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Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

A guide for students, faculty, and staff defining plagiarism and detailing how to avoid academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism and AI

How to Cite in AI

If you choose to use ChatGPT, Gemini, or some other generative AI for writing, you should be as transparent as possible about using it for your professors and publishers. Make sure you are working within their policies and sticking to their parameters. Each citation style has different recommendations for citing AI tools, like Chat GPT.  

How to Cite AI in Research

How will I know when to cite AI? 

You should always cite when an AI tool was used to:

  • Gather information
  • Write text
  • Edit text 
  • Synthesize ideas or find connections 
  • Clean or manipulate data

Citation Styles

Examples of when it is NOT okay

How do I know when it is not okay to use AI? 

  1. Incorrect Bibliographic References
    • Sometimes a prompt for citations on ChatGPT can include accurate-looking citations; however, it is important to verify the existence of the sources and accuracy of the information.
    • How to identify errors and false citations:
      1. Use the library's EDS system and search for each listed reference. If you use the Advanced Search, you can combine different search criteria (for example: author, title, publisher, and year of publication).
      2. Use a search engine to locate the book or article. Although we may collect many authoritative sources, some may not be captured in our catalog. 
      3. Ask ChatGPT or another generative AI tool for more information on a particular citation. For example, ask ChatGPT to provide the publication's ISBN or ISSN and include the citation in your prompt.
  2. Based on your prompt, consider the potential for bias in the generative AI tool's output.
    • What is the issue with bias related to AI?
      • When doing research with traditional library resources (i.e. the catalog or databases), you can find resources by combining keywords, Boolean operators (i.e. AND, OR, NOT), and using filters/limiters. Your output is usually a list of resources that you need to look through and identify those that are most relevant to your research question.
      • However, AI's output, like ChatGPT, takes prompts using natural language and the responses tend to be less focused on identifying resources about your specific topic and more on summarizing information. This is why you should pay more attention to the wording used in the prompt, as it could bias the type of response obtained.
  3. False and outdated information.
    • Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, may respond to prompts with information that is false and/or outdated.
      • This is why it's important to fact-check and use additional, authoritative sources of information before taking the AI's answer as definitive. 
      • For example, pay attention when doing research that my have a harmful impact on people, such as Pharmacy and Health Sciences. 

 

Examples of when it IS okay

So, when is it okay to use AI in an academic setting?

We have to consider how to use AI ethically. Consider the tools' limitations and how to use them without breaching your school's academic integrity guidelines.

Here are a few examples of how you can use various platforms to assist you in your assignments/studies without committing academic misconduct:

  1. Brainstorm initial ideas when writing a prompt. (i.e., ENGL 1020 Memphis-based topic).
  2. Provide alternative search terms (keywords) to help you find further resources.
  3. Generate practice questions for a quiz or exam. 
  4. Provide feedback on a sample of your writing. (For example, you could use the Grammarly extension)

Even if you use AI to assist you in your studies, it should not be the ONLY method used to study. There will be greater success if you incorporate AI with other study techniques, which will help you develop your critical thinking skills and subject knowledge. 

 

Academic Integrity at UofM

The University of Memphis takes academic integrity seriously. In the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities [PDF], plagiarism and other academic misconduct are considered "inappropriate for the University community and in opposition to the lawful missions and core values of the University (7). Academic misconduct is the very first topic covered on behavioral expectations in the Code.  

According to the Code, academic misconduct involves "any act of academic dishonesty," including:

  1. Making use of or providing unauthorized assistance or materials in the preparation or taking of an examination or other academic coursework;
  2. Acting as a substitute for another person in any academic evaluation or assignment;
  3. Utilizing another person as a substitute for him/herself in any academic evaluation or assignment;
  4. Committing plagiarism by presenting as one’s own work, for academic evaluation or assignment, the ideas, representations, or works of another person or persons or oneself without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources;
  5. Knowingly submitting one’s work for multiple assignments or classes unless explicitly authorized by the instructor;
  6. Committing an act that materially prevents, impedes, and/or impairs others from completing an academic evaluation or assignment; and/or
  7. Attempting to influence or change one’s academic evaluation or record, through dishonesty, coercion, threat, and/or intimidation. (7)