Ethical Use of Sources and Writing

The purpose of this guide is to assist you using sources ethically which is an important aspect of Academic Integrity. 

1. Find Sources with quality research skills and tools
   • Using databases and skillful internet search techniques for quality and accurately sourced materials 
2. Use Sources ethically
   • Employ strategies and campus resources to work with sources and presenting in a variety of settings  
3. Avoid Plagiarism 
   • Properly quoting, paraphrasing and citing work is a foundational skill to know and there are resources to help 
4. Support Student Learning 
   • Faculty have many resources and partners is supporting student learning in these topics

Correctly using sources while writing an essay, giving a speech or presenting in the workplace can be a challenging process. What sources do you need? How do you find them? What ways can you ensure that you are giving credit to the original authors?

We understand that navigating this process can be difficult, and that's why we have created this guide on the ethical use of sources and writing. In this guide, you will find information on a variety of topics that will help you in this process.

Academic Honesty:

As a student, you probably hear a lot about academic honesty and academic integrity. This is important. Students need to be familiar with these topics because you will want to be seen as credible and informed when you graduate college. Plagiarism can be scary, but most often it is a cause of improper paraphrasing or misuse or incorrect use of citations. This can be easily avoided by reaching out to campus partners to help with managing time, adding in your own voice to your paper, and finding resources to assist you in this process.

Acts of Academic Dishonesty

UND supports learning about ethical use of sources by communicating in various ways:

• Code of Student Life: Section II:B Acts of Dishonesty includes Cheating, Plagiarism and Document Misuse

• Course Syllabi: includes statements that define dishonest acts and spells out consequences

• Violations are dealt with in a way to best educate and preserve student privacy via: 

  • Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities

  • Starfish alerts 

  • Departmental / Faculty defined processes

Becoming knowledgeable about these issues will help avoid making these mistakes. Utilize the many resources UND provides that are found throughout this guide.