Academic integrity is the value of being honest, ethical, and thorough in your academic work. It allows readers to trust that you aren’t misrepresenting your findings or taking credit for the work of others.
Academic dishonesty (or academic misconduct) refers to actions that undermine academic integrity. It typically refers to some form of plagiarism, ranging from serious offenses like purchasing a pre-written essay to milder ones like accidental citation errors. Most of which are easy to detect with a plagiarism checker.
These concepts are also essential in the world of professional academic research and publishing. In this context, accusations of misconduct can have serious legal and reputational consequences.
While plagiarism is the main offense you’ll hear about, academic dishonesty comes in many forms that vary extensively in severity, from faking an illness to buying an essay.
| Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | Copying someone else’s work and passing it off as your own, without giving proper credit | Copying and pasting parts of a source you found online without citing it |
| Cheating | Using unauthorized sources or devices to help you achieve an outcome you wouldn’t have on your own | Copying someone’s answers on an exam |
| Contract cheating | Paying or bribing someone to help you cheat | Buying exam answers, pre-written essays, or admittance to a university |
| Facilitation of academic dishonesty | Helping others cheat | Giving a friend exam answers or taking an exam in their place |
| Collusion | Working together with others to cheat | Texting your friends during an online exam to compare answers |
| Data fabrication | Misrepresenting the results of your research | Modifying experimental data to show a nonexistent correlation that would support your hypothesis |
| Deceit | Lying or falsifying information | Fabricating an illness to get out of an exam |
George, T. & Caulfield, J. (2023, April 13). Academic Integrity vs. Academic Dishonesty. Scribbr. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/academic-dishonesty/
