Academic Integrity Tips

Academic integrity is more than just "not cheating." Academic integrity is about learning, responsibility, accountability, fairness, respect, honesty, and trust. Ultimately, academic integrity is about the values that define your character. It's about what you choose to do, even when no one is looking, and creating sound habits for your future.

Academic integrity is essential because it's about your choices to complete your academic work and be a Miami University student. It's about practicing the work ethic and responsibility expected of you as a student (and that your chosen profession or future educational endeavors will expect of you). It's about being responsible to yourself, your peers, and your faculty and upholding the values of Miami University — espousing Love & Honor.

Academic Integrity at Miami University identifies the six acts of academic dishonesty as such:

• Cheating means using, attempting to use, or possessing any aid, information, resources, or means to complete an academic assignment that the instructor does not explicitly permit. It can also mean providing such assistance to another student.
• Plagiarism means presenting another person or source's ideas, representations, or words as one's own without the proper attribution.
• Falsification entails falsifying, inventing, or manipulating any information, citation, data, or method.
• Unauthorized collaboration involves working with another individual (or individuals) at any point in completing an academic assignment without receiving explicit permission from the instructor to work in such a manner.
• Misrepresentation is falsely representing oneself or one's efforts or abilities in an academic assignment.
• Gaining an unfair advantage is completing an academic assignment using information or means not available to other students. It could also mean engaging in any activity that interferes with another student's ability to complete their academic work.

When you get concepts, ideas, and material from a source of any kind, focus on writing and explaining those concepts and material in your understanding. Read your source material several times and put it away before writing about it in your assignment. Don't focus on the words (at first) – focus on your understanding. Not fully understanding what you are writing about makes the possibility of plagiarizing much more likely. If you cannot put material into your own words (or if the material is too technical or concise), use the direct quotation and place it in quotation marks.

Avoid copying and pasting chunks from sources and writing around or changing words within those chunks. Remember that writing well is more than citing well. Paraphrasing and summarizing are skills that you need to learn. Just changing a few words or the order of a sentence does not mean that you have "put it into your own words."

Cite sources appropriately every time you use information from a source other than your brain. Learn the citation style you need to use for each class, and ask a librarian for assistance in learning appropriate citations. A good resource for learning about citation is the CREDO modules from Miami's libraries.

Keep track of your sources and “cite as you write.” Put source information into your paper as you write rather than try to do it all at the end. Try to avoid writing with multiple windows or tabs open on your computer.

Take your time, and write multiple drafts of your work. Sloppy work is often plagiarized work. Start your assignments well in advance to avoid trying to write a paper the night before it is due. You can make an appointment at the Howe Writing Center or the English Language Learner Writing Center for help with your writing. Compare your drafts to the source material. If your work is too similar, try again. 

The best way to ensure that you are not plagiarizing is to give yourself the time to write well. Your writing should include your own ideas about the source material that you use. Pay attention to the tips above and use your sources in an appropriate and meaningful way.

Note: Plagiarism isn’t just an issue when writing important papers. Plagiarism can occur on any type of assignment, including homework, discussion posts, and exams (especially take-home or online exams that include short answers and essays). Make sure you cite and use source information appropriately in all of your assignments.

(Adapted from the Academic Integrity Student Guide)

Use the citation style assigned by your instructor or discipline. The Howe Writing Center offers resources on the following styles:

• APA Style (6th Edition)
• Chicago Style (16th Edition)
• MLA Style (8th Edition)
• MLA Style (7th Edition)