Academic integrity And Plagiarism

Academic integrity is the moral code or ethical policy of academia. This includes values such as avoidance of cheating or plagiarism; maintenance of academic standards; honesty and rigour in research and academic publishing.During the late 18th century, academic integrity tightly correlated to the southern honor code. This was monitored mainly by the students and surrounding culture of the time. The southern honor code focused on duty, pride, power, and self-esteem. Any act promoting the up rising or building of any of these within an individual was the goal. Thus, academic integrity was tied solely to the status and appearance of up standing character of the individual. Any acts of academic dishonesty performed to maintain their good name was seen as a necessary means to an end.Academic integrity essentially means "intellectual honesty": honesty in the use of information, in formulating arguments, and in other activities related to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. It is a core principle that underpins how we live and learn in a community of inquiry. As members of an academic community, we are entitled to a wide degree of freedom in the pursuit of scholarly interests. With that freedom, however, comes the responsibility to uphold the high ethical standards of academic conduct. American University's Academic Integrity Code sets forth standards of academic conduct, defines academic violations, and outlines the adjudication process for academic offenses.

Plagiarism is the "wrongful appropriation" and "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work.The idea remains problematic with unclear definitions and unclear rules.In order to understand plagiarism, it helps to understand the process of sharing and creating ideas in the university. All knowledge is built from previous knowledge. As we read, study, perform experiments, and gather perspectives, we are drawing on other people’s ideas. Building on their ideas and experiences, we create our own. When you put your ideas on paper, your instructors want to distinguish between the building block ideas borrowed from other people and your own newly reasoned perspectives or conclusions. You make these distinctions in a written paper by citing the sources for your building block ideas. Providing appropriate citations will also help readers who are interested in your topic find additional, related material to read—in this way, they will be able to build on the work you have done to find sources.