Academic Integrity
University Policies
"Academic Policies" from The University of Chicago Student Manual: University Policies and Regulations
"Academic Integrity & Student Conduct" from the The College: Policies and Regulations
Recommended Reading
The University of Chicago's Academic Technologies Solutions and Library collaborated on a series of blog posts about academic honesty discussing artificial intelligence, plagiarism prevention tools, assignment design, and library instruction on when and where to cite. These can be helpful starting points for instructors:
Combatting Academic Dishonesty Blog Series
Literature Review: Academic Honesty, What Causes It, How to Prevent it
- Understanding the Problem
- Small Steps to Discourage Academic Dishonesty
- Towards a Pedagogy of Academic Integrity
- Library Services to Support Academic Honesty
- The Problem of Text Spinners
Plagiarism Prevention: How the Library Can Help
Education is a key part of preventing plagiarism. While many students understand that they need to cite a source when they quote a passage from a book or an article, they may not realize that they must do the same when they paraphrase. Other students may cite books or articles, but will be unaware that they also need to cite charts, images, or other resources that they use in their assignments. Students may also become frustrated when using style manuals, which appear to focus more on how to cite, rather than the reason to do so. All of these factors can be reduced when we teach students the purpose of citations and bibliographies, and their larger role in scholarly communication.
Library Instruction
The Library is more than happy to work with you to develop a program for your course that focuses on academic honesty along with other research skills. We can discuss the following questions:
- Why do we cite?
- How do you identify and read various types of citations?
- How can citation managers such as Zotero help you stay organized and cite accurately?
- How do you conduct a literature review?
- What is scholarly communication?
- How do you trace scholarly conversations in sources (who cited whom)?
Online Help Guides
The Library web site also includes help guides on using citation style manuals and citation managers. You are welcome to link to these guides in your Canvas course sites.
Detecting Plagiarism: Search Tips and Library Services
Library Full-Text Databases
If you would like to search for a passage in a Library database, keep in mind that not all full-text is the same. In some databases or journal websites, you may be able to search the complete text of a work--even if the item is in pdf format. For other resources, metadata at this level may not be available, and you may be limited to searching citations. To see what options are available in the database or website you would like to search, go to the advanced search option, looking for a "full text" or "text" search. Whenever possible, try to search passages using a phrase search. Check the "Help" features of the database to identify how the phrase searches must be constructed (for example, should you use quotes or parentheses). Once you are in an article, you may be able to use the "Find" feature in your browser to identify specific word(s).
Plagiarism Detection Software
There are also several services available to help you detect such plagiarism, such as Turnitin or iThenticate. These tools can be effective for some types of plagiarism, but they have limitations. For example, they are are not currently effective for detecting works created through generative AI.
Please note that the Library does not offer plagiarism detection software nor do we recommend a specific plagiarism detection tool.
Other Resources
The Library has many books about plagiarism and academic honesty in our collection. Check the Library Catalog for specific titles.
A guide to citing resources from the University of Chicago Library, including information about most of the major citation styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.).
Citation managers are programs that collect records or citations from research databases (indexes, catalogs, etc.) that you can then organize for your research projects. They also help you cite your research by creating bibliographies, citations, and footnotes automatically. This guide helps you determine which citation manager is the best for your needs.
University of Chicago Copyright Information Center
This web site is a collaboration of The Library, IT Services, and the Provost's Office and the Office of Legal Counsel. While copyright law is discussed and guidance is given, this site should not be relied on as definitive legal advice.
Special Collections Research Center: Permissions
Information about permissions to reproduce or publish material from the Center.