Research paper on academic integrity

Write a ten-page research paper on the topic of academic integrity. The guidelines for the paper are as follows: Illustrate an effective understanding of academic integrity.

Your essay must present a clear thesis statement about academic integrity/dishonesty and needs to contain a balanced discussion of these key concepts:

Specific types of plagiarism or dishonesty Methods to avoid academic dishonesty, with specific actions/behaviors Effectively incorporate your personal incident regarding academic integrity

How or why your action or behavior is problematic, and What you will personally do in the future to avoid similar incidents. Please note: this list does not represent the order or way you need to discuss these ideas; that is up to you.

As long as your essay at some point and in some way addresses these topics, the manner in which that is achieved is your decision.

No fewer than ten pages of content/discussion. This page requirement does not include the cover page or your references in the page count. You must utilize a 10-12 pt. font, double-spacing, and standard 1 inch margins.

Note: those formatting expectations can impact the length of your content; your paper length will be judged according to accurate formatting. All citations must be done according to the APA style guide. You can find resources here: http://www.webster.edu/academic-resource-center/writingcenter/writing-tips/index.html.

Every resource cited in the body of the discussion must have a corresponding entry in your reference listing; and every source appearing in the reference list must be cited in the body of your discussion. You must use a minimum of four academic references.

Among these references at least one must be a full text, and at least one must be an article from a peer-reviewed journal.

If you do not know what is considered an academic reference, then set up an appointment to discuss this with the Library Resource Desk by calling (314) 968-6950 or (800) 985-4279. Also see: http://libanswers.webster.edu/ Use websites with caution.

Web sites are largely unevaluated by experts in the field, and therefore the information contained within is not vetted by experts as is the case with peer-reviewed journals. Under no circumstances are encyclopedic websites such as Wikipedia.com to be used.

You should also avoid dictionaries. The paper will be submitted via Turnitin, which is linked through this course.

Turnitin is a plagiarism prevention service that allows faculty to check written assignments for originality against internet sources, other student submissions, and academic databases. When you upload your paper using the link to your right, you will be able to see an “Originality Report,” which matches your writing to other sources that use identical strings of words.

Because Turnitin identifies matching strings of words, if you use a direct quote, even if correctly cited, it will be identified in the originality report. Students should not rely heavily on direct quotes, but should focus on paraphrasing appropriately.

Therefore, anything more than a 20% similarity in the Turnitin report is unacceptable. Any paper submitted with greater than 20% similarity will be graded as an “F.” At some point in your writing process, you might be asked to consult a writing coach provided by the Academic Resource Center.

Information regarding the scheduling of a session with a coach (either in person or online) is available here: http://www.webster.edu/academic-resource-center/writingcenter/index.html.

Important: If you are asked to consult with the Writing Center, you must have the writing coach confirm that you have utilized their services by notifying the Plagiarism Prevention Program staff at acadintegrity@webster.edu.

When you meet with the coach personally, provide them with the e-mail address above and ask that they send a message confirming the coaching session; if you use the online coaching services, include a note in your document requesting the same.

When a paper has been submitted for review, it will be assessed on each of the criteria named above. Important: a grading rubric has been added to this assignment to help illustrate to students which of the above criteria have been met and which are missing or need improvement.

All new submissions will be graded using this rubric, so be aware of how to utilize this feature to illustrate what you need to work on for later drafts.

As noted elsewhere in the module, this process may take several attempts. You will work with the program staff to revise your essay as needed to meet all of these requirements.

If you are unable to produce a paper that meets the expectations of the course, you may be required to enroll in a remediative writing course in the next available term. Caution: All students must be aware that this paper is not evaluated on an A, B, C-scale basis.

The point values earned through the rubric are solely a placeholder to inform students of the status/progress toward completion.

Assignments must fulfill all rubric criteria, a full 80/80, to be considered passing. For example, a paper with a 70/80 does not equate to an 87%. It means that all criteria for a passing paper have not yet been met and that further revisions in the area(s) still marked “needs improvement” will be required to earn the final required 10 points and conclude enrollment in this program.

Once the draft has met expectations in each of the four rubric criteria and shows no evidence of plagiarism (as determined by the Plagiarism Prevention Program staff), you will have completed the course and the Academic Advising hold will be lifted from your account.

If plagiarism is detected in any writing assignment for this course, your file will be directed to the appropriate academic dean for referral to the Academic Honesty Board for consideration of suspension or dismissal. Discussion of Academic Integrity

To illustrate an effective understanding of academic integrity, your essay must present a clear thesis statement about academic integrity/dishonesty and needs to contain a balanced discussion of these key concepts:

1) Specific types of plagiarism or dishonesty

2) Methods to avoid academic dishonesty, with specific actions/behaviors

3) Effectively incorporate your personal incident regarding academic integrity

4) How or why your action or behavior is problematic, and

5) What you will personally do in the future to avoid similar incidents. Please note: this list does not represent the order or way you need to discuss these ideas; that is up to you.

As long as your essay at some point and in some way addresses these topics, the manner in which that is achieved is your decision. Use and Quality of Source Material The paper must incorporate 4 credible sources, including one peer-reviewed article.

Avoid user-edited websites, online dictionaries/encyclopedias, or other less-reliable sources. All sources listed on the reference page must be used in the essay; similarly, all sources used in the essay must be listed on the reference page.

All source material is used correctly and appropriately according to APA guidelines. Source material should be successfully paraphrased, exact wording must be quoted, and direct quotes/long quotes should be extremely limited. All us