| Honor Council Rice University |
ACADEMIC FRAUD AND THE HONOR SYSTEM
Academic fraud is one of the areas of university life that fall within the scope of the Honor System. Violating the Honor Code requirements of an assignment or failing to credit one's sources constitutes academic fraud and would, therefore, violate the Honor Code.
It is the responsibility of each student to complete all assignments according to the requirements set forth by the professor. All assignments submitted at the University are pledged, either explicitly or implicitly, and students fulfill their responsibilities to their fellow students under the Honor System when they can pledge, in good conscience, that their work is their own.
Cultures differ in their views about the ownership of ideas. In some cultures people believe that ideas, like air and sunshine, cannot be owned, and they do not acknowledge those who first publish ideas. Some countries are only now developing laws for ownership of patents and copyrights. Rice University is not part of such traditions: it follows Western conventions for dealing with intellectual properties. Its Code of Conduct acknowledges the unique intellectual contributions of individuals at the same time it recognizes that all individuals rely on the concepts, creations, and inventions of others. Although some students come from countries and cultures that do not recognize individual contributions to knowledge, Rice University expects these students and all other students and faculty to participate in an academic community that honors the intellectual work of others and acknowledges their influences. This community's commitment is formally recorded in a system of rules called The Honor Code. This booklet explains how these rules apply to the use of other people's ideas and works in student papers and presentations.
Rice decided to prepare this booklet after examining an exemplary handbook written for students at the University of Virginia. We gratefully acknowledge the University of Virginia's generosity in allowing us to imitate the organization and content of their student guide, Academic Fraud and the Honor System. Additional content assistance was also drawn from Wesleyan University's The Blue Book. A Definition of Academic Fraud
On all academic written work done by students at Rice University, the following pledge is either required or implied:
"On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this (examination, quiz or paper)."
This statement is regarded as an indication that the student understands and has complied with the requirements of the assignment as set forth by the professor. Any violation of the pledge that occurs outside of a testing situation is considered academic fraud. There are several types of academic fraud, and they are as follows:
I. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined by the Honor Council as: "quoting, paraphrasing, or otherwise using another's words or ideas as one's own without properly crediting the source." All specifically designated written assignments are conducted under the Honor System. In preparing written work, research and the utilization of another person's words or ideas is in many cases essential. The Honor Council assumes that, unless otherwise credited, all work submitted by the student is intended to be considered as his or her own work. Any time a student draws particularly or generally from another's work, the source should be properly credited. What is meant by proper crediting is left to the discretion of the professor. A professor, when assigning a paper, should make known to the students what is expected in the researching and referencing of the paper. However, it is the student's responsibility to find out from each professor how work for that professor should be credited. Neglect of proper citation shall be considered academic fraud.
II. Multiple Submission
Multiple submission is the resubmission of any work by a student that has been used in identical or similar form in fulfillment of any academic requirement at this or another institution. Under certain conditions a student may be permitted to rewrite an earlier work or to satisfy two academic requirements by producing a single piece of work, more extensive than that which would satisfy either requirement on its own. In such cases, however, the student must secure prior permission from each instructor involved. If the student has revised an earlier essay, the earlier essay should be submitted with the final version. If a single extended essay has been written for more than one course, the fact must be clearly indicated at the beginning of the essay. Thus, submitting the same work for credit in more than one class, either concurrently or consecutively, without prior permission from the professor shall be considered academic fraud.
III. False Citation
A false citation is any attribution to, or citation of, a source from which the referenced material was not in fact obtained, including use of a quoted reference from a non-original source while implying reference to the original source. This shall be considered academic fraud.
IV. False Data
False data are data that have been altered or contrived in such a way as to be deliberately misleading. The submission of such data shall be considered academic fraud.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SOURCES
The academic departments of the university have varying requirements for the acknowledgment of sources, but certain fundamental principles apply to all levels of work. In order to prevent any misunderstanding, students should study and comply with the following basic requirements:
I. Laboratory and Computer Work
The organization of laboratory and computational courses varies throughout the University. In many courses, students work in pairs or large groups. If there is any doubt regarding the amount of collaboration or aid from others that is allowed on a lab project, it is the student's responsibility to solicit from the instructor his or her requirements for that project. In addition, all instructors have been asked to state clearly their policies on collaboration on lab assignments. In those cases where individual reports are submitted based on work involving collaboration, proper acknowledgment of the extent of collaboration must appear in the report. In those cases where there are two or more signatories to a submitted report, each student's signature is taken to mean that the student has contributed fairly to the work involved and understands and endorses the content of the report. If, for any reason, a set of observations has been invalidated or left incomplete, and permission has been granted by the instructor to obtain the data from other sources, these sources must be specifically identified and acknowledged in the report.
II. Written Work
A. Quotations: Any quotations, however small, must be placed in quotation marks or clearly indented beyond the regular margin and single-spaced in a double-spaced paper. Any quotation must be accompanied (either within the text or in a footnote) by a precise indication of the source - identifying the author, title, place and date of publication, and page numbers. Any sentence or phrase which is not the original work of the student must be acknowledged.
B. Paraphrasing: Any material summarized or paraphrased from a source must be specifically acknowledged in a footnote or in the text, as would a direct quotation. A thorough rewording or rearrangement of an author's text does not relieve one of this responsibility. A writer should be diligent in taking adequate reading notes so that debts of phrasing may be acknowledged where they are due; it is not necessarily a sufficient or valid excuse to claim that the phrases or ideas of a text were unknowingly duplicated simply because of a time lapse between the reading of a source and the writing of a paper.
C. Crediting Ideas and Facts: Any ideas or facts borrowed from a particular source should be specifically acknowledged in a footnote or in the text of the paper, even if the idea or fact has been further elaborated by the writer. Some widely known ideas, facts, formulae and other kinds of information are considered to be "common knowledge" and do not require citation. The criteria for "common knowledge" vary among disciplines; if doubt exists as to whether a citation is needed, a faculty member should be consulted. The requirements for citing the sources of ideas and facts apply to unpublished essays and notes, as well as published works. If such unpublished sources are used, the writer must state the fact and indicate clearly the nature and extent of his or her obligation.
III. Oral Reports
Students required to submit written notes for oral reports must clearly acknowledge any work that is not original, in accordance with the requirements for written work, as stated above.
THE REFERENCE *
*Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America, (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1984), pp. 19-20.
Repair of the public sector was Kennedy's other variation on the theme of getting the country moving again. This had originally been Galbraith's issue, but Kennedy studiously avoided giving him credit, since a substantial number of citizens considered the economist a crackpot. But Kennedy left no doubt that he too was disturbed by Republican neglect of community well-being. Kennedy promised to clear the slums, wipe out poverty, bring prosperity to depressed areas, provide a decent education to every school child, restore dignity to the aged, and remove the hardships attendant on automation. A large gap separated these goals from Kennedy's specific proposals, which turned out to be merely the piecemeal reforms advanced by the Democrats unsuccessfully in recent Congresses. They included more urban renewal, federal loans to businessmen locating in depressed areas, and higher minimum wages. Mere extensions of the welfare state perhaps, but sufficient to permit the candidate to run in the tradition of Wilson, Roosevelt, and Truman. Most liberals asked no more.
WORD-FOR-WORD PLAGIARIZING
Incorrect Reference:
Repair of the public sector was Kennedy's other route to getting the country moving again. Originally Galbraith's issue, Kennedy studiously avoided giving him credit, as many considered the economist a nut-case. But Kennedy left no doubt that he too was disturbed by Republican neglect of community well-being. Kennedy promised to improve the slums, eliminate poverty, bring prosperity to depressed areas, provide a decent education to every school child, restore dignity to the old, and remove hardships attendant on automation.
Comment:
This is the most obvious form of plagiarism - an outright theft. No credit is given to Matusow for the nearly exact replication of his work. Notice how the student has changed "crackpot" to "nut-case" and "variation" to "route" in an awkward attempt to camouflage the copying.
Correct Reference:
If the writer had enclosed all the copied text in quotation marks and had identified the source in a footnote, (Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America (1984), p. 19) the student would not have been liable to the charge of plagiarism; a reader might justifiably have felt, however, that the writer's personal contribution to the discussion was not very significant.
To conform to the style guidelines of the Modern Language Association, set off (in an indented single-spaced block of text) quotations longer than four lines. If your professor assigns the American Psychological Associations standards, set off quotations longer than forty words, or when using the Chicago Manual of Style, set off quotations that run eight or ten typed lines. Other professional associations' guidelines may have different standards.
Reproductions of shorter length should be enclosed in quotation marks. Both types of citation require a footnote.
Instead of footnotes, many academic societies recommend a system of references enclosed in parentheses that are linked to a list of works (cited or consulted) printed at the end of the paper. Your best defense is to follow carefully whichever style guide your professor has advised the class to follow. If the professor has not recommended a style guide, ask the professor which one you should use. If you can't contact the professor, check the preferences given by other members of your professor's department, which are available in the User Clinic of the Mudd Building (from a survey taken spring, 1993).
Refer to "When All Else Fails" found at the end of this handbook.
PARAPHRASING
Incorrect Reference
Eager to follow in the footsteps of his liberal forefathers, Kennedy responded quickly to the call for action. Hoping to revitalize the country through improvement in the public sector, Kennedy began to consult his Keynesians for advice. It was not difficult to convince him that past Republican administrations' focus on solvency had hurt the community health.
Comment:
While this student has done a good job rewording Matusow's original work, he or she has still failed to adequately acknowledge the original source. Although the student has provided the words (see italicized sections), it was Matusow who provided the ideas. The omission of any citation, footnote or internal reference, constitutes a false claim on the part of the writer that these ideas are his or her own.
Correct Reference
A correctly referenced paraphrase requires two indicators; one to tell where the paraphrasing begins followed by another to show where the paraphrasing ends.
As Allen Matusow has noted, Kennedy's eagerness to follow in the footsteps of his liberal forefathers led him to respond quickly to the call for action. Hoping to revitalize the country through improvement in the public sector, Kennedy began to consult his Keynesians for advice. In Kennedy's eyes, it was the past Republican administration's focus on solvency which had hurt the community health. *
*Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America, (1984), pp. 19-20.
"As Allen Matusow has noted" serves as the initial indicator with the traditional footnote marking the end of the paraphrased material.
PARTIAL PARAPHRASING
Incorrect Reference
As Allen Matusow has noted, Kennedy's plan for revitalization was an ambitious one which followed in the footsteps of his liberal forefathers. By clearing the slums, eliminating poverty, bringing prosperity to depressed areas, and removing the hard- ships accompanying automation, Kennedy hoped to get Americans moving again.
Comment:
Though the student does make an internal reference to Allen Matusow, this passage still represents serious plagiarism. Notice how the student has pieced together the themes of several different thoughts from the original. No footnote accompanies this patchwork. Furthermore, in several places, the student has done an inadequate job of paraphrasing. In fact, the last sentence is so similar to the original, it should be enclosed in quotations and accompanied by a footnote. In the example below the student has improved upon the reference in several ways.
Correct Reference
As Allen Matusow has noted, Kennedy's plan for revitalization was an ambitious one which followed in the footsteps of his liberal forefathers. By "[clearing] the slums, [wiping] out poverty, [bringing] prosperity to depressed areas, ...and [removing] the hard- ships attendant on automation,1 Kennedy hoped to get Americans moving again .2 1 Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America (1984), pp.19. 2 Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America (1984), p. 19-20.
This student has used a footnote at the end of the entire section as a way to point out the specific location of the original ideas. Second, the writer correctly documents the partially paraphrased quotation. The sentence is correctly placed in quotation marks, as it is primarily Matusow's writing. Next, the student has correctly bracketed the change in tense of the original verbs and has inserted ... to signal text which has been lift out. Finally, the correct footnote has been placed at the end of the quoted sentence.
PLAGIARISM OF AN IDEA
Incorrect Reference
In my opinion, Kennedy hoped to revitalize the country by revitalizing the public sector. Conservative fiscal restraint had left much of the public sector in shambles. To combat the damage of the past, Kennedy sought programs which would improve such interconnected areas as housing, education, health care and employment.
Comment:
Since the student paraphrases, the plagiarism appears less obvious than in the examples. Nonetheless, though the words are the student's, the ideas are Matusow's. In fact, the paragraph follows an almost identical pattern of presentation of ideas as does Matusow's original work. The student's sentences paraphrase Matusow's first, third and fourth sentences. Because the student has begun the paragraph with "in my opinion," and thereby led the reader to believe the ideas are his or her own, the student's dishonesty is more evident; since the ideas belong to Matusow, a footnote or internal reference should be appropriately placed to credit the source.
Correct Reference
I agree with Matusow's argument that Kennedy hoped to revitalize the country by revitalizing the public sector. Conservative fiscal restraint had left much of the public sector in shambles. To combat the damage of the past, Kennedy sought programs which would improve such interconnected areas as housing, education, health care and employment.1
1.Allen J. Matusow, The Unraveling of America (1984), p. 19-20.
The internal reference to Dr. Matusow and the footnote at the end of the paragraph give correct attribution to Dr. Matusow and his work for the ideas, but not to the words in the paragraph.
THE CITATION OF SOURCES
There are generally accepted ways to write out citations and credits of sources. Below are descriptions of these; in writing papers, students may also wish to consult some of the sources listed in "When All Else Fails."
I. Footnotes.
A footnote number may be placed either before or after the borrowed material, and footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout a given paper. Each number will key to a note which identifies the author, title, place and date of publication, and page numbers of the source of the borrowed material. Notes may be places either at the bottom of the page, or, preferably, at the end of the paper. When a source is cited for the first time, all the above information should be given in the note. When citing a source for the second and subsequent times, only the author's last name and the page numbers need be used, unless multiple works by the same author are cited.
II. Internal Reference.
Mention of the author, title or page number of a source in the body of a paper - as opposed to such mention in a footnote - is internal reference. When internal reference to a source is used only once, the indebtedness of the student is slight or casual, not extensive or vitally important, and a footnote is unnecessary. If a work is to be quoted or referred to frequently, however, the first mention of the source should be footnoted. The reader should then be told in the footnote that subsequent references are to a particular edition of the source. These references would be page numbers placed in parentheses as needed throughout the paper.
III. Bibliography.
All the sources that have been consulted in the preparation of an essay or report should be listed in a bibliography, unless specific guidelines (from the academic department or instructor) request that only works cited be so included. However, the listing of a source in a bibliography is not considered a proper acknowledgment for a specific use of that source within the essay or report. Failing to acknowledge a source from which ideas have been taken is a serious misrepresentation, as is adding sources to a bibliography which were not used.
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
Students may frequently be confused as to how to credit their sources and avoid misrepresenting themselves in their academic work. To clear up confusion, the following are good resource points:
1. For standard forms of quotations, footnotes, and bibliographies, the student may consult one of the following:
A Writer's Reference, 2nd ed. Diana Hacker. Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press: New York, NY (1992). Pages 243-262 contain information on Modern Language Association (MLA) style, American Psychological Association (APA) style, and a list of style manuals for various fields.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 3rd ed. American Psychological Association: Washington, DC (Fifth printing, 1988).
The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th ed. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL (1982).
The MLA Style Manual. Walter S. Achtert and Joseph Gibaldi. The Modern Language Association of America: New York, NY (1985). Form and Style: Theses, Reports, Term Papers, 7th ed. William Giles Campbell, Stephen Vaughan Ballou, and Carole Slade. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA (1986).
Technical Writing and Professional Communication for Nonnative Speakers of English (International edition). Thomas N. Huckin and Leslie A. Olsen. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY (1991). Pages 662-665 cover scientific documentation style. Other parts of this book explain many other features of English phrasing and document structure useful to nonnative speakers who are preparing term papers and articles in English.
2. Avoiding Plagiarism, a videotape and accompanying handout produced by Mount Saint Vincent University, is on reserve in the Center for Scholarship and Information (CSI) in Fondren Library.
3. If there is any question as to the footnote requirements of a particular assignment, the professor should be consulted as early as possible. She or he can also recommend a text that would be helpful in learning to write a term paper. In certain areas, such as the social sciences, footnote requirements may differ from those of other academic departments, and it is the students' responsibility to understand what is expected of them.
4. Another faculty member or the chairman of the department involved may also be helpful in defining "common knowledge" of a particular field or in answering other questions.
5. An Honor Council Member may be contacted at any time for questions concerning the Honor System, including how it is related to the ideas outlined in this booklet.
Acknowledgment is gratefully made to Stephen Hackney for initial preparation of this section, Dr. Linda Driskill for her suggestions and for assistance from Dr. Patricia Bass, Dr. Sarah Burnett and Dr. Mark Scheid. Thanks should also be given to Dr. Allen Matusow for allowing the use of reference from The Unraveling of America.