Malpractice in Coursework and Examinations

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1 Malpractice in Coursework and Examinations These notes are in addition to, not a replacement for, the University s Examination Regulations. It is an academic offence for a candidate to commit any act to obtain for himself/herself, or another, unfair advantage with a view to achieving a higher grade or mark than his/her abilities would otherwise secure. Any such attempt to convey deceitfully the impression of acquired knowledge, skills, understanding, or credentials shall represent a contravention of Rule 6 of the University, and normally constitute grounds for exclusion. Normally marks will be deducted in any assessed work where malpractice has occurred. Students will be informed of the penalty and have the right to appeal against it according to the normal appeals procedure. Academic integrity Core values of academic integrity (honesty and trust) lie at the heart of our academic enterprise, and they underpin all activities within the University. The University values a culture of honesty and mutual trust, and it expects all members of the University to respect and uphold these core values at all times, in everything they do at, for and in the name of the University. Academic integrity is important because, without honesty and trust, true academic discourse becomes impossible, learning is distorted and the evaluation of student progress and academic quality is seriously compromised. Consequently, the University is committed to a. defending the academic credibility and reputation of the institution b. protecting the standards of its awards c. ensuring that its students receive due credit for the work they submit for assessment d. advising its students of the need for academic integrity, and providing them with guidance on best practice in studying and learning e. educating its students about what intellectual property is, why it matters, how to protect their own, and how to legitimately access other people s f. protecting the interests of those students who do not cheat. Forms of cheating Cheating in Examinations Occurs when: a candidate communicates or attempts to communicate with a fellow candidate or individual who is neither an invigilator or member of staff; copies or attempts to copy from a fellow candidate; attempts to introduce or consult during the examination any unauthorised printed or written material, or electronic calculating or information storage device; impersonates, or allows himself or herself to be impersonated.

2 Plagiarism Occurs when a candidate appropriates the thoughts, writings and results of another, and presents these as his/her own. Assessed work undertaken outside formal and class examinations, such as is covered by Section C2.2 of the Examination Regulations, must be the candidate s own work, and acknowledge both assistance given and the major source(s) involved. ALL FORMS OF PLAGIARISM ARE CONSIDERED SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENCES but plagiarism, which involves intrusion upon the work of fellow students, will normally be viewed more seriously than plagiarism that involves the misuse of secondary sources. Source material, including tables, graphs and data must be fully cited. Unless instructed to the contrary, students should not cite large amounts of material from a single source. The University has established an institutional framework for dealing with plagiarism (see and has recently joined the JISC Plagiarism Detection Service, which searches for matching text between a paper and available material on the Internet. Collaboration In individual pieces of work, students are not permitted to work closely with other colleagues. Under no circumstances may individual coursework be prepared jointly. Where coursework is specified as being assessed on a group basis it should be prepared by the specific groups alone. Where a group member does not contribute fully to a group report, the other members may inform the faculty member responsible and an individual grade may be awarded to that student. Any individual working on a group-assessed piece of work may be vivaed to identify his/her contribution to the group grade and an individual grade awarded. Fabrication of Results Occurs when a candidate claims deceitfully to have carried out tests, research experiments or observations as part of his/her work, or presents fabricated results arising from the same with the object of gaining an unfair advantage.

3 Section I: On Avoiding Plagiarism Partly adapted from: What is plagiarism and why is it important? While studying at university we are continually engaged with other people s ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lectures, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. How can you avoid plagiarism? To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use: another person s idea, opinion, or theory; any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings any pieces of information that are not common knowledge; quotations of another person s actual spoken or written words; or paraphrase of another person s spoken or written words. How to recognise unacceptable and acceptable paraphrases Definition of Paraphrase: using someone s ideas, but putting them in your own words. This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the information. Here s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.: The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial labourers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centres of production as well as of commerce and trade. Here s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism: The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centres of commerce and trade as well as production.

4 What makes this passage plagiarism? The preceding passage is considered plagiarism for two reasons: the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original s sentences. the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts. If you do either or both of these things, you are plagiarising. NOTE: This paragraph is also problematic because it changes the sense of several sentences (for example, steam-driven companies in sentence two misses the original s emphasis on factories). Here s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of north-eastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centres (Williams 1). Why is this passage acceptable? This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer: accurately relays the information in the original uses her own words lets her reader know the source of her information. Here s an example of quotation and paraphrase used together, which is also ACCEPTABLE: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of north-eastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steam-powered production shifted labour from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers transformed farm hands into factory workers, and created jobs for immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River was one of these manufacturing hubs that were also centres of commerce and trade (Williams 1) Why is this passage acceptable? This is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer: records the information in the original passage accurately. gives credit for the ideas in this passage. indicated which part is taken directly from her source by putting the passage in quotation marks and citing the page number. Strategies for avoiding plagiarism Put in quotations everything that comes directly from the text especially when taking notes. Paraphrase, but be sure you are not just rearranging or replacing a few words. Instead, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text with your hand, or close the text so you can t see any of it (and so aren t tempted to use the text as a guide ). Write out the idea in your own words without peeking.

5 Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate. More examples Here is another example which shows the difference between acceptable paraphrasing and plagiarism (taken from The Bedford Handbook for Writers, 508). (Adapted from ) Table 3: Plagiarism and acceptable paraphrasing Original source If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviourists (Davis 26). The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviourists (Davis, 26). If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp was disturbing for scientists studying language, it was also surprising to scientists studying animal behaviour (Davis, 26). According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal behaviourists were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language (Davis, 26). Comment Plagiarism. Even though the writer has cited the source, the writer has not used quotation marks around the direct quotation the existence of a signing ape. In addition, the phrase unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviourists closely resembles the wording of the source. Still plagiarism. Even though the writer has substituted synonyms and cited the source, the writer is plagiarising because the source s sentence structure is unchanged. No plagiarism. This is an appropriate paraphrase of the original sentence. Works cited: Crews, F. 1992, The Random House Handbook, 6 th edn, McGraw Hill: London ISBN X Aaron, J.E. 2003, The Little Brown Essential Handbook for Writers, 4 th edn, Pearson Longman: London ISBN: X Hacker, D, 2001, The Bedford Handbook, 6 th edn, St. Martin s Press: Bedford, USA ISBN: