Academic Integrity

Psychology Department Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy

Academic dishonesty:

The university provides severe penalties for different forms of academic dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarizing and falsification or fabrication of data in order to obtain some form of credit that is not properly earned. Any suspected instance of academic dishonesty will be reported to the academic committees for disciplinary action.

 

Please note that in case of copied homework/assignments etc. the students who delivered their work to others will run the risk of being equally punished since it is not a professor’s duty to try to find out who had prepared the original work as opposed to who had cheated by copying and submitting it as if it were their own work.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words as if they are your own, without clearly indicating the source of that information. Students are continually exposed to other people’s ideas through texts, lectures, talks. When you are using these materials, it is crucial that you give credit to their sources. If you don’t, you are plagiarizing, which is whether intentional or unintentional considered a serious academic dishonesty.

 

Plagiarism (from APA manual, 5th Edition) - directly quoted:

 

Psychologists do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotation marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e. summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you will need to credit the source in the text.

 

The key element of this principle is that the author does not present the work of another as if it were his or her own work. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If an author models a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else’s article, that person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important to the health of psychology, an author may not know where an idea for a study originated. If the author does know, however, the author should acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications. (pp. 349-350)

 

Unacceptable paraphrasing occurs when: (from Indiana University web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml )

 

  • "the writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original’s sentences."
  • "the writer has failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts."

 

Examples: Here’s the ORIGINAL text, from page 1 of Lizzie Borden: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce Williams et al.:

 

The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

 

Here’s an UNACCEPTABLE paraphrase that is plagiarism:

 

 

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

 

Acceptable paraphrasing:

 

 

  • accurately delivers the original information, BUT AT THE SAME TIME
  • uses the writer's own wording, where both the structure and the words have been modified from the original source
  • provides the reader with the source of the information

 

Here’s an ACCEPTABLE paraphrase:

 

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams, 1890).

 

Please also visit the “Avoiding Plagiarism” webpage of the Boğaziçi University Writing Center: http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/fbuowlstudentsinfo.htm

 

 

NOTE: Please be aware that all the written documents you submit will be checked by an online plagiarism detection software.

 

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism for Undergraduate Students

In case of plagiarism or any other act of academic dishonesty in a second-year course or above that you have committed for the first time, your act will be reported to the entire departmental council and you (and/or your group/team) may:

  • directly receive a “0” for that assignment or paper
  • NOT be able to receive any grade above DD for that course

 

If  plagiarism or any other act of academic dishonesty is committed for the second time, you (and/or your group/team) may face the following consequences in addition to the ones listed above:

 

  • NOT be able to take any Readings & Research courses from the department
  • NOT be accepted to any of the department’s double-major, exchange/Erasmus, or graduate programs
  • NOT be able to receive recommendation letters from any of the faculty members in the department

 

Important Notes:

*Self-plagiarism is a form of plagiarism. Plagiarizing from your own previous work, or a paper/assignment that you have prepared for another course, will be subject to the same consequences listed above.

*In case you submitted a paper or assignment as a team, all listed consequences will apply to everyone of the team since it is not the professor’s duty to investigate who did it and who did not; so please note that you will all be responsible for each other.

*Incidents of plagiarism in first-year courses will be evaluated by the instructor and the department council on a case-by-case basis.


Son Güncelleme: 15:34:58 - 12.10.2023