Understanding plagiarism
Why is academic integrity important?
Scholarship
At university, you are considered a scholar as well as a student, and your fundamental scholarly task is to not only use knowledge to facilitate your own learning, but also be able to apply knowledge to new questions, issues and contexts. Throughout your studies, you will encounter the best ideas that have been developed and built on by past and present scholars. If you deliberately plagiarise, you deny yourself the experience of gaining mastery and confidence in your own learning abilities, knowledge and skills.
Integrity
The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary (7th edn.1987) defines integrity as wholeness; soundness; uprightness; honesty. In the context of higher education, academic integrity refers to taking personal responsibility to be honest when using other people's material. A student who has integrity will make fair use of the work of others, so that when presenting an assignment for assessment, the marker can see exactly what sources have been used and also what the student has learnt and contributed.
Professionalism
You are expected to graduate with a thorough understanding of the strengths and limitations of knowledge in your chosen field. If you deliberately plagiarise, you are unlikely to develop your knowledge base, and be able to maintain and update your expertise – expertise that will be integral to your professional success.
Employers and professional bodies will expect that you can learn independently, have the required knowledge, skills and attributes and can make ethical choices. As well as institutional penalties for academic dishonesty, there are profound professional implications as you may not be competent in your chosen field.