Academic Integrity

Glossary

Term Definition

Academic sources Sources written by experts in the discipline. They are usually written in a formal
style, have been edited and reviewed by other disciplinary experts. They usually
have citations and a reference list.

Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that can complete tasks
that usually require human intelligence. There are different types of AI in use
today.

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence where the program or tool

creates new content – either text or images – based on the data that is has
been trained on.

Authenticity The application of knowledge and skills to engage in real-world challenges.

Bibliography Everything you have read which has influenced you in writing your text
including the reference list sources and other material that you may have read
but not actually cited.

Citation The way you tell your readers that material in your work came from another
source. This can be in the original author’s words or summarised in your own
words. There are a range of conventions used when citing other sources. If
author's work in mentioned frequently by other authors, we call it 'highly cited'.

Collusion When a person collaborates and shares with others on a task without
permission.

Contract cheating When a person gets someone or a third-party company to complete their task
or assessment, often in exchange for payment. This may also include uploading
and receiving answers from file-sharing and answer-providing websites.

Copyright The legal right that grants the creator of an original work exclusive right for its
use and distribution.

Creative Commons The author/creator has decided to allow copyright material to be distributed
freely to enable sharing, using and building upon the work as long as the
author/creator is appropriately.

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Curriculum design Curriculum design refers to the process of planning and organising the
educational content, experiences, and assessments that students will
encounter within a specific course, program, or educational system. It involves
making intentional decisions about the scope and sequence of topics, the
methods of instruction, the selection of learning resources, and the assessment
strategies to achieve desired learning outcomes. Effective curriculum design
aims to create a coherent and purposeful educational experience that aligns
with educational goals, standards, and the needs of learners.

‘Education, The order in which those in the education community should be thinking about
prevention and academic integrity. You should start with educating the community at your
detection’ institution and promoting a positive culture, followed by implementing
practices that prevent breaches. Detection follows for where breaches have
potentially occurred.

Exam cheating When students use unauthorised means, material or devices when completing
assessments under exam conditions. E.g., looking at someone else’s paper,
asking others for answers, using cheat-sheets, using blue-tooth headsets or
apps that provide calculations or answers, joining online party rooms or
chatrooms to share questions and answers, finding ways to get around
proctoring or browser locking, screen sharing, etc.

Fair use/fair dealings Small extracts of copyright material can be used without permission or
payment from the copyright holder under certain conditions. For example, the
extract could be used for teaching, reporting or research purposes.

Fabrication When a person makes up research data and presents them as results, e.g.,
manipulating lab results, creating interview responses without interviewing
anyone.

Facilitation When a person helps another person cheat or breach academic integrity
values; e.g., giving answers to others during exams.

Falsification When a person manipulates, changes, or omits research data and presents the
results, which are not valid.

Fitness to practise Part of the accreditation requirements for many professions. Students are
required to demonstrate fitness to practise to be allowed to register with the
appropriate professional governing body. A fitness for practise assessment will
usually consider if a student has the skills and knowledge required to operate
safely and effectively and if they have demonstrated the good character
expected by members of the profession.

Fraud When a person pretends to be another person in an assessment or getting

another person to do an assessment. For example, sitting a test or examination
on behalf of another student, whether in a physical setting or online during
virtual tests, presentations, or other assessments.

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Grammar checking A tool or site that provides students with suggestions on where they can refine
tool or enhance their grammar and punctuation. Rules in institutions and disciplines
differ about the extent to which students can use grammar checking tools.

Group charter A group charter or contract is a tool you can use to help the group share the
work fairly, stay on track and produce work with academic integrity.

High/low stakes Assessment that is either considered to be high or low stakes given its marking
assessment weighting. An assessment that, for example, was responsible for 100 per cent
of a student’s grade might be considered ‘high stakes’. An assessment that only
produced 10 per cent, may be considered a ‘low stakes’ assessment.

Learning advisors Many universities have learning advisors who can give advice on academic skills
such as referencing.

Literature review Describes, summarises, compares and evaluates the literature (academic
books, chapters, reports and journal articles) on a particular topic.

Misrepresentation When a person tries to mislead the reader regarding their contribution to the
work submitted.

Non-academic sources Sources written by anyone, not just discipline experts. They are not necessarily
reviewed or edited and often do not include citations or references. They are
often written in an informal style.

Paraphrasing tool A tool or site that works by providing machine-generated rephrased text that
students input from their own or others’ writing. Rules in institutions and
disciplines differ, but the use of paraphrasing tools in writing assignments is
usually not encouraged unless it is specifically part of the learning process.

Pedagogy Pedagogy encompasses the methods, strategies, and approaches employed by

educators to facilitate learning and promote the intellectual and personal
development of students. It involves the art and science of teaching,
encompassing instructional techniques, classroom management, assessment
practices, and the cultivation of a supportive learning environment. Pedagogy is
not a one-size-fits-all concept; rather, it considers the diverse needs,
backgrounds, and learning styles of students. Effective pedagogy encourages
active engagement, critical thinking, and the application of knowledge,
fostering a positive and enriching learning experience. Pedagogical approaches
can vary based on educational levels, subjects, and evolving educational
theories.

Peer review The process where researchers in a field evaluate the quality of other
researchers’ work. The aim of this is to ensure the work is accurate, coherent,
builds on past research and adds to what we already know.

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Plagiarism When a person uses someone’s intellectual property (ideas, thoughts, words,
art, music, etc) without giving due acknowledgement. This may be intentional
or unintentional and range from poor practice to self-plagiarism to severe
plagiarism. For instance, using your own work without authorisation in a
different context is considered as self-plagiarism. When someone uses
paraphrasing tools to create mashup text and submits as own, this is also
considered a form of plagiarism.

Public domain Materials that are not protected by intellectual property. Anyone can use a
public domain work without obtaining permission and no one can own it.

Reference list The detailed list of references you refer to in your written or visual text.

Reference mashup Refers to a situation in which different sources or references are combined or
"mashed up" to create a new or composite reference.

Reliability A measure of the extent to which a student’s result accurately reflects their
ability.

Sabotaging Sabotaging the work of others, such as damaging their projects or research.

Self-plagiarism When a person presents work that they have previously completed or
published as if it is new. Sometimes, students can legitimately re-use work if
the first assignment is a draft for the next. In the same way, in publications,
authors can sometimes republish on the same work with the permission of the
first publication. However, this needs to be explicitly stated and acknowledged.

Translation tool A tool or site that translates written or spoken language into another language.
Rules in institutions and disciplines differ and although these tools help
students to understand content as part of the learning process, they are usually
not encouraged in writing assignments unless it is specifically part of the
learning process.

Unauthorised content When a person uses any kind of content, in full or part, generated by artificial
generation intelligence tools (e.g., art, music, text, code, diagrams, etc) and submits it for
academic credit without authorisation or acknowledgement, is considered as
breach of academic integrity values (Fotynek et al., 2023). Some institutions
may categorise this form of misconduct as plagiarism or contract cheating.

Validity Assessment that can provide evidence that a student has met the learning
objectives.

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