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Easy to Understand Definitions!

ARGH! What do all these words mean? While some Academic Integrity issues are relatively black and white, others can be a bit more tricky to grasp. As a student at Rutgers, you are expected to abide by its Academic Integrity policy...and naturally that means we want you to understand it! You may think you know what some of these terms mean, but are you 100% positive? We've tried to break them down a bit for you, so take a look.

Test Cheating

This one is pretty simple and is very unlikely to happen by accident. Cheating basically includes any prohibited action during an exam, test or quiz. Cheating can mean copying answers from a classmate (with or without their knowledge), changing answers on a graded exam, using cheat sheets of any kind, and using prohibited materials such as textbooks or notebooks. And since we are a "high tech" generation, YES-storing or receiving information via cell phone or graphing calculator is also considered cheating. We know that you may think that you have come up with the most revolutionary cheating method and will stealthily go undetected, but professors are not dumb-they have seen it all before!

Plagiarism

It basically can be defined as taking credit for the words and ideas of others, which means you didn't give credit to the actual author. The obvious acts of plagiarism include directly copying a source into an assignment or paper without proper citations and using the paper of a fellow student as your own. MOST plagiarism that occurs at Rutgers involves students who "cut and paste" sources from the Internet and take credit for the words. Even using one sentence improperly can be considered plagiarism! Professors have read many papers and can usually spot plagiarism pretty easily! In addition, Professors can use computer programs that scan the text of assignments for possible plagiarism in their detection efforts. Oh, you think those programs are an "urban myth?" Check one out for yourself: http://www.turnitin.com

Paraphrasing

Think of it as plagiarism by another name. Changing a few of the words around in a quoted source does not suddenly make it your idea or thought. In fact, paraphrasing without proper citation IS plagiarism (which means you can still get in a whole bunch of trouble!) Sometimes paraphrasing information in an academic assignment can be helpful to the flow or format, but make sure that you give credit to the original author or source.

Multiple Submission

Even though you already wrote a paper on the 19th Century Economic Downfall of Eastern Bulgaria and the paper happens to be really well written (and completely chock full of YOUR own ideas), you cannot submit it to fulfill another academic requirement without prior permission. Sometimes Professors will allow students to reuse these as part or whole of a previous assignment, JUST ASK FIRST!

Fabrication

One that is easily avoided! Fabrication basically means submitting anything that is not true or real. For example, making up results on a lab report, using falsified and/or fake sources, citing interviews that did not actually occur are all considered fabrication. Even slightly altering real sources or results is prohibited and could land you a trip to the Dean's Office. Is it really worth risking your entire academic career on a few extra "sources" on your bibliography page?

Facilitating Cheating or Plagiarism

This occurs when one person knowingly assists another with a violation of Academic Integrity. A person who facilitates an act of academic dishonesty can face the same penalty as the person who actually commits the offense. Basically, you can avoid this mess by not allowing your buddy Jon to "see" your paper the night before it is due and not working with your girlfriend Laura on a way to communicate or copy answers during an exam. If you have a question about an assignment, go directly to the source: consult your Professor or Teaching Assistant.

Denying Others Access

Even though that girl Sammy is a big jerk, it is a violation of Academic Integrity (and really mean!) to deny her access to required materials or information in the academic realm. This includes removing or defacing a reserved source from the library, sabotaging the work of another student, or even removing signs/postings about changes in exam or class scheduling and location.

Collaboration

Can be a little bit tricky, depending on the assignment or nature of the academic discipline, but basically, collaboration means working together with someone on an academic assignment. Sometimes, you are permitted (such as conducting an experiment with your lab partner) and other times you are not (such as copying your friend Nina's homework assignment before class). Even when collaboration is permitted, you may not be able to collaborate on the writing of the actual lab report. Your safest bet is just to ASK.

Common Knowledge

Don't get trapped by this often-misused phrase. Back in the days of high school, your teachers might have told you something like "If you can find it in the encyclopedia, it is common knowledge and you do not have to cite it." Well, the folks here at Rutgers don't exactly agree. The threshold for considering something to be common knowledge should be pretty darn high and really has nothing to do with an encyclopedia. Unless you are making a statement such as the United States of America has fifty states or George Washington was the first President, we suggest you play it safe and cite the source-no matter what Steven from down the hall tries to tell you.

Citation

You may know, but just in case: A citation is a documented reference that identifies the sources of the quotes or paraphrasing that you use in your term papers. Citations come in many different forms including parenthetical (information regarding the source in parentheses immediately following the quote), footnotes (small number next to the quote or phrase that matches up with source information at the bottom of the page) and references directly in the text of the paper or assignment. In addition to these citations, most professors will require you to include a Works Cited and/or Bibliography page at the end of your paper. Citation styles and preferences vary greatly by academic discipline and individual professor. ASK YOUR PROFESSOR OR TEACHING ASSISTANT ABOUT THEIR PREFERRED METHOD OF CITATION! If you need more help, check out the Writing Program website (http://wp.rutgers.edu) or this great site for citations (http://www.easybib.com).