Academic Integrity

When working on an assignment, you may find information in your research that you want to include in your assignment.  You can use this information in a few different ways:

• You can directly copy information into your assignment using quotation marks
• You can put into you own words (paraphrase), rephrase, or summarize information you have read elsewhere.

If you directly quote information or paraphrase it in your assignment, you must give credit to the original author. 

Not only does citing information help you avoid plagiarism, but it is also a way for you to point your reader back to the information you referenced in your assignment.  Being able to credit someone else’s work and direct readers back to the original source is one of the most important skills you will learn in college and take with you in your future career(s).  

There are many ways you can cite your sources, often referred to as style guides.  Different academic disciplines have created their own rules and guidelines for citing.  The most common style guides for citing information in a written work include MLA, APA, and Chicago Style.  However, disciplines like chemistry, medicine, journalism, law, and sociology have their own style guides.  Your instructor will tell you which style guide they want you to use for your assignment.  In other assignments, such as presentations, you can cite your source on your presentation slide or in a Works Cited slide at the end.  In coding and programming assignments, if you use information from another source, you can include citation information in a comment.  Always ask your instructor at the beginning of a course how they want you to cite information. 

Remember, anything that is not your original work must be cited.  This includes information from books, journals, newspapers, websites, videos, podcasts, presentations, interviews, social media accounts, even pictures! 

One exception to the information listed above about citing is when you are using information that is considered common knowledge.  Information is considered common knowledge if it can be found in many different places, is a noncontroversial fact, and the average person knows the information without having to look it up.  Common knowledge can vary between cultures and disciplines.  Examples of common knowledge include:

• Information known by most people: the sky is blue, grass is green
• Information known by a specific cultural group: someone born in America would know that George Washington was the first president and that there are 50 states in the U.S.  Someone living in Kansas City would know that barbeque is an important cuisine in the city
• Information known by someone in a specific discipline: an English major would know Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.  A chemistry major would known an atom is made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons.

Common knowledge is dependent upon context, so make sure to check with your instructor when working on an assignment to know what they consider to be common knowledge and whether or not it needs to be cited.  When in doubt, it is always best practice to cite the information!

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine when an in-text citation is needed.  Below are some basic rules to help.  

Cite when:

• You are directly quoting a source
• You are summarizing and/or paraphrasing

Don't cite when:

• You are stating your own thoughts and conclusions
• You are stating common knowledge

This flowchart from Purdue's Online Writing Lab can also help when deciding whether or not you need a citation.