Transcript ASSESSMENT AND PLAGIARISM AT RMIT A Briefing prepared by the Assessment Working Party RMIT University, Office of the Academic Registrar, 2003

ASSESSMENT AND
PLAGIARISM AT RMIT
A Briefing
prepared by the Assessment Working
Party
RMIT University, Office of
the Academic Registrar, 2003
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Academic Standards
• The reputation of your award within the
community, industry and the professions - whether
it’s a degree, diploma or certificate - depends on
the quality and originality of the work that you
submit.
• You are required to uphold the academic standards
of the university and the quality of your degree.
• The RMIT Assessment Charter shows how you
can do this.
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RMIT Assessment Charter
• outlines the responsibilities of staff and
students in relation to assessment
• can be found on the “Assessment and
Plagiarism” website
http://www.rmit.edu.au/academic-policy/assessment_policies/
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What is Plagiarism? – the RMIT Definition
• The presentation of the work, idea or creation of
another person as though it is your own.
• It is a form of cheating and is a very serious
academic offence which may lead to expulsion
from the University.
• Plagiarised material can be drawn from, and
presented in written, graphic and visual form,
including electronic data, and oral presentations.
• Plagiarism occurs when the origin of the material
used is not appropriately cited.
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The Australian context
• As in many countries, in Australia we value
the work and words of a master or expert in a
field.
• However, you must always acknowledge the
source of the words or works which you copy
or summarise.
• This acknowledgement must be done
according to RMIT referencing guidelines.
• Failure to do this will lead to charges of
plagiarism.
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The Australian context - 2
• We value your original work and ideas
because we want you to
become independent thinkers
able to critically analyse information and
ideas or create original designs, images,
code, etc.
• Using a referencing system helps us to
differentiate between your ideas and
words and those of other people’s.
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Why is Plagiarism Wrong?
• It is a form of fraud - you are stealing
someone else’s work and ideas.
• It may be a breach of Copyright Law.
• You are denying yourself a valuable
learning experience.
• It devalues the original work of other
students.
• It goes against the university principle of
graduating independent thinkers.
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Your responsibilities
You must:
• follow assessment rules and/or guidelines
• submit original work for assessment
• do the work yourself (unless it is a group
assessment)
• not copy other people’s work
• not help others to plagiarise or cheat
• not provide false data
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Your responsibilities - 2
• acknowledge quotes and sources
• keep a copy of your assessments, (and
related assignments, working papers, notes
and drafts) for the duration of your program.
• keep them in a secure place so that others
cannot access and copy them
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Acknowledging your Sources:
Citation and Referencing Systems
• There are several different systems.
• Some disciplines have a preferred system.
• The system used in this program/course is
[to be supplied]
• You can find out about this system from
[handout, the Library, essay-writing guide,
etc. – to be supplied]
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Plagiarism Detection
Plagiarism detection software
may be used on your
assignments
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Possible Penalties for Plagiarism
•
•
•
•
•
•
Assessment failure
Course failure
Cancelled results
Up to 12 months’ suspension
Expulsion
Whatever the penalty, it’s recorded in your
student file and on the University
plagiarism database
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Plagiarism Prevention - 1
The Assessment and Plagiarism website page
lists RMIT services and online resources
where you can get help and guidance, e.g.
Library online tutorials and guides
RMIT101 unit on Citation and Referencing
 Learning Skills Unit
[Add local sources if available]
http://www.rmit.edu.au/academic-policy/assessment_policies/
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Plagiarism Prevention – 2
If you feel pressured by
– Workloads
– Clashing deadlines
– Other people who want you to cheat/plagiarise
or help them to cheat/plagiarise
you can seek help from:
–
–
–
–
Your Program coordinator
An academic or international student adviser
The RMIT Counselling Service
Student Rights Officers
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Plagiarism Prevention - 3
• Plagiarism websites often contain resources
which can help you acquire the skills to
avoid plagiarism.
• Here is one example of the right and wrong
way of acknowledging someone else’s
words.
• It is from the Indiana University website on
Plagiarism.
http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/
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An Example: Original Text
Technology has significantly transformed
education at several major turning points in
history. In the broadest sense, the first
technology was the primitive modes of
communication used by prehistoric people
before the development of spoken language.
Mime, gestures, grunts, and drawing of
figures in the sand with a stick were
methods used to communicate – yes, even
to educate. Even without speech, these
prehistoric people were able to teach their
young how to catch animals for food, what
animals to avoid,. Which vegetation was
good to eat and which was poisonous.
Source: Frick, T.
(1991).
Restructuring
education
through
technology.
Bloomington,
IN: Phi Delta
Kappa
Educational
Foundation.
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Plagiarised Version
In examining technology, we
have to remember that
computers are not the first
technology people have
had to deal with. The first
technology was the
primitive mode of
communication used by
prehistoric people before
the development of spoken
language.
Explanation: This example
of student written work is
plagiarised. The student
copied, word-for-word,
text from the original
source material. No credit
was given to the author of
the text and quotation
marks were not used.
Also, the student didn’t
provide a reference.
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Correct Version
In examining technology, we
have to remember that
computers are not the first
technology people have
had to deal with. Frick
(1991) believes that “…the
first technology was the
primitive nodes of
communication used by
prehistoric people before
the development of spoken
language” (p. 10).
Explanation: Note in
this example that the
passage begins with
the author and year of
the publication.
Quotation marks are
used to indicate that
this passage is a wordfor-word citation from
the original document.
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