ELISE | Informing your studies tutorial: Plagiarism

While ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are relatively new and exciting, and might appear to make completing assignments easier, there are some important things to remember. 

Students should learn how to use these tools when appropriate and use the same critical thinking and evaluation criteria that they would with any other resource, such as a journal article or book chapter. Content generated by tools like ChatGPT is not always correct and may contain biases. 

Always consult the instructions in your course for guidance on the appropriate use of AI tools.

Find out more about what UNSW has to say about using AI at university and FAQs about generative AI.

The Academic Integrity Quest can help you learn all about academic integrity at UNSW, including how to avoid plagiarism.

 The Plagiarism Management Procedure outlines the process for managing poor scholarship and plagiarism at UNSW.

The ARC Plagiarism Pitfalls page has some real life scenarios that may help your understanding of plagiarism and its serious consequences.

Find out more about your academic integrity as a student on the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency website.

As a student at UNSW, you are bound by the ethical standards of the University in all aspects of your studies.

An important part of this is the ethical use of scholarly materials, upholding the University's standards in scholarship and research.

  Read more about ethical behaviour at UNSW in the A-Z Guide: Ethical use of Scholarly Materials

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person's work or ideas as your own. Plagiarism is a serious breach of ethics at UNSW and is not taken lightly.

UNSW groups plagiarism into these categories:

Copying

Using the same or very similar words to the original text or idea without acknowledging the source or using quotation marks.

Inappropriate paraphrasing

Changing a few words and phrases while mostly retaining the original structure and/or progression of ideas of the original, and information without acknowledgement.

Collusion

Presenting work as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part through unauthorised collaboration with others.

Contract cheating

Contract cheating is a form of collusion. It consists of what are known as out-sourcing behaviours. Learn more about contract cheating on the Contract cheating page of this tutorial.

Inappropriate citation

Often an author will cite someone else's research. It may not always be possible to locate the original source. It is considered plagiarism to cite sources which have not been read, without acknowledging the secondary source from which knowledge of the original source was obtained.

Inappropriate citation also includes padding reference lists with sources that have not been used in an assignment.

Self-plagiarism

Also known as duplication, self-plagiarism occurs where an author republishes their own previously written work and presents it as new findings without referencing the earlier work, either in its entirety or partially.

Understanding the principles related to the ethical use of information will help you avoid unintentional plagiarism or poor academic practice.

By developing good academic writing skills, you will be less likely to plagiarise another person's work:

• learn how to form your own opinions from the work that others have published
• acknowledge the original author of any work that you have quoted, summarised or paraphrased in your assessments

Knowing how to correctly reference the information you use in assignments is also important in helping you to avoid plagiarism:

• know the types of works that must be referenced
  e.g. books, articles, web pages, statistics, photographs, etc.
• know how to use the appropriate referencing style for your course
   

  Learn more about academic writing on the The academic writing process page, under the Define tab.

  Learn more about referencing on the Referencing page, under the Check tab.

  Read UNSW's Plagiarism Policy Statement

  Try the Plagiarism Quiz on the Current Students website

  The Academic Study Skills website has a comprehensive section on academic integrity and plagiarism. Read this information carefully to learn more about how plagiarism can occur unintentionally and develop the skills you need to avoid it

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Plagiarism is a serious breach of ethics at UNSW. For those caught plagiarising or acting dishonestly in relation to their university work, UNSW can take disciplinary action. This may include:

• a reduction in marks for the assessment task
• a fail for the course involved
• conditions placed on re-enrolment in courses
• suspension or exclusion from UNSW
• a delay in graduation
• a fine

Read more about the consequences of plagiarism at UNSW in the Complaints Management and Investigations Policy and Procedure.