Biology Department
Policy on Academic Integrity
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another web site other than the Biology Department may open a new
window, this includes links to other Departments of Winthrop
University.
In science there are three major forms of
dishonesty: fabricating data, altering data, and plagiarism. Making
up or altering data in an investigation may be the most serious
offense in science. It is deeply abhorred and severely punished
because it undermines public trust in science and scientists and
makes it impossible for scientists themselves to rely on others’
findings - the basis of the modern scientific method. Any attempt to
pass off fraudulent data as genuine in any context, whether for
regular coursework or independent research projects, will be grounds
for receiving an F in the course.
Plagiarism is representing someone else’s words
or work as one’s own. This includes using all or part of someone
else’s paper or data and using material or ideas from any source,
published or otherwise, without proper credit. What constitutes
proper credit?
Exact Quotes
If you use someone’s
exact words you must put them in quotation marks and give the source
including the author, date and page number of the source. It is NOT
sufficient to just cite the source of the words. If you use someone
else’s exact words, even if you provide the source, but fail to
enclose the words in quotes you are implying that these are YOUR own
words, whether you mean to do so or not.
Paraphrasing
1)
In science (as opposed to some other academic disciplines) quotes
are used very sparingly. Instead of using quotes, even properly
identified quotes, you must make the effort to put information into
your own words – this is called paraphrasing.
2)
To paraphrase properly and therefore avoid plagiarism you must
substantially change the words and the order of ideas from the
original. Just changing a few words in a sentence is not sufficient
to avoid plagiarism. In other words, there are NO acceptable
alternatives or short cuts to basing a paper on your own thinking
and putting the information you include in a paper into your own
words.
Plagiarism is taken very seriously by academics
and scientists and is severely punished because it represents theft
of someone else’s hard work or ideas. Stealing someone else’s ideas,
data, or words (their intellectual property) is no different than
stealing any other kind of property – a watch, a CD player, or a
car. Plagiarism is grounds for receiving an F in the course.
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