Integrity at Risk: Student Supports

Every assignment has its own set of expectations. Before you begin to work on your assignment, check with your lecture about whether collaboration is allowed, previous work can be used, or tools like generative AI are permitted. If in doubt, always ask your lecturer and consult the module guide.

Accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism. To avoid accidental plagiarism, make sure you:

• Keep track of all your sources.
• Put quotation marks around and citations after all quotes that you record in your notes and in your assessment as soon as you record them.
• Paraphrase accurately by using your own words and sentence structures, providing proper in-text citations, including the source and page number, and recording a full reference in the bibliography/works cited/reference list. Remember, switching out a few words or phrases is not paraphrasing.
• Consider keeping a research spreadsheet that keeps track of sources, keywords, quotes, page numbers and full citations.

Referencing software and MIC's Referencing Supports can support this process. If you are unsure about how to reference properly, speak to your lecturer or seek support from the Academic Learning Centre.

If something feels unclear or ethically uncomfortable - such as using an online paraphrasing tool or accepting rewriting help from a friend - pause and reflect. It’s better to seek clarification from your lecturer or the Academic Learning Centre, than to risk breaching expectations for academic integrity.

If you are planning to use online tools (such as AI, grammar checkers, or translation software), speak to your lecturer first. Where your lecturer has approved the use of such tools, be open about how and where you’ve used them in your assessment and be sure to reference your use and any quoted or paraphrased content. Being transparent helps to promote honesty and helps your lecturers assess your learning fairly.

MIC provides support for maintaining academic integrity, including MIC's Referencing Supports and academic support. Engaging with available resources such as academic writing workshops, referencing tutorials, and the academic integrity self-check tool, can help you build good scholarly habits.

Plagiarism occurs when someone else’s words, ideas, or work are presented as your own without proper acknowledgment. Common forms include:

• The use of a part of a text without quotation marks and citation
• The use of a part of a text, with minor paraphrase, without citation
• The use of an image without citation or permission
• The use of music without citation or permission
• The use of computer code, mathematical work, research results, spreadsheets without citation or permission
• The re-use of one’s own work from a previous assignment without citation

(Academic Integrity Policy 2.2)

Take Clear Notes

Keep track of all your sources; put quotations around and citations after all quotes that you record in your notes and in your assessment as soon as you record them; consider keeping a research spreadsheet that keeps track of sources, keywords, quotes, page numbers and full citations; Keep your own thoughts separate from sourced ideas and record complete citation details.

Use Your Own Words When Paraphrasing

Understand and fully rephrase original ideas and always cite them in text and in a bibliography/works cited/reference list.

Use Quotations Appropriately

Place quotation marks around copied wording and provide a citation in text and in a bibliography/works cited/reference list.

Cite Properly

Use the required referencing style for your course (e.g., APA, MLA, Harvard). See Cite It Right 4th Edition in Libraray - Support & Training.

Manage Your Time

Avoid last-minute work, which often leads to shortcuts. Consider using your Moodle assignment calendar or speaking to the Academic Learning Centre.

Seek Guidance

If in doubt, speak to your lecturer, tutor, or academic support service.

Seek Help

If you are struggling, don't be afraid to reach out to your lecturer, Academic Learning Centre, or Counselling Services for help.

Collusion is a form of academic misconduct. The National Academic Integrity Network defines collusion as "Undisclosed collaboration of two or more people on an assignment or task, which is supposed to be completed individually." (NAIN 2021, p. 12) Collusion occurs when students collaborate on a task that is meant to be completed individually. This includes allowing another student to copy answers or work from your assessment, copying sections of each other’s work, paying another or asking another to do your work for you, offering to do or asking for payment to do another person's work or submitting assignments that are overly similar because they have been worked on by two or more students.

Even if it seems harmless, collusion breaches the principles of academic integrity as it gives some students an unfair advantage.

• Check whether collaboration is allowed before working with others
• Always follow assignment instructions
• Ask your lecturer if you're unsure about group work boundaries

The National Academic Integrity Network defines contract cheating as a "Form of academic misconduct when a person uses an undeclared and/or unauthorised third party, online or directly, to assist them to produce work for academic credit or progression, whether or not payment or other favour is involved." (NAIN 2021, p. 14) Contract cheating involves submitting work as your own, which you have paid or asked someone else to complete. This may involve commercial essay-writing services (often called 'essay mills') or asking a friend or family member to complete coursework for you.

Be mindful that in Ireland, the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Act 2019 makes it illegal to provide or advertise contract cheating services. Companies providing or advertising contract-cheating are illegal providers. It is in your best interest to avoid them.

Using contract cheating services undermines your learning and can damage your academic reputation. It means missing out on valuable opportunities to develop important skills and takes away from the fairness of the academic assessment for everyone. There may also be serious academic consequences if you are caught submitting a contracted assessment.

Only make use of reputable academic sources and properly reference quoted and paraphrased content by using quotation marks, in-text citations and references.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the assessment, talk to your lecturer, Academic Learning Centre, or contact Counselling Services for help.

When in doubt about whether a resource or support is okay to use, ask your lecturer.

Fabrication involves making up data, sources or findings in academic work. Falsification refers to changing or manipulating data to create a misleading impression (NAIN 2021, p. 15). These issues most often arise in research-based assignments such as experiments, interviews, or reports. Examples include:

• Inventing survey results or interview responses
• Citing books or articles that don’t exist
• Altering data to support a desired outcome

• Always use real, verifiable data and sources
• Make sure you know how the data was collected
• Record your research process accurately
• Seek help if you’re unsure how to report findings appropriately
• Speak to your lecturer if you aren't sure what an appropriate data source is

Using Generative AI (such as ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, QuillBot, Claude etc.), digital tools or translation software to complete your assignments, exams or quizzes for you is a form of academic misconduct. Using these tools to produce content that you incorporate into your assessment but which you do not acknowledge through the use of quotation marks and citations is academic plagiarism.

Examples include:

• Submitting AI generated content as your own without referencing the material(s) produced by Generative AI
• Using digital tools to obtain technical assistant for coursework or an exam when it has not been authorised

Please refer to the Generative AI Guidelines for further advice.

• Speak to your lecturer and review your module guidelines to see what’s permitted
• Always acknowledge your use of AI
• Speak to your lecturer or academic adviser before using Generative AI for an assessment