What are Academic Honesty and Dishonesty?

Academic honesty consists of three things:

1. Claiming credit only for those ideas which are your own.
2. Using only genuine information sources, i.e., not inventing sources or experiment data.
3. Following the rules concerning test taking and the preparation of classroom assignments.

Academic dishonesty takes several forms: Plagiarism: In effect, plagiarism is both a form of theft and of lying. It is the act of utilizing another person's work or ideas but representing them as one's own. Plagiarism may involve something as small as taking a sentence from a book and copying it without citing the source, or as substantial as using an online paper mill to obtain complete research papers.1 (Plagiarism is discussed in greater depth later in this tutorial.)

• Fabrication: Fabrication involves inventing or altering research materials to suit the needs of papers, speeches, or other assignments. Any falsification of evidence through invention (making up data, facts, or sources), suppression (omitting facts or data) or distortion (misrepresenting facts or data), is a form of fabrication. It is also academically dishonest to claim, in a paper or other assignment, to have consulted or used sources when one has not actually done so.²

• Cheating: Cheating encompasses any means used to evade the rules governing student performance and evaluation. Using forbidden items during tests (calculators, notes, books, cell phones and so on), obtaining test questions or answers before a test, or hiring another student to take an exam are all examples of cheating. ³

• Aiding and Abetting Dishonesty: Helping another student commit an act of academic dishonesty is also considered dishonest. Even a failure to report academic dishonesty when it is observed is a violation of the code of academic honesty.⁴