CS 161 - Introduction to Programming with PHP

Policy:

I expect my students to conform to, and to adopt as their own, the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and professionalism. Conduct that does not meet minimum standards of integrity, honesty, and professionalism is defined by me as deviant and will be addressed with a combination of methods defined by the George W. Bush administration as not torture. Examples include, but are not limited to to flogging with wet noodles, and protracted sessions of tickling by classmates.

Plagiarism:

Scientists naturally use and build upon the works of others. However, it is important to cite the source of ideas and words that did not originate with you and which you use in your works. Using some else's ideas or words without giving proper credit constitutes plagiarism. The basic rules for avoiding plagiarism are: (1) do your own work, and (2) give credit whenever you use someone else's work. These rules apply whether you are saying something in a talk, publishing it in a paper, writing it on a take-home exam or homework, or coding it in a program.

Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism:

The following guidelines are intended to aid Computer Science/Multimedia students in avoiding plagiarism. Specific instructions given by the course instructor may supercede these guidelines:

1. Do your own work unless specifically told that collaboration is allowed.

2. Do not provide assistance in any manner not allowed by the instructor. A violation of this type constitutes academic misconduct.

3. Document your sources in programming assignments.

   1. In general, you may obtain help from faculty members, the course coordinator, your instructor, or lab assistants for a course without having to give credit to them for helping you.

   2. The instructor for a course will specify the level of assistance (if any) from others that is permitted for programming assignments. The instructor will also specify whether or not you are allowed to use code from external sources (such as code from textbooks, electronic sources, etc.) for programming assignments.

   3. If you use code written by another person (whether given to you personally, copied from a book, downloaded from an electronic source, or otherwise) you should include comments before and after the section of code that is not your own, identifying the source of the code. You must do this even if you change the code. The sources of algorithms should be cited in the same way. All changes should be clearly indicated.

4. Properly cite your sources in written assignments.

   1. Paraphrase properly.

      Paraphrasing is expressing someone else's ideas in your own words. This does not mean just changing or rearranging words to make the sentence look different. To avoid the temptation to simply rearrange words, it is best not to have the original source visible while writing your paper. Instead, read the paper until you understand the ideas, then express those ideas in your own words.

   2. Cite your sources.

      Cite the source of any algorithm, idea, or paraphrased words obtained from anyone else using the citation style specified by the instructor. Put the citation at the end of the information obtained from the other person; if the information that you paraphrase is longer than one paragraph, put a citation at the end of each paragraph.

   3. Quote the source.

      Quote the source (put quotations around the words) any time you use someone else's exact words. Then put a citation at the end of the direct quotation.

   4. Provide a bibliography.

      At the end of any paper, you should include a reference list giving the exact source of any citation within the body of the paper. The Reference List style given in Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations will be accepted in any class unless the instructor specifies another format. Examples of citations and references using this style for citing computer science publications including electronic sources are given at http://cs.msstate.edu/PUBLICATIONS/turabian.html.

   5. Consult a guidebook.

      If you are in doubt about the proper way to cite a source you may wish to consult grammar handbooks such as The Little Brown Handbook or Turabian's manual.

5. Cite your sources in presentations.

   When describing someone else's work in a presentation, the source must be made clear while the work is being described. You must also give appropriate credit to others for diagrams, examples, etc. that you use or adapt from their work.

Conclusion:

The discussion and suggestions given above are intended to assist students in developing an understanding of and a professional attitude toward plagiarism. If you ever are in doubt about any of these issues, please discuss them with your instructor, advisor, or other faculty member.