Plagiarism

At Royal Roads University:

Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or works of another as one's own. This applies to all materials, electronic or in print, including laboratory reports, seminar presentations, computer programs, research projects and results, postings online, in discussion groups, and statistical data. The use of such material either directly or indirectly without proper acknowledgment (i.e., footnotes or endnotes) is contrary to the norms of academic behaviour. (Royal Roads University, 2017a, para. 6)

Furthermore,

Intentional improper citation may constitute plagiarism, such as not using quotation marks when required to indicate other’s work, not acknowledging significant concepts from other’s work even when you paraphrased it, and not actually looking at a source that you quote. (Royal Roads University, 2017a, para. 13)

Plagiarism is taken seriously at RRU, and the consequences can range from failing an assignment to being asked to leave the program (Royal Roads University, 2017b). Remember that at RRU, a team both succeeds and fails as a team. Accordingly, if a member of a team plagiarizes, the consequences of that action may apply to all members of his/her team.

To learn more about Royal Roads' academic integrity policy for students, please visit Academic Integrity and Misconduct -  Students. For more information on the procedures in place related to that policy, please visit Academic Integrity and Misconduct - Students (Procedures).

If you have questions about the academic integrity policy or procedures, please contact the Office of Research Ethics.

References

Royal Roads University. (2017a). Academic integrity and misconduct - students. https://www.royalroads.ca/policy/academic-integrity-and-misconduct-students

Royal Roads University. (2017b). Academic integrity and misconduct - students. https://www.royalroads.ca/procedure/academic-integrity-and-misconduct-students

Royal Roads University has a range of informal and formal procedures to respond to a suspected act of plagiarism, ranging from the student having a conversation with their instructor to more formal consequences, such as:

• a letter of reprimand;
• a reduction of grade;
• a probationary period;
• requiring the student to re-submit an assignment or exam;
• assigning a grade of F (Fail) for the course;
• requiring the student to withdraw from a course or program of study; or,
• recommending the student be suspended or expelled from the university. (Royal Roads University, 2017, p. 5)

For more information, please see the Academic Integrity and Misconduct - Students (Procedures).

Reference

Royal Roads University. (2017b). Academic integrity and misconduct - students. https://www.royalroads.ca/procedure/academic-integrity-and-misconduct-students

Learn more about Indigenous Academic Integrity (shared with permission from Keeta Gladue; also permission granted by the Taylor Institute of Teaching & Learning, University of Calgary):

This project demonstrates the formal rigor, validation, and approaches found within Indigenous paradigms that serve to caretake and protect the integrity of all knowledge. This resource provides concrete practices that centre Indigenous academic integrity and stem from Indigenous theory and Indigenous research, and it focuses on the principles of relationality, reciprocity and respect. (Taylor Institute of Teaching and Learning, n.d., para.1)

Reference

Taylor Institute of Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Indigenous academic integrity. https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/resources/indigenous-academic-integrity

Learn more about what plagiarism is and how to avoid plagiarizing when paraphrasing words or ideas in the Avoiding Plagiarism Guide by the American Psychological Association.