Chapter 7: Researching, plagiarism and academic integrity
Liam Frost-Camilleri
Learning Objectives
- Identify and apply effective search strategies when researching.
- Differentiate between task words, content words, and limiting words in an assessment question.
- Construct and refine search strings using Boolean operators.
- Understand the principles and importance of referencing in academic work.
- Define academic integrity and recognise its importance in the university setting.
- Identify different forms of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and collusion.
- Demonstrate how to avoid plagiarism through effective notetaking and paraphrasing.
- Explore how GenAI tools are used in academia.
This chapter is intended to help you conduct research by discussing ways of searching, citing sources, and addressing issues such as plagiarism. Universities are extremely focused on maintaining researcher integrity, so there are rules that must be followed when completing your assessments.
7.1. How to search
Working effectively with information is key to successful study and research. The ethical use of information, especially scholarly information, forms the basis for writing any type of assessment and examination and constructing visual and oral presentations.
Research is an ongoing process. Plan your search, try some different search strategies, and evaluate the results. There is no one ‘perfect search’ and you may need to revisit the Six Steps to Searching (Keywords, similar & related terms, truncation & phrasing, apply limits, search strategy, and evaluate) many times before finding the sources most relevant to your needs. Allow plenty of time for searching, and see a librarian if you need help. Here are some examples to get you started:
Identify the Keywords
The first step is to work out what your assessment topic is about and what you have to do. Consider the context and identify the keywords in your question. These can be:
Task words: Task words are usually verbs and they tell you what to do to complete your assessment.
Content words: Content words are the main ideas and concepts you need to research.
Limiting words: Limiting words help you focus on a particular aspect of your topic, such as a particular occupation, discipline, age, gender, or time period. It also refers to the word limit and number of references required.
Here is an example with the task words, content words, and limiting words highlighted:
Discuss some of the ethical considerations for researchers conducting research involving humans. Should researchers be made to abide to codes of conduct? Why/Why not?
Task words – Discuss, Why/Why not (give reasons)
Content words – ethical, research, codes of conduct
Limiting words – humans
Brainstorming Similar and Related Terms
You can conduct a simple search using just the keywords from the assessment question, but you will get better results if you expand your list of keywords to include similar and related terms for each key concept. These could be:
- synonyms (words with a similar meaning)
- alternative spellings (e.g. American spelling)
- related terms – even antonyms (opposites) will sometimes work well
Phrase Searching
When searching for two or more words together, place these words in double quotation marks. This forces the search tool to search for them in that exact order, e.g. “human research”, “code of conduct”, “government control”.
Truncation
Truncation saves you time. Place an asterisk after part of a word to get results for this word with different endings. For example, a search for child* will give you results for child, children, childish, and childlike.
Be careful where you put the asterisk so you get the most relevant results (think about where the word changes, and how the different endings of the word are spelled).
Create a Search String
A search string combines your keywords using the Boolean operators AND and OR. Boolean operators are computer commands. Make sure you write the words AND and OR in capital letters so the search engine or database doesn’t mistake them for ordinary words.
AND combines different concepts, e.g. burnout AND teacher* AND “secondary school”. AND narrows a search by making sure you only get results with all of the search terms.
OR combines similar and related terms for the same concept. Place these related terms in parentheses (round brackets), e.g. (burnout OR stress OR “mental health”). OR widens a search and gives you more results by searching for any of the search terms in the brackets.
Here is a sample search string:
(“human research” OR “research on humans”) AND ethic* AND (dementia OR Alzheimers)
(government OR State) AND (control OR censor*) AND ethic*
Choose a topic in your course (independent learning or time management are common topic choices). It could be worth using an assessment question that you have coming up. You can then use the advice in this chapter to put it in the search bar of your university’s library website. Then use the filters to narrow your results to make them more relevant. There are a number of options in the list of Filters, but you should always think about using:
- Peer-reviewed Journals (if you have been asked to find journal articles)
- Books or Book Chapters (if you need to find books – N.B. you can’t use this option if you have chosen “peer-reviewed journals”)
- Date (if you need to find works that aren’t too old, unless you are referring to the origins of an idea, it is usually expected that you limit your search to the last 5 years)
- Subject (to find subject headings that help focus your results to the most appropriate ideas)
- Available online (to find articles that you can download and read now).
Now spend some time deciding which sources would be helpful and why. Focus on articles that are peer-reviewed and relevant to your context (if you are from Australia, an Australian or “western society” example is always going to be more relevant to you and your situation).
7.2. Referencing
You will need to provide a reference for every source of information you use in your assessments. This involves putting a short, in-text citation in the body of your assessment to show that your information has come from another source (and is not your original idea). You would then need to include a full reference in the reference list (or list of works cited) at the end of your assessment, so people can find the original sources. There are several reasons why you need to reference, as referencing:
- demonstrates academic integrity,
- allows you to provide evidence to support your ideas,
- shows you have read widely about the topic,
- shows that your work is based on reliable information, and
- allows others to verify the information you have provided.
There are two main types of references that should be included in your work:
- In-text citations should be provided in the body of your work; and
- A reference list with full bibliographic details of the sources you have used should be added at the end of your work.
It is important to take accurate notes of your sources so that you can attribute the right source to the information you collected. Always record relevant information when you first find a source as it can be tricky finding referencing information after you have written your assessment. For every source you want to use in an assessment, you will need to find:
- Who wrote it? (the author might be a person or an organisation, like Queensland Health)
- When was it published? (sometimes you just need the year, sometimes you need more details)
- What is/are the title(s)? (there can be more than one title, the title of the article or chapter as well as the title of the journal or book. Make sure you record both)
- What are the publication details? (for a book you will need the publisher, for a journal article you will need the volume, issue, and page numbers)
- What is the URL or DOI? (if it lives online, you need to provide the webpage address or the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to help other people find it)
There are many referencing styles that include the above details, and it is important that you are clear on which style you are to use. For example, below you can see the same information cited in APA 7th style and AMA 11th style. Can you see how the same information is laid out in different ways? Look at the punctuation and where the year of publication (2018) appears.
| APA 7th | AMA 11th | |
|---|---|---|
| In-text citation | Hospice patients often have a positive outlook on life (Wright et al., 2018). | Hospice patients often have a positive outlook on life.1 |
| Reference list entry | Wright, S. T., Breier, J. M., Depner, R. M., Grant, P. C., & Lodi-Smith, J. (2018). Wisdom at the end of life: Hospice patients’ reflections on the meaning of life and death. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 31(2), 162-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2016.1274253 | Wright ST, Breier JM, Depner RM, Grant PC, Lodi-Smith J. Wisdom at the end of life: hospice patients’ reflections on the meaning of life and death. Couns Psychol Q. 2018;31(2):162-185. doi:10.1080/09515070.2016.1274253 |
Most university libraries have a guide specific to the needs of your course, but failing this, you can easily find guides online that can help you. As many enabling programs use APA 7th as their preferred referencing style, the examples below are formatted in APA 7th edition.
To work out how to reference a source, ask three key questions:
- What is it? (Journal article? Book? A website?)
- How many authors does it have? (each style has rules for what to do if you have more than two authors, or if your author is a company instead of a person)
- What style am I supposed to use?
Here is an example of a direct citation (or quote):
Algorithmic logics “organize the space and flow of interaction” (Caliandro, 2018, p. 557).
For a direct citation, the quote must be in inverted commas and you must include the page number. Pay particular attention to the use of commas (after the author and year), full stops (after ‘p’ for ‘page’), and year (after the author), as these are important aspects of citing work. You also need to reference any content that you have paraphrased (put into your own words) or summarised, but you do not need to use inverted commas when you paraphrase. For example:
Social networks are complex assemblages of users, algorithms, and data (Pearce, 2018).
When you are paraphrasing you just need to include the author and the year. The author’s names and the date of the work cited may also be written as part of the sentence, for example:
Yang et al. (2013) argued that digital literacy skills allow students to take advantage of flexible and distance learning opportunities.
Notice that the name of the author is included in the assessment. Also, when there are three or more authors, APA 7th requires you to include an “et al.” after the first author, which tells the reader that there are more than two authors. If there are two authors, you need to include an “and” when the names are a part of the sentence, and an “&” when they are between brackets. For example:
Smith and Jones (2018) argue that reading is essential when attending university.
And:
Reading is essential when attending university (Smith & Jones, 2018).
The reference list at the end of the assessment would then list the full bibliographic details of the works you have cited in alphabetical order, including the names of all authors. You can find examples of a reference list at the end of each chapter in this textbook. It is also important to reference any images, media, statistics, or graphs that you use in your work.
There are software and programs to help you with your referencing, but always check what they have given you before you hand it in. Software is notoriously imperfect with referencing, and you can lose marks for not referencing correctly. It also depends on your ability to enter the information correctly into these referencing programs. It is always recommended that you first learn how to reference correctly before you use any programs to assist you.
Referencing correctly can seem like a daunting task at first, but it’s just a matter of putting the right piece of information into the right part of the pattern. University libraries provide a lot of training and support for referencing and you will have plenty of opportunities to attend training or ask for help.
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of this textbook. Have a read of this section again and complete the following referencing tasks:
A fixed mindset is evident in people who tend to take criticism very harshly, give up easily and often exclaim ‘there’s just no point in trying’ or ‘see? I knew that I would fail.’ Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is fixed and cannot be changed, or they attribute their failures to external factors. In other words, you are born with your abilities and they cannot be improved upon. This mindset can lead to behaviours that discourage taking on challenges, avoid responsibility, and inhibit personal growth.
People with a growth mindset, however, tend to handle criticism more positively. They understand that feedback on their work is not a reflection of their personal worth but an opportunity to improve their abilities. Those with a growth mindset might say things like ‘I can grow from my mistakes’ or ‘if I make a mistake, I can just keep trying’ or ‘I don’t know how to do it yet.’ They believe that intelligence and abilities can be developed through effort and perseverance. Embracing a growth mindset encourages individuals to welcome challenge, take ownership of their learning and strive for self-improvement.
Please use the APA 7th referencing style for the following activities.
- Write a sentence where you quote a section of this text directly.
- Write a sentence where you paraphrase a section of this text, being sure to preserve the message of the text.
- Write a sentence where you use the author’s name as part of the sentence.
- Write a reference as it would appear in the reference list based on this text.
7.3. Academic integrity
You will probably encounter the term “academic integrity” frequently while you are a student. Understanding and applying academic integrity is essential for success at university. An important part of academic integrity is understanding plagiarism which is covered in this section.
“Academic integrity means acting with the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility in learning, teaching and research” (Exemplary Academic Integrity Project, 2013).
Academic integrity is honest, respectful, and ethical behaviour within the university environment. Examples include using references to show where the information you are using comes from and ensuring all the work you submit is your own original content. Academic integrity is demonstrated when you accurately attribute ideas, direct and indirect quotes, images, and other information to the correct source. Another important aspect of academic integrity is understanding plagiarism.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the accidental or deliberate use of other people’s work without sufficient attribution. In effect, you are claiming someone else’s work as your own. Accidental plagiarism can be avoided by using effective notetaking and referencing practices. Notetaking ensures you have the details needed to accurately report and attribute the resources you use. Additionally, taking notes in your own words with the full reference of your source will make it easier to write your assessments while avoiding accidental plagiarism. Paraphrasing, or rewriting the original ideas in your own words, is also required. Paraphrasing allows you to focus on aspects of original work that support your arguments and to synthesise from multiple sources of information.
Self-plagiarism
Self-plagiarism or recycling is the re-use of your own work in a subsequent assessment. At first glance, this may appear to be an efficient use of your time and effort. However, self-plagiarism does not demonstrate that you have learned anything new. Likewise, self-plagiarism does not show that you have achieved the expected outcomes of your course or unit. You can use the same sources of information, but to avoid self-plagiarism you will need to write a new assessment to address the new topic, question, or perspective. Self-plagiarism or recycling can also occur when you need to re-enrol into a course or unit. If you do need to re-enrol, you must submit completely new attempts at the assessments rather than simply recycling your old attempts.
Collusion
Collusion occurs when a student works with other students, friends, paid tutors, or family members, and then submits that shared work as if it is their own original work (Crook & Nixon, 2018).
Working with others and discussing the content of a course or the requirements of an assessment can be productive, helpful, and enjoyable. This type of support is called collaboration, which is different to collusion. However, the final submission for an individual piece of assessment must be your own (unless it is a group assessment). This does not mean that you cannot work with your peers, discuss subject material, study together, or help each other with proof-reading, but you must not:
- provide work for another student to submit as part of their own assessment,
- use other students’ content in your own assessment,
- co-write individual assessment items, or
- provide others with answers to quizzes, essay topics, or tests.
Setting clear expectations regarding peer feedback and making sure you understand the requirements of your assessment tasks can help you avoid collusion.
Academic integrity governs all that you do at university. It is made visible by accurately attributing ideas, images, or other information you use in your work. It is also important to only submit your own original work for assessment or to clarify the contributions of others where relevant. When reading your work, your assessor should be able to identify the ideas that you used to support your thinking and be confident that anything else is your personal contribution. Being diligent with referencing, and only submitting work that is your own, are two clear ways to act with academic integrity.
7.4 Note on Generative AI (GenAI)
Generative AI (GenAI) is an emerging technology that can be used to generate text, code, music, video, and images. It generates these using prompts and has the potential to be a powerful tool in academia for brainstorming ideas and refining writing. However, as GenAI raises several questions concerning academic integrity, many universities have begun implementing different assessment styles such as group discussions, or physical exams to curb its use by students.
It is unfortunate that this section is included in a chapter about academic integrity, as it does have the potential to cast GenAI in quite a negative light. While the use of GenAI can mean issues with academic integrity, it does have the potential to be quite a helpful tool to refine notes, thinking, and reflection. But using the technology means having to do so responsibly. And while using GenAI tools does not inherently mean you have compromised your academic integrity, being transparent about your use is very important.
As GenAIs are still an emerging technology, universities have only just begun to develop their policies and decide on their general approach. It is therefore important to be clear on what the course or unit allows in terms of GenAI use. Carefully reading course or unit descriptors and other relevant student information will give you an understanding of your university’s policies concerning GenAI. If the use of GenAI is permitted, its use must be acknowledged. Conversely, if the guidelines prohibit GenAIs use, using them would constitute a violation of academic integrity, regardless of whether you disclose it.
An example of appropriate GenAI use could be seen in a teaching course or unit. You may be permitted to use GenAI to develop lesson plans or student handouts. However, the course or unit may require you to reflect on and criticise the lesson plans or student handouts created. In this instance, it would be important to acknowledge the use of GenAI for its creation of lesson plans or student handouts, but not for your reflection and critique. Here, you can see that the lecturer places more importance on the process of reflection and critique than the development of classroom tools.
It is important to understand how and when you can responsibly use GenAI while maintaining transparency and integrity. Always consult your lecturers and course or unit guidelines if you are unsure.
7.5 Key strategies from this chapter
- Use the six steps to searching: Follow a structured process when you search to improve the process. Identify keywords, brainstorm similar/related terms, use phrase searching, apply truncation, create search strings with Boolean operators, and evaluate search results.
- Use synonyms and related terms: Expanding your search by including synonyms, alternative spellings, and related terms will improve your search results.
- Use Boolean operators: Use AND to combine concepts (narrow search) and OR to combine synonyms (widen search) to improve your search.
- Use filters: Apply filters like peer-reviewed journals, date limits, and subject filters to narrow your results and increase relevancy.
- Accurately cite and reference: By accurately citing sources using in-text citations and including a full reference list, your argument is strengthened while giving appropriate attribution to the ideas in your assessment.
- Take accurate notes: Record full source details as you read, to make developing a referenced list easier.
- Avoid plagiarism: Avoid accidental or intentional plagiarism by correctly referencing sources. Paraphrasing (putting ideas into your own words) and proper notetaking are key practices to ensure you avoid plagiarism.
- Avoid self-plagiarism: Reusing your previous work for a new assignment (without permission) is considered self-plagiarism.
- Avoid collusion: Collaborative work should be limited to studying and discussing ideas, not co-authoring assessments unless explicitly allowed.
- Use GenAI responsibly: While GenAI tools can be valuable for brainstorming and refining writing, always be transparent about their use in your work. Always check your university’s policy and specific course or unit regarding GenAI use and expectations.
7.6 Chapter summary
In this chapter, we have:
- discussed how the ethical use of information is crucial for academic success.
- examined how to identify task words, content words, and limiting words.
- introduced Boolean operators and search strings as tools for refining search results.
- discussed how referencing is key to demonstrating academic integrity, supporting ideas, and ensuring the reliability of information.
- examined how academic integrity is foundational to university life, encompassing honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.
- focused on how to avoid plagiarism and its importance in academic integrity.
- developed an understanding of when GenAI can and cannot be used.
7.7 Reflection questions
- How do you typically approach the research process, and what changes can you make to improve your search strategies given what you have learned in this chapter?
- Why is it important to understand the specific requirements of different referencing styles? How does this impact your academic work?
- In what ways can you ensure that you consistently maintain academic integrity in your assessments?
- How is the focus on academic integrity at university different to other schooling such as secondary school?
- How can you plan to incorporate effective notetaking and paraphrasing techniques into your study routine to avoid plagiarism?
- How can you work with others in a collaborative way to support your learning and avoid collusion?
- How can you be sure that your potential use of GenAI tools does not cause an academic integrity issue?
Licencing note
This chapter: “Researching, plagiarism, and academic integrity” by Liam Frost-Camilleri, Federation University Australia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 is a derivative of the original works:
Working with Information by Brenda Carter and Rhian Morgan in Foundations of Academic Success: Second Edition by Rhian Morgan and Camilla Robson, under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Integrity at University by Rhian Morgan in Foundations of Academic Success: Second Edition by Rhian Morgan and Camilla Robson, under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Media
The following are excluded from the above chapter licence:
Fig 11. FromSix steps to searching. [Infographic] by James Cook Library, 2023, Foundations of academic success (2nd ed.), James Cook University. https://jcu.pressbooks.pub/academicsuccess2e/chapter/working-with-information/. CC BY 4.0
Fig 12. From APA 7th and AMA 11th citation and referencing styles [Table]. B. Carter & R. Morgan, 2023, Foundations of academic success (2nd ed.), James Cook University. https://jcu.pressbooks.pub/academicsuccess2e/chapter/working-with-information/. CC BY NC SA 4.0
References
American Psychological Association. (2019). Paraphrasing. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing
Crook, C., & Nixon, E. (2019). The social anatomy of ‘collusion’. British Educational Research Journal, 45(2), 388-406. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3504
Exemplary Academic Integrity Project: Embedding and extending exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks across the higher education sector. (2013). Plain English definition of academic integrity. Office for Learning and Teaching Strategic Commissioned Project 2012-2013. http://www.unisa.edu.au/EAIP
Lancaster, T. (2016, October 20). ‘It’s not a victimless crime’ – the murky business of buying academic essays. The Guardian.
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. (2019). Guidance note: Academic integrity. https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/guidance-note-academic-integrity
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