Academic Integrity refers to honesty and responsibility in academic practice and scholarship. It values ethical academic behaviour and the avoidance of plagiarism, cheating, fraudulent representation of academic work and other dishonesty in academic endeavours. MIC Academic Integrity Policy
The skills of Information Literacy are fundamental to the demonstration of Academic Integrity. "Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning." (ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education 2015)
The International Centre for Academic integrity have identified SIX FUNDAMENTAL VALUES of Academic Integrity:
HONESTY
TRUST
FAIRNESS
RESPECT
RESPONSIBILITY
COURAGE
It is important to be responsible and hold yourself yourself accountable for your own actions, and discourage misconduct by others. It also means learning to recognise and resist the impulse to engage in unscrupulous behaviour. Being a responsible member of an academic community also means holding others accountable. It can be challenging to hold yourself or others accountable but learning skills and taking responsibility for your work is an essential part of being in an academic community.
Honesty is an indispensable foundation of teaching, learning, research, and service. As you embark on a practice of lifelong learning it is essential that you remain truthful about which ideas are your own, which are derived from others research and the methods you use to find, use and present information. Cultivating a practice of honesty in your research is a foundation stone of your academic integrity.
Fair treatment is an essential factor in the establishment of ethical communities. You show fairness to each other and to the community when you do your own work honestly, to authors when you acknowledge borrowed work appropriately, to administrators when they respect and uphold academic integrity policies, and to alumni when they maintain the good reputation of the institution.
Courage differs from the preceding fundamental values by being more a quality or capacity of character. It is the capacity to act in accordance with one’s values despite fear. Being courageous means acting in accordance with one’s convictions. Academic communities of integrity, therefore, necessarily include opportunities to make choices, learn from them, and grow. Students who exhibit courage hold themselves and their fellow learners to the highest standards of academic integrity even when doing so involves risk of negative consequences, such as a bad grade, or reprisal from their peers or others. Members of academic communities must learn to make decisions that demonstrate integrity. They also must then display the courage necessary to act on those decisions. Only by exercising courage is it possible to create communities that are responsible, respectful, trustworthy, fair, and honest and strong enough to endure regardless of the circumstances they face
Trust is another necessary foundation of academic work. When developing your information literacy skills, you need to trust the research and as you gain confidence to do your own research, you need to show you can be trusted too. Trust enables you to collaborate, to share information, and to circulate your ideas and words, without fear that your work will be stolen, compromised or diminished. Trust is essential so that those outside academic communities can believe in the value and meaning of scholarly research, teaching, and degrees.
Respect in academic communities is reciprocal and requires showing respect for oneself as well as others. Respect for yourself means facing challenges with integrity. It also means valuing and taking advantage of opportunities to gain new knowledge: by taking an active role in your own education, contributing to discussions as well as listening to others’ points of view, and performing to the best of your ability. Lifelong learning means cultivating respect for your own and other peoples work.
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