Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Hector J. Roman Walden University Academic Integrity and Plagiarism This paper contains the policies and expectations of the normal behavior as a student at Walden University. These are guidelines to follow not only as an online learner bur as a person. Also, will explain the prohibitions and consequences of committing plagiarism. “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. “(Albert Einstein). Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Integrity is moral behavior. When we were kids, our fathers started to teach us to talk, walk, express ourselves and how to behave.

To be respectful to other people, follow the rules and always trying to do the right thing was and is a top priority. Those words and actions still have a meaning. In an academic environment, those rules apply as well. Doing wrong was and always has been punishable and, for a student pursuing a doctoral degree can be devastating. Nontraditional education like online learning or distance education can put any student in a compromising position and for that, Walden University puts a lot of emphasis on academic integrity.

In the Oxford American College Dictionary, a meaning of the word integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. To acknowledge this belief is a first step that can lead to success and Walden University Student’s Handbook reassures students its importance. To be respectful and honest are fundamental ideals. Integrity should be important for all students and faculty, as well. Having integrity will help in the development of a character. In an online learning environment, even absorbing those values and ideals, can put a student in a difficult situation unconsciously or by accident.

Not knowing cannot prevent you from falling short and this matter can and will lead to plagiarism. Plagiarism is copying or stealing someone else’s work and makes it your own. Walden University’s Handbook explains it as the use of intellectual material produced by another person without acknowledging its source. Matthews and Mathews (2008) explain plagiarism as the act of taking words or ideas that someone else has written and trying to present them as one’s own. Another term to look out in that same direction is self-plagiarism.

Self-plagiarism is rewriting you own work. Self-plagiarism is presented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association as a practice of presenting one’s own previously published work as though it were new. In other is stealing intellectual property. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to acknowledge the source. When doing online research you can find a great amount of articles, websites, or electronics books about the same topic. The tendency is to think that the instructor or teacher cannot or could not find the source. That is not true.

Technological resources like Turnitin or Walden Writing Center’s Grammarly can give you the tools needed to prevent plagiarism and not fail. These applications are used to search any suspicious expressions. Student’s Handbook recommended to contact a faculty mentor, course instructor, or academic advisor. In other words, academic integrity and plagiarism goes hand in hand. To be aware and apply these aspects is another step that can lead you to a successful academic and working career. Also, will show you as a genuine person creative enough to contribute with quality ideas.

Those same ideas will be used as a reference in the future. As a prospective author, you will want to be recognized and your thoughts used as reference, as well. References Matthews, J. , and Matthews, R. (2008). Sccessful Scientific Writing : A Step-by-step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences Success eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Oxford American College Dictionary. (2002). Copyright © 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) Walden University Students’s Handbook retrieved from www. waldenu. edu