4- Plagiarism and Fabrication

 Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is one of the most important parts of attending a university. Honestly completing assignments, exams, and other projects is extremely valuable for both a student's learning experience and their reputation. This is true for professors as well. In order to set the standard for rising minds, it is extremely important for instructors to practice what they preach and meet their own standards. Although it is extremely easy to pull information directly from the internet or generative AI, steering clear of plagiarism and fabrication is essential. 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of using information from another source without properly citing the author. This information can come from many sources including academic journals, books, online articles, and websites without listed authors. While it is very easy to simply copy and paste information on modern computers, taking credit for another author's work is extremely immoral. Some common ways to avoid plagiarism include having a bibliography or references page in your work, properly quoting other authors, and ensuring that you use correct in-text citations when necessary. Many universities such as Harvard include information pages that cover common mistakes when citing sources. 

Fabrication

Fabrication, also known as falsification, is the act of creating or altering established information without authorization. According to Northern Illinois University, fabrication includes creating false data, omitting data from an experiment or presentation, and creating false sources of information. Not only can this cause readers to be misled into believing un-factual information, it can also make students seem unreliable and their academic reputation and credibility will be tarnished. 

Plagiarism and Fabrication Allegations

Although plagiarism and fabrication are extremely frowned upon, it is still extremely prevalent in many fields. President Darryll Pines of the University of Maryland was faced with scrutiny in 2024 after papers that were written in 2002 and 2006 were allegedly found with plagiarized material. This case was difficult to discuss due to the co-authorship of the essays. Although a consensus has yet to be reached regarding the case, it shows that even decades-old cases of plagiarism can still come to light. 

President Darryll Pines

A more well known case of plagiarism is Harvard President Claudine Gay. According to the Guardian, Claudine Gay was accused of using several portions of essays created by other authors with either insufficient citations or no citation at all. This led to an investigation involving the Harvard board. Claudine Gay's actions clearly went against the standards that students are held to. 

After facing backlash for the plagiarism within her work, Claudine Gay eventually stepped down as President of Harvard University. 

Former Harvard President Claudine Gay

Due to issues with plagiarism and fabrication becoming such a prevalent issue in modern education, it is imperative that students become extra mindful of ways that work can be created ethically. In order to maintain an adequate of level of integrity within an academic setting, be sure to properly follow citation guidelines and always give credit where it is due so that you establish credibility and provide reliable information for your readers.