Academic Misconduct

Academic Misconduct - A Guide to being a Good Scholar

• What is Academic Misconduct?

• Common Types of Academic Misconduct

• Examples of Paraphrasing

• Being a Good Scholar

• Possible penalties for committing Academic Misconduct

Contents

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

What is Academic Misconduct?

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

Guide to Academic Integrity

5 Values of Academic Integrity

More Info on what Academic Misconduct is

Academic Misconduct is engaging in poor scholarly practice. Leeds International Study Centre takes allegations of plagiarism, collusion and academic impropriety very seriously. Students who plagiarise, collude or seek to gain unfair advantage through academic impropriety threaten the values and beliefs that underpin academic work and devalue the integrity of the International Study Centre whether or not such actions are intentional. Where plagiarism and/or collusion, or academic impropriety has occurred, offenders may receive a penalty and that penalty may lead to failing to complete their programme. Plagiarism and/or collusion, or academic impropriety at any point of a student’s course, will be investigated and dealt with appropriately by the International Study Centre. All summative and formative work submitted for assessment by students is accepted on the understanding that it is the student’s own effort and written from their own understanding, without falsification of any kind. Students are expected to offer their own analysis and presentation of information gleaned from research, even when group exercises are carried out. In so far as students rely on sources, they should indicate what these are in accordance with the appropriate convention in their discipline.

Common Types of Academic Misconduct

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's work. It can take the following forms:

• The reproduction without acknowledgement of the work of others (including the work of fellow students), published or unpublished, either verbatim or in close paraphrase. In this context, the work of others includes material downloaded from computer files and the internet, discussions in seminars, ideas, text and diagrams from lecture handouts.
• Poor academic practice which is unintentional. It can occur in ‘open-book’ examinations and/or coursework assessments which may take a variety of forms, including, but not exclusively confined to: essays, reports, presentations, dissertations and projects.
• Self-Plagiarism – Usually, unless explicitly instructed, every piece of work that a student submits for assessment at the centre, as well as being their own work, must be new work. Students are not allowed to submit the same or partly the same work for more than one assignment, even if the assignments are for different modules. The only exceptions to this are is they have been given explicit instructions to use a previous piece of work as part of further piece of assessment.

Collusion

Collusion Collusion is a form of plagiarism, involving unauthorised co-operation and authorised collaboration in the production of a piece of assessed work. Collusion can take the following forms:

• The conspiring by two or more students to produce a piece of work together with the intention that at least one passes it off as his or her own work.
• The submission by a student of the work of another student, in circumstances where the latter has willingly given the former the work and where it should be evident to the student giving the work that the other student would submit it as their own. In this case both students are guilty of collusion.
• Unauthorised co-operation between a student and another person in the preparation and production of work which is presented as the student’s own.
• The commissioning and submission of work as the student’s own, where the student has purchased or solicited another individual to produce, work on the student’s behalf.

Cheating

Cheating

• Any form of communication with or copying from any other source (for example, another candidate) during an examination.
• Communicating during an examination with any person other than an authorised member of staff.
• Introducing any written, printed or other material into an examination (including electronically stored information) other than that specified in the rubric of the examination paper. (Any additional written or printed material allowed to be taken into the examination room must be specified in the rubric of the examination paper in a manner which would be clear to a non-specialist invigilator.)
• Gaining access to unauthorised material during or before an assessment (for example a copy of the question paper or mark scheme relevant to a forthcoming examination) N.B. The use of electronic dictionaries and of calculators with text storage capabilities is not allowed in examinations. Mobile phones, tablets, other electronic devices may not be taken by candidates into any examination room. Any such devices brought into the room must be switched off and handed to an invigilator. Breaches of this rule will be treated in the same way as attempts to cheat.

Academic Misconduct

Academic Misconduct This is any case of deliberate, premeditated cheating, falsification of information, in an attempt to deceive and gain an unfair advantage in assessment. Assessment includes all forms of written work, presentations, demonstrations, viva in-class tests and all forms of examination. The following definitions are for guidance and are not exhaustive:

• Any form of communication with or copying from any other source during an examination
• Communicating during an examination with any person other than an authorised member of staff
• Introducing any written, printed or other material into an examination (including electronically stored information) other than that specified in the rubric of the examination paper
• Gaining access to unauthorised material during or before an assessment
• The use of mobile telephones, tablets or other electronic devices during an assessment or examination
• The submission of work for assessment that has already been submitted as all or part of the assessment for another module without the prior knowledge and consent of the module leader for subsequent assessments
• Deliberately failing to adhere to any given instruction with the aim of seeking advantage

Fabrication

Fabrication Fabrication is submitting work, for example, practical or laboratory work, any part of which is untrue, made up, falsified or fabricated in any way. This is regarded as fraudulent and dishonest.

Commissioned Work

Submitting bought or commissioned work For example from internet sites, essay "essay banks" or "essay mills" or from another student that sells, offers to sell or buys work. Contract Cheating Contracting another to write a piece of assessed work or to sit an assessment and/or Writing a piece of assessed work or sitting an assessment for another. This involves any means whereby a person does an assessed piece of work (in whole or in part) on behalf of another. It includes helping and receiving help to produce assessed work, e.g. by a paid-for service (sometimes known as “essay mills”), a family member, a friend, or a fellow student. It also includes sitting an examination for someone else (impersonation). This includes posting coursework assessment details on social media or to an online ‘community’ where solutions/responses are provided by other members of the community or a third party. For example from internet sites, essay "essay banks" or "essay mills" or from another student that sells, offers to sell or buys work. Extortion and blackmail are becoming greater threats to people who use essay mills. Personal data may be stored online with minimal if any security, exposing customers to identity theft and bank fraud. Reports have been noted of essay mills contacting students after purchases are made, threatening them with identifying them to their institutions unless further money is given to them. We also know that essay mills are contacting higher education institutions directly if students fail to pay the agreed price.

Proof Reading

Proof Reading Proof-reading is a service that finds and corrects mistakes in grammar, style and spelling in written work by a third party (i.e. not tutors…..). Students are encouraged to proofread their own work thoroughly before submission. While third-party proofreading is permitted, unless otherwise stated in the course documentation, there are strict rules about what is allowed: • A proof-reader may check for, identify and suggest corrections for errors in the text (in accordance with the parameters set out below). In no circumstances should a proof-reader edit a student’s writing (for example, amend ideas, arguments or structure) as this will compromise the authorship of the work. A third-party proof-reader may: • Identify punctuation, spelling and typographical errors • Identify grammatical and syntactical errors and anomalies • Identify formatting and layout errors and inconsistencies (e.g. page numbers, font size, line spacing, headers and footers) • Identify errors in labelling of diagrams, charts or figures • Highlight overly-long or complex sentences or paragraphs, especially where meaning is ambiguous • Draw attention to repeated phrases or omitted words • Draw attention to inaccurate or inconsistent referencing A proof-reader may not: • Add content in any way • Rewrite passages of text to clarify the meaning • Rearrange or re-order paragraphs to enhance structure or argument • Change any words or figures, except to correct spelling • Check or correct facts, data, calculations, formulae, equations or computer code • Implement or alter the referencing system • Re-label diagrams, charts or figures • Reduce content so as to comply with a specified word limit • Make grammatical, syntactical or stylistic corrections • Translate any part of the work into English

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Examples of Paraphrasing

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

The difference between green buildings and intelligent buildings at times causes confusion. In fact, they are considered by many to be the same. However, the fundamental difference is that green buildings are built in an environmentally friendly way, i.e., without damaging the environment and, as far as possible, only using sustainable resources. Intelligent buildings, on the other hand, are buildings which are in certain ways sensitive to their environment and can adjust automatically; for example, in accordance with the temperature or the presence or absence of people (McCormack & Slaght, 2011)

Original Text

Paraphrased Well

Green buildings and intelligent buildings differ in terms of their main function. Green buildings are purposely constructed in such a way as to minimise their impact on the environment. Conversely, intelligent buildings are designed so that technology ensures that they adjust to their environment; for example, by regulating then temperature (McCormack & Slaght, 2011). The above text is an example of good paraphrasing. The student has reworded the text so that it is sufficiently different from the original but has also acknowledged the source of the information. Source: Adapted from University East Anglia Pre-sessional, 2017

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Source: Adapted from UEA Pre-sessional, 2017

Paraphrased Poorly

The difference between green buildings and intelligent buildings is confusing and thought by many to be the same. The basic difference is that green buildings are built in an environmentally friendly way, i.e., without damaging the environment and as far as possible, using only sustainable resources. Intelligent buildings, on the contrary are buildings which are in tune with their environment and adjust automatically when the need arises, e.g., depending on the temperature (McCormack & Slaght, 2011). The above text is an example of poor paraphrasing. Some words have been changed but many are still the same and in the same order. Large chunks are unchanged. Source: Adapted from University East Anglia Pre-sessional, 2017

Possible Penalties for Academic Misconduct

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

Click for Penalties for the different levels of Acadmic Misconduct

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, including disciplinary procedures, please consult the Student Handbook which can be found on the Virtual Reception.

1 Poor Academic Practice

Type of Offence: Inadequate referencing Plagiarism Self-Plagiarism Penalty: Discussion with Academic Tutor about Being a Good Scholar

2a Academic Transgression

Type of Offence: Inadequate referencing Plagiarism Self-Plagiarism Repeat instance of poor academic practice Penalty: Work to score 0, if the student has a resit opportunity, the full range of marks will be available.

2b Academic Misdemeanor

Type of Offence: Plagiarism Self-Plagiarism Repeat instances of poor academic practice Collusion Cheating Penalty: Work to score 0, if the student has a resit opportunity, the resit will be capped at 40.

3 Academic Misconduct

Type of Offence: Repeat instance of Academic Misdemeanour Self-Plagiarism Repeat instances of poor academic practice Cheating Penalty: Work to score 0 with no opportunity for reassessment.

4 Gross Misconduct

Type of Offence: Contract Cheating Falsification of Data Cheating Penalty: Student will fail the entire module

Being a Good Scholar

For more information on the Leeds ISC Academic Misconduct Policy, please visit the Virtual Reception.

What kind of student do you want to be? If the answer is a student with academic integrity, then you want to be a good scholar. To be a good scholar you must implement the following in your academic studies:

Be Hon est and Ethical

Be honest and ethical about:

1. what is your own work,
2. what is not your own work,
3. where your information comes from.

List Your Sources

Listing all your sources: Referencing all your sources correctly both in-text citation and end of text reference list makes you an ethical researcher and good scholar.

Use Your Own Words

Using your own words:

1. Communicate what you have learnt by paraphrasing, summarising, and direct quotation.
2. This is not always easy, but you will earn respect from your peers and professors.

Consequences of being a 'Poor Scholar'

Consequences of being a Poor Scholar 1. Evidence of plagiarism/collusion/buying essays in your work is taken very seriously in all educational institutions. Penalties will vary between institutions; however, some universities expel the student. 2. Attaining a qualification without using your own work, can threaten the reputation of the university. 3. Not using your own work can devalue and lower the quality of your degree. 4. Conducting plagiarism/collusion/buying essays can lower your reputation and lose respect from your peers and tutors.

Source: Adapted from University of Birmingham- Intranet

For more information on Referencing and Plagiarism Awareness, and Paraphrasing go to the following websites:

https://libguides.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/subject_support/harvard_referencing/quote_unquote_online

https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-assignments/writing/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting

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