Plagiarism and Ethics

What are three things you learned about plagiarism, and how will you use that knowledge? How will you ensure that you use proper citations in your work? What strategies will you implement?

“Plagiarism is defined as use of intellectual material produced by another person without acknowledging its source”. (Walden University, 2013). While going through the material, I learnt the following –

1. Not only is plagiarism the name of copying text word to word, it even includes copying views and ideas without acknowledging the source.

2. Paraphrasing and restructuring the sentences too requires citing.

3. The punishment for plagiarism is severe. (Ehow.com, 2013)

a. Academics – Failing Grade, Suspension or Getting Expelled

b. Workplace – Termination

c. Legal – Up to $250,000 fine and 10 years in jail

d. Personal – Loss of reputation

After coming to know all this, I will make sure I do not end up on the wrong side even by mistake. Before posting or publishing any work, I will make it go through the plagiarism checker at Grammarly.com and other similar websites. All citations will be checked for any errors. I make it a point to create a citation for every resource that I save in Zotero. Whenever I drag the text into the word processor, the reference automatically comes along. Also, this way, the references are created as per APA guidelines, and all links are error-free.

Why is it important to have academic integrity? Think about the role of academic integrity as it relates to you, your classmates, your Instructor, and the institution. What are some of the implications when academic integrity is not valued or upheld by others?

Academic Integrity is important because its primary aim is to guard the efficiency of teaching and learning. Okoro (2011) says “Maintaining academic integrity is critical to the sustainability of a civil society and to the democratic process.” It is important to observe certain etiquettes for healthy and productive flow of...