sanctions, up to and including

expulsion from the University.

What is Plagiarism?

The University considers it a serious violation of academic integrity to – intentionally or unintentionally – present the thoughts or ideas of another as your own. The key to

academic integrity originates in the writer’s choices on how to divide their voice from the voices of others. The combination of an individual’s style, perspective, and tone of writing is partly what makes your voice stand apart from others. The other important part

is ensuring all supporting material within your writing is accurate and correctly substantiated. The American Association of University Professors defines plagiarism as, “Taking over the ideas, methods, or written words of another, without acknowledgment

and with the intention that they be taken as the work of the deceiver.”1

Often the words “copying” and “borrowing” of someone else’s original ideas are associated with plagiarism; unfortunately, terms such as these cover up the seriousness of the offense.

1 American Association of University Professors (1989). "Statement on Plagiarism." Academe, 75(5), 47-48. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40249740

Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary,2 to plagiarize means:

 To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own.  To use (another's production) without crediting the source.

 To commit literary theft.  To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing

source.

Plainly stated, plagiarism is a fraudulent act. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

So, how well do you know plagiarism? Here’s a 10-question quiz to find out:

http://en.writecheck.com/plagiarism-quiz

The Two Types of Plagiarism

There are two types of plagiarism: Intentional and unintentional. Intentional plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own.

Unintentional plagiarism is the accidental appropriation of the work of others due to a lack of understanding of how to document.

Northcentral University considers it a serious violation of academic integrity to plagiarize one’s work, even unintentionally. The key to academic integrity originates in the writer’s choices on how to divide his or her voice from the voices of others. Intentional plagiarism can be defined as appropriating the words or ideas of someone else and

passing them off as your own. Intentional plagiarism can include:

 Copying entire documents and presenting them as your own.

 Cutting and pasting from the work of others without properly citing the source.

 Purchasing a pre-written paper.

 Stringing together quotes and/or ideas of others without connecting their work to your own original work.

 Submitting work from a previous course for a current course work assignment.

Unintentional plagiarism is the accidental appropriation of the work of others due to a lack of understanding of documentation conventions. However, this misuse of sources

is still considered a violation of academic integrity. NCU’s response to such violations may range from requiring a student to rewrite a paper to permanently dismissing a student from the University. Unintentional plagiarism can include:

 Failure to cite a source that is not common knowledge.

 Failure to quote or block quote author’s exact words.

 Failure to put a paraphrase in your own words.

 Failure to put a summary in your own words.

 Failure to be loyal to a source.

2 Plagiarize. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld

Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

To monitor for potential plagiarism, the University submits student assignments through the institution’s third-party text matching service (Turnitin). Faculty may submit

additional coursework to the text matching service as needed or instructed by the

School Dean or designee.

Scope of Academic Integrity Policy

The academic integrity policy applies to all course assignments submitted by a student to a faculty member, including but not limited to the following:

 Discussion postings.

 Exams.

 Signature assignments.

 Course papers.

 Comprehensive exams.

 Written assignments using outside source information.

 Dissertation documents (dissertation chapters, concept papers, proposals,

and final reports).

What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is a plagiarism prevention service. Turnitin’s database includes the world’s largest collection of internet, academic, and student paper content. Thanks to Turnitin’s unparalleled index of archived student papers (929 million and counting) student

collusion, i.e., the improper sharing of work both within and across institutions, is discouraged. Additionally, 67 billion web pages and 178 million journal articles an d subscription content sources, protects against search engine plagiarism and helps

ensure originality of research papers, theses, and dissertations by comparing them to online and offline subscription content.

When you submit your essay based assignments to dropbox in NCUOne, they will automatically be run through Turnitin. In addition, faculty may use the text matching

service as they deem necessary, reserving the right to process any assignment at any time through the service.

You have full access to the Turnitin originality report. Simply click on the percentage (similarity index) number to open the Turnitin report in a new window.

Please note that the similarity index represents all text matches including references,

direct quotes, etc. View the report to determine what matches need to be resolved.

Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

Having issues viewing the Turnitin originality report? Contact Service Desk or your AFA.

Looking for more details on using dropbox in NCUOne and accessing feedback?

Review the NCUOne Student Guide in the CTL Resource Area of The Commons.

The Plagiarism Spectrum: Tagging Ten Types of Unoriginal Work

Based on a worldwide survey of nearly 900 secondary and higher education faculty, Turnitin has identified ten types of plagiarism, referred to as The Plagiarism Spectrum.

Each type has been given an easy-to-remember moniker to help students and faculty better identify and discuss the ramifications of plagiarism in student writing. Additionally, each type has been ranked by severity (#1-10) and scored by a frequency of

appearance (1=lease, 10=most).

See https://www.turnitin.com/static/plagiarism-spectrum/ for more information.

Compliance and Enforcement

Confirmed violations of the academic integrity policy range from requiring a student to

rewrite a paper to permanently dismissing a student from the institution.

As per the NCU Catalog, students dismissed due to a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, the University's Academic Integrity policy, or due to any other legal or ethical

matters, do not qualify for readmission to the University.

Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

Academic Integrity Checklist

Use this checklist as a guide for preventing academic integrity violations in your work.

 Have you reviewed the assignment instructions carefully?

 If you had questions, did you seek clarification from the mentor?

 If you took notes as you were researching, did you indicate the source material, including page or paragraph number, for information you might use in your assignment?

 Did you put quotation marks around anything that is a direct quote from the source, and did you indicate the citation (including page or paragraph number) in

your notes?

 Do your notes summarize the article instead of simply restating the abstract?

 Did you keep a list of all references you have reviewed?

Writing

 Did you use quotes sparingly?

 Are quotes included because you cannot state them any better in your own words?

 Are the quotes relevant to the concept being addressed?

 Did you make sure you did not exceed the fair use provision guidelines related to quoting source material?

 Did you support opinions (unless a self-reflection aspect) with research evidence, and then properly cite them?

 Have you provided clarity to the reader by distinguishing between your ideas and those from your sources?

 W ere direct quotes presented with quote marks if under 40 words, or placed in a block format if 40 words or more, and then cited using the page or paragraph number?

 Did you ensure that you have not used another student’s work or submitted someone else’s work as your own?

Paraphrasing

 W as information from your resources cut and pasted into your notes?

 W as the information from your sources rewritten into your own words and did you create a citation providing credit to your source?

 W ere all original thoughts rewritten in your own words and cited, if the original idea was not your own?

Center for Teaching and Learning February, 2019

References

 Have you met the assignment requirement for supporting evidence in number of required references from scholarly sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles?

 Did you display limited use of Internet-based sources?

 Have you indicated the source in which you have used material from to support your assignment?

 Is every source in the reference list actually cited within the paper as required by APA style?

 Are they presented in correct APA format?

Proofreading

 Have you read through your paper to identify?

 Spelling errors?

 Grammatical errors?

 All information is correctly cited?

 Have you made sure that you have not used another student’s work or submitted someone else’s work as your own?

 Have you made sure that all material cited in the paper is noted in the reference list, and that each source in the reference list was actually cited in the paper?