Teaching and Learning Unit

Background

Academic honesty is a core value of the University of Melbourne. Academic honesty is important to protect students' right to receive due credit for work submitted for assessment. It is clearly unfair for students to submit work for assessment that dishonestly represents the work of others as their own and gain marks and degrees, which are not based on their own efforts and abilities.

Few students would have difficulty recognising unacceptable academic practices like;
   - cheating or the taking unauthorised notes into a test or exam
   - fabrication or making up references or data or a doctor's certificate

However, some students might be less clear about other unacceptable academic practices like plagiarism and collusion. For example, when knowledge is considered common and does not require citation it is often complex to define. Alternatively, the context of the assessment may affect the need to reference; for example, a researched essay would require full citation and referencing but an essay in a closed book exam may not.

Aim and overview

The aim of this module is to clarify what is acceptable so you can maintain academic integrity in the completion of your degree completed through the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at the University of Melbourne. This module explains the main elements of academic honesty and allows you to self-test your knowledge of honest academic practises. It also guides you to think of reasons behind the rules of academic honesty and the severity of breaching these rules. This module is based on the values, rules and procedures at the University of Melbourne. It is important you complete this module and prepare to adhere by these rules while studying at the University of Melbourne.

The module is divided into 7 parts, each dealing with one aspect of academic dishonesty:

1. Plagiarism - what is it really?
2. Plagiarism - avoiding it by proper referencing
3. Plagiarism - avoiding it by knowing what to reference
4. Plagiarism - avoiding it with acceptable paraphrasing
5. Acceptable collaboration and group work versus collusion and free riding
6. Other forms of academic dishonesty
7. Detecting and dealing with academic dishonesty (administrative issues)
8. Quick feedback on this module

All questions need to be answered to successfully complete the module and you will receive results of the self-test questions at the end of the module. The other questions do not have single right answers and no direct feedback is therefore available. The Faculty is only interested in your completion of the module. All written responses are confidential. We would be grateful for any feedback you may like to give us on how to further improve this module.

The completion of the module takes 30-40 minutes.You are welcome to return to it as often as you like throughout your degree.

Please enter your Student Number 

Part 1. Plagiarism - what really is it?

Plagiarism is using other people's words and ideas without proper citation or referencing in your assessments (e.g. essay). Proper citation means that any ideas or passages used from another source are identified through the use of an in-text reference/footnote and in a complete list of references. It is unacceptable to submit an essay or assignment without appropriate citations and reference list.

Examples of plagiarism include;

• copying (e.g. by cutting & pasting) from another assessment, book, journal or internet in its entirety;
• copying from a source and making only minor changes;
• using phrases, expressions or graphs by an author without acknowledgement;
• using a paper from a student in the previous year and making minor changes, e.g. changing the order of the paragraphs, and handing the work in as your own;
• Using other peoples ideas as if they were your own.
• handing in an assessment written for a different assessment or purpose; or
• borrowing sentences from different sources and connecting them to form a paragraph without clear referencing or citation.

The last example is called patchwriting and it is a common form of plagiarism. You are patchwriting when you include sentences and phrases you have found in your sources and combine them into a coherent paragraph without using them as quotations and/or failing to provide detailed references.

Even using strings of words without quotation marks and a reference would be considered plagiarism. Short strings that are well known as attributable to someone should be recognised (e.g. Neil Armstrong's statement on landing on the moon or John F Kennedy's statement in Berlin). Patchwriting often happens unplanned, when you cannot think of a better way of phrasing a thought than the one you have already read. Section 4 below is designed to help you start developing writing techniques which reduce the risk of unintentional plagiarism by patchwriting.

TIP: When you are unsure if what you are planning to do amounts to plagiarism, talk to a Faculty of Economics and Commerce Teaching and Learning Unit advisor before submitting your work.

If you wish to learn more about plagiarism, you can start by visiting the following websites:

http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/plagiarism/plagiarism.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/plag.html

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize

Test your knowledge of plagiarism further with these online quizzes:

http://education.indiana.edu/~frick/plagiarism/index2.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/practice.html

Self Test

What would you do?

You are finishing off an essay and you are very busy with other assessments and your part-time job. You have done a fair amount of research for this essay and now, when you are typing it all up, it is difficult to remember where all the different pieces of information came from.

It would be easier to just cite the main text books, but you know some of the information came from other sources. You would also like to use phrases you copied word for word, when researching for the essay. Collating an accurate reference list and putting in acceptable citations will be a time-consuming and tedious task and you wonder whether you are prepared to do that.

Think of at least one reason why you should compile a proper reference list and include all the references in your text:

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 2. Plagiarism - avoiding it by proper referencing

There are many different ways to cite and reference your sources. Each may be a valid way of giving credit to the original author and making sure your work is clear of plagiarism. It is important that you use one system consistently throughout your work and to check which citation style your subject coordinator/supervisor prefers.

The Harvard method of citation is commonly used in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce and thus this section concentrates on its use. The APA system is also used. Help sheets and booklists on this system are available from the this website or from the second floor of the Babel Building.

There is a correct sequence of Harvard citation for referencing journals, books, internet and informal sources. For example, when citing a journal article using the Harvard method, you should use the following sequence

1. name/s of author/s of the article (surname, and initials or given name)
2. year of publication
3. title of article, in single or double quotation marks
4. title of periodical (underlined or italicised)
5. volume number
6. issue (or part) number
7. page number(s)

Therefore the correct citation for an article would look like this:

• Harpaz, I. and Snir, R. 2003, "Workaholism: its definition and nature", Human Relations, vol. 56 issue 3, pp. 291-319.

When referencing an internet source using the Harvard method, you are expected to list the following details in this order

Author /editor, Year. Title [online]. (Edition).
Place of publication: Publisher (if ascertainable).
Available from: URL [Accessed Date].

Therefore the correct citation for a website would look like this:

• International Work Organisation, 2001. What is workplace stress? [Online]. ILO. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/stress/whatis.htm [accessed 20/06/2004]

Further, you might want to note the following guidance when citing internet sources:

• When there is no publication date available, write "No date" instead of the 'year'.
• It is customary to note the type of medium you are using, so for online documents, write [Online] after the title, or if you are using a CD-ROM, you would write [CD-ROM] etc.
• Always include "accessed date" which indicates when you last visited the website and allows your readers to take into account any subsequent changes to the site when following your references.
• The term publisher is used here to cover both the traditional idea of a publisher of printed sources, as well as organisations responsible for maintaining sites on the Internet, such as University of Melbourne or the Victorian Government.
• Much information is put up on the Internet by organisations without citing a specific author. In such cases, ascribe authorship to the smallest identifiable organisational unit, for example, the Department of Management , instead of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce.

TIP: EndNote is a software package which allows you to record all your references and helps you to produce correctly cited reference lists every time for your essays and other assessments. You can download your University licensed copy from http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/endnote/index.html.

If you wish to learn more about the Harvard citation method, you can start with the following websites

Harvard citation guide from Leeds Metropolitan University
http://www.lmu.ac.uk/lss/ls/docs/harvfron.htm

Guide to Citing Internet Sources from University of Bournemouth
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/using/guide_to_citing_internet_sourc.html

Self Test

What would you do?

You are writing an essay for a unit of study and it is possible to answer the essay question using just one text book. You understand the subject well and have written your paper based on what you have learnt from the lectures and the nominated text. The lecturer has asked you to include references from various sources.

You have an option either to copy the references from the text book and other provided reading, even though you have not read any of them yourself, or to spend a few days in the library accessing the articles and books yourself before including them in your reference list.

Think of at least one reason why you should spend the time reading the actual references before compiling a reference list for your essay:

TIP: When taking notes keep a wide margin and always record the exact reference so you don't struggle later trying to find it.

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 3. Plagiarism - avoiding it by knowing what to reference

The first important aspect of knowing what to reference relates to the type of assessment. For example, you can safely assume that research essays will require full citation. However, other assessments like written exams in a closed book exam are unlikely to require you to memorise and recall entire quotes and page numbers for many key references. Other assessments (e.g. oral in-class presentations) might not be so clear cut and so your Unit of Study coordinator should be consulted.

The second important aspect of knowing what to reference relates to what is considered common knowledge. For example, it would not be necessary to reference a statement about Australia being a democracy and not a socialist state as that is common knowledge. But knowledge about the nuances of opinions from various Australian political parties on a topical issue would typically need to be referenced if your assessment task asked you to contrast such views, because it is assuming that they would not be common knowledge. If in doubt about what can be assumed as common knowledge consult your subject coordinator, tutor or the Faculty of Economics and Commerce TLU learning advisor.

The third important aspect of knowing what to reference relates to the validity of information. Quite often the sources we find are non-academic sources, particularly common with information available via the Internet which have no quality assurance process - information is published live to the world with no checks for accuracy or substantiation. They fall short also because they may not provide appropriate references themselves to back up the assertions and information provided. Alternatively they use information selectively to create an unbalanced version of events, people or theories.

A good checklist for evaluating non-academic sources would include at least the following elements

• The website should provide information on the authors of the material presented, whether individuals or organisations AND they should be publicly known organisations or individuals with professional standing in the area of information provided.
• The links provided on the site should refer you to respectable sites providing further information on the topic, not to advertising or inappropriate adult sites.
• The website provides references to back up facts, theories and analysis presented and you are able to cross-reference them.
• The site declares its purpose and funding sources, clearly allowing you to judge possible biases in the material presented.

Some of the information for your essay may not come from published sources. You may have learnt something important through a conversation or viewing audio/visual material. Usually the following are potentially acceptable sources of an academic reference

• Conversation with your lecturer/tutor
• News and documentary programmes on TV and radio
• Interview or email correspondence with a professional in the area of research

It is also possible to use private conversations or correspondence as a source of reference in your academic work. To make sure your reference would be acceptable, the following guidelines are important

• You need to seek permission from the information source to use them as a reference.
• You need to make sure the person has appropriate professional or experiential background to provide you with honest and researched information.
• You need to record the date and time of the interview or correspondence in your reference.
• You should use a published source, if such is available, and only rely on private interviews or correspondence as a last resource.
• You should double check, when possible, the accuracy of the information you gain through interviews or private correspondence.

Tip: check with your subject coordinator/supervisor how they wish conversations to be referenced. For example do they want ideas generated by conversations with peer students to be referenced.

Self Test

What would you do?

Your friend Sam is doing the same degree as you. Sam is doing a unit of study which you have already completed. Sam is struggling with the assessment due to work pressure. Sam asks if you could be interviewed in-depth on your essay, so Sam could cut down on research time and make sure to get it right. Essentially you would be talking Sam through the entire assessment task in detail. Sam plans to write up the essay and use you as a reference on areas for which there aren't sufficient time to find any written references.

This is not technically plagiarism, but collusion, which is another type of academic dishonesty. Would you be happy to help Sam in this way and why?

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 4.  Plagiarism - avoiding it with acceptable paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing refers to using your own words to present the essential message of your source material without using direct quotations. Paraphrasing is a valuable skill, because it helps you to develop a full understanding of the material and allows you to show your skills without too many direct quotes. It is important to understand that paraphrasing does NOT mean using short sentences and phrases from different sources and joining them together to form sensible paragraphs.

A proper paraphrase is you presenting particular thoughts and ideas using your own unique phrases, sentences and structures without losing the core idea you are paraphrasing. Poor paraphrasing often ends up as unintentional plagiarism, particularly when you are dealing with difficult theories or concepts, so it is important to learn to paraphrase correctly.

Academics are also increasingly able to detect unacceptable paraphrases and direct copying by noting sudden changes in font; dramatic changes in style; lack of recent references; and identifying changes in writing styles. Technology-assisted like Google searching or scanning software like Turnitin are often used to confirm suspicions. Thus the risk of getting caught is high.

Here is an example of how to paraphrase.

This is an original passage

Proper recording of officers' contacts with individuals and organisations, including any actions, comments, inspections and undertakings, is essential to fraud or corruption prevention. It is a safeguard against false and malicious allegations against officers. We should keep notes of discussions where there has been agreement or determination on relevant matters and, if warranted, send a letter of confirmation after the meeting. We should attach such records to the relevant file so they become accountable. Without some form of record, it is difficult to prove that an agreement was made or a particular action was undertaken. For matters involving legal action, we should follow the EPA's standard procedures for contemporaneous notes, as set out in the EPA Prosecution Guidelines.

EPA, 2004. Ethics Package [online]. http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/ethics/chapter4.htm [accessed 12/04/2004].

• Acceptable paraphrase
  To safeguard against possible allegations of mal-practice or fraud, it is advisable to keep careful records of meetings and correspondence between officers and individuals and organisations. It is advisable to follow the EPA procedures when dealing with legal actions undertaken. (EPA 2004)
• Unacceptable paraphrase because it is a collection of direct quotes from the original, which have only been organised in a different order than the original text and no quotation marks are included:
  We should keep notes of discussions where there has been agreement or determination on relevant matters and, if warranted, send a letter of confirmation after the meeting between officers and individuals and organisations. These should include any actions, comments, inspections and undertakings. This is a safeguard against false and malicious allegations against officers. (EPA 2004)
• Unacceptable paraphrase because it does not accurately convey the message of the original paragraph:
  We should keep records of all meetings and agreements between officers and individuals and organizations according to EPA's standard procedures for contemporaneous notes. This will safeguard officers against false and malicious allegations and makes the system accountable. (EPA, 2004)

If you wish to learn more about the skill of paraphrasing, you can start by visiting the following internet sites

Colorado State University Writing Guide on Paraphrasing
http://writing.colostate.edu/references/sources/working/pop8d.cfm

The University of Southern Queensland - extensive notes on paraphrasing skills
http://www.usq.edu.au/resources/plagiarism_als.pdf

Purdue University online writing lab: Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_paraphr.html

TIP: The Faculty of Economics and Commerce Teaching and Learning Unit organises workshops on paraphrasing skills

Self Test

Here is an original paragraph:

"Demographic variables in particular are often the source of inappropriate generalisations or misconceptions - for example, young people today are lazy and lack motivation, or men are cold and insensitive. Stereotyping (an aspect of perception that we address in detail later in this chapter) occurs when an individual is assigned to a group or category (for example, old person) and the attributes commonly associated with that group or category are assigned to the person in question (for example, old people are not creative)." (Wood et. al, 2004)

What would you do?

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill when writing essays. There are different techniques you can use when reading and studying, which will help you to understand the sources you are studying in order to paraphrase them well in your own writing.

Think of at least one such method, which would help you to improve your paraphrasing when writing essays:

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

TIP: The information in the preceding sections is general advice on referencing in written assessments. Your subject co-ordinator or tutor may advise you of referencing requirements which are specific to your assessment.

Part 5.  Acceptable collaboration and group work versus collusion and free riding

Group work at university appears in many different forms - you have formal group tasks and assessments within subject; and informal study groups. While groups can be beneficial for learning, there are also potential problems, some of which constitute academic dishonesty.

The line between acceptable collaboration and unacceptable collusion can be difficult to define. However, the following definitions are valid, unless otherwise expressly indicated in the unit outline

• You are permitted to discuss both individual and group assessment with other students in the subject .
• You are not permitted to engage in detailed discussions as to the written details of another student's assessment.
• You should not use notes, drafts or completed assessments prepared by another student or any other person without appropriate referencing.
• Both the student who uses material prepared by another student AND the student who volunteers their material to be copied are engaging in dishonest activity. (UWS (2002). Plagiarism Guidelines)

Defining collusion in group work can be even harder than in relation to individual assessments. As guidance, the following are examples of dishonesty in group work:

• The group has assigned separate tasks to each member and one member asks another to do their share and not tell anyone because the marks are divided in the end based on the quality of the contribution of each member. It would be acceptable to work together if you were struggling with the given piece of work.
• The group joins up with another group with the same assessment and agrees to share all the information, which in practice halves their work load.
• The group finds a really good book in the library, which provides them with most of the answers to the problem they are required to answer. They borrow that from the library and place requests on it so that no other group can get hold of it before the assessment is due.
• A member in the group never contributes to the group assessment knowing the mark will be the same for every member of the group based on the final product and the other members are working hard to achieve at least a distinction.

You can avoid collusion in group work by properly referencing your communication with academic staff, other students, and appropriate professionals. It is also beneficial for groups to agree on clear guidelines for collaboration at the start of group work: these can include keeping of minutes of all meetings; agreeing on the consequences, if group members do not pull their weight; and keeping a personal log of research and work completed.

If you want to learn more about how to work effectively together in informal groups, you can start with the following websites

University of Victoria (Canada): Using study groups to increase learning
http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/studygr.html

University of Illinois: Study groups
http://www.uic.edu/depts/counselctr/ace/studygroup.htm

Self Test

What would you do?

You are working on a formal group assessment for a subject , where the marks are based on the quality of your individual contribution. Everyone has been given an individual task to complete and to report back to the group. Your friend, who is working in a different group, comes to you the day before the next formal tutorial meeting asking to borrow your results for the individual task. Your friend has forgotten to do the work, but is keen to have the information ready for the group.

What would you do and why?

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 6.  Other forms of academic dishonesty

In addition to breaches of academic honesty discussed previously around plagiarism and collusion, other breaches include the following

1. communication, whether by speaking or some other means, to other candidates during an examination;
2. bringing into an examination and concealing forbidden material such as textbooks, notes, calculators or computers;
3. attempts to read other student's work during an examination; and/or
4. writing an examination or test paper, or consulting with another person about the examination or test, outside the confines of the examination room without permission.
5. engaging another person to complete an examination in place of the student, whether for payment or otherwise
6. completing a test or exam in the name of another student
7. accepting the offer from someone else to complete a test or exam in your name
8. fabricating a doctor's certificate for a test or exam

Outside of tests and exams it is also a breach to:

1. recycle material between subject and courses
2. engage another person to complete an assessment (e.g. essay) in place of the student, whether for payment or otherwise
3. completing an assessment in the name of another student
4. accepting the offer from someone else to complete an assessment in your name
5. fabricate references, quotes or data for a written assessment
6. copy directly from a fellow student, even if you make an effort to understand what you have copied
7. seek an extension or special consideration by fabricating a doctor's certificate

The latter type of academic dishonesty (no.6) becomes attractive when the assessment involves spreadsheets or word-processed essays where copying is technically very easy. Collaboration is always welcomed, but it needs to take place within acceptable boundaries.

Acceptable spreadsheet collaboration

• You discuss the elements required for the spreadsheet formula together and then you both write your own independently.
• You have difficulties with a complex formula and a friend sits with you for guidance on how to make it work.
• You work at adjacent computers with the same problem and discuss difficult issues when they arise to make sure you are keeping things in check.

Data fabrication or unacceptable spreadsheet practices

• Opt to alter a few data entries to make it fit the desired outcome, even you know the right answer to the problem
• Collecting only a partial data set and 'filling in' the rest by using averages

In the same way that academics can be alerted to detect for plagiarised text they can similarly detect cheating in spreadsheet assessments. These include

• Setting different datasets for each student.
• Designing the spreadsheet to contains hidden cells to help identify students.
• Password protecting the student data in the spreadsheet.
• Constructing the spreadsheet such that copying formulas will produce different results in different spreadsheets.

Self Test

What would you do?

You are studying one of the core subjects in your degree and see a note circulating in the lecture hall about someone who completed the subject last semester selling answer sheets for the tutorial assessments. The subject is not particularly difficult so far, but the assessments are taking a fair amount of time to complete and are quite tedious and boring to do.

Think of at least one reason why you should not buy the answer sheets offered:

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 7. Detecting and dealing with academic dishonesty (administrative issues)

Academic honesty is a core value at University of Melbourne. Breaches will be investigated and possible penalties include

• Dismissing the case with no further action other than counseling the student.
• Issuing a written warning.
• Requiring the student to undertake another form of assessment in lieu of the assessment in question, such as an unseen examination.
• Failing the assessment.
• Applying a fail grade overall in the subject .
• Expulsion or suspension from the degree.

Ignorance will not suffice as an excuse to avoid repercussions if you are involved in academic dishonesty.

If you find yourself in serious difficulty meeting set deadlines for subject work due to circumstances beyond your control like ill health , procedures are in place for you to apply for special consideration. Please plan your workload carefully and help yourself to avoid the temptation to breach the honesty code.

If you wish to learn more about the penalties associated with academic dishonesty, please review university policy on academic honesty and plagiarism at http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/plagiarism/policy.html

TIP: The Faculty of Economics and Commerce Teaching and Learning Unit (TLU) organises workshops on time management and other study skills, which may help you organise your work load efficiently. Click here to check.

Self Test

What would you do?

You have been working really hard at your job and been delayed in starting your essays. Then you get a mild cold and think of a possibility of getting a doctor's certificate and applying for special consideration and an extension on medical grounds. You know this is really not what the special consideration procedure is for, but it would buy you valuable time to write the essays.

Think of at least one reason why you should not lodge an extension claim on these grounds:

In your opinion, how serious is the following breach of academic honesty?

Part 8. Your feedback on this module

Thank you for completing the Academic Honesty module. We would like to get some feedback from you in order to keep improving the module. After submitting your feedback you will receive personal feedback on how well you did in the SELF-TEST questions. In future you are welcome to visit the module as often as you like.

1. Did this module increase your understanding of academic honesty?

2. What was the most important thing you learnt when working through the Academic Honesty Module?

3. How useful was the module is helping you to avoid breaches of academic honesty in your studies?

4. Do you have any other comments, suggestions or improvements regarding the academic honesty module?

If you are unclear about any aspect of application of the academic honesty policy please go to see your subject coordinator tutor or Rod Beecham in the Teaching and Learning Unit of the economics and commerce faculty in the Babel building.