Academic Integrity

What is integrity?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, integrity is:

“Soundness of moral principle; the character of uncorrupted virtue, esp. in relation to truth and fair dealing; uprightness, honesty, sincerity.”

Oprah Winfrey once said:

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

Integrity includes a commitment to honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

What is academic integrity?

Academic integrity is when students behave with integrity in an academic setting. Maintaining academic integrity involves “expressing original ideas, citing sources, working independently, and reporting results accurately and honestly” (Red Deer Polytechnic, Student Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct Guidebook, p. 3).   

Every program at Red Deer Polytechnic expects students to follow a code of academic integrity.

What is academic misconduct?

Academic misconduct is when students do not behave with integrity in an academic setting. Academic misconduct includes cheating and plagiarism (Red Deer Polytechnic, Student Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct Guidebook, p. 3). 

At Red Deer Polytechnic, academic misconduct can result in:

• Failing your assignment
• Failing your course
• Suspension from Red Deer Polytechnic
• Expulsion from Red Deer Polytechnic
• Not being accepted at another college or university after being expelled from Red Deer Polytechnic 

List created by NAIT Library

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when you take another person’s words or ideas and claim them as your own.

Plagiarism includes:

• Buying or copying a paper and submitting it as your own work.
• Submitting a paper that you previously submitted in another course. This is called self-plagiarism.
• Copying and pasting from a source (e.g. a website, an article, an image, etc.) without citing it.
• Summarizing or rewording someone else's work without citing it.
• Building on someone else's idea without citing it.

List created by NAIT Library

What happens if I plagiarize?

Plagiarism is a type of academic misconduct. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, even if it’s unintentional or accidental.

At Red Deer Polytechnic, plagiarism can result in:

• Failing your assignment
• Failing your course
• Suspension from Red Deer Polytechnic
• Expulsion from Red Deer Polytechnic
• Not being accepted at another college or university after being expelled from Red Deer Polytechnic

List created by NAIT Library

Does this mean I shouldn't use other peoples' ideas?

No! As a student at Red Deer Polytechnic, you are expected to read, analyze, and respond to the ideas of others when writing your papers. The key to do this without plagiarizing is to cite your sources!

What are citations?

Citation is a way of giving credit to individuals when you use their words or ideas to support your research. Citations have enough information that a reader could find the exact source you used. Typically, this citation information includes the author's name, publication date, and other source information including the journal title or DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

Citation styles are standardized ways to format citations. The citation style will determine exactly what information is necessary for a citation as well as how that information is presented, including punctuation and other formatting.

How do I choose a citation style?

Your professor will usually tell you what citation style is required for your assignment. The citation style typically depends on the academic subject area. For example:

• APA (American Psychological Association) style is used by Nursing, Education, Psychology, and the Sciences
• MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
• Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by History and Fine Arts
• IEEE style is often used in Engineering

How do I get started?

There are five steps to get started with citation:

1. Find a source that you can use in your assignment
2. Read what it says
3. Think about what it means
4. Re-write it in your own words (this is called paraphrasing)
5. Add citation to give credit for the ideas

What are academic integrity and misconduct at Red Deer Polytechnic?

Red Deer Polytechnic has the following policy regarding academic integrity:

Student Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct

Red Deer Polytechnic has created a guidebook to explain this policy:

Student Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct Guidebook

"Preparing to Study at RDP: Academic Integrity" by RDP Library (2021)