Academic Honesty & Research Skills

Academic Honesty &
Research Skills

I’m really looking forward
to supporting you in
research this year :)

Poll

Research - how confident are you?

• What is research again?

• Somewhat confident though I would like some support.

• Extremely confident in my research abilities.

What is
Effective
Research?

So…

Spend 5 minutes
mindmapping now

Basics of Effective Research

1.

Know your topic! It sounds obvious but a good familiarity with
your topic area initially will begin you on the road to good
research.

2.

Start with 4 sources of credible information (more on this to
come) and ensure you annotate each source as you read.

3.

Begin your bibliography at the start of your research for easy
reference including the library call number (if your source is
from the library) for easy recall. Write 1-2 sentences after you
have read each source to summarise what the text is about.

4.

Your annotations, notes and approach to this is critical!

What are Credible Sources?

Being able to discern a credible source of
information is a vital skill and one I will be
supporting you with this year. Follow this initial
guidance to get you started:

●Check facts & statistics; don’t trust one
source

●Use academic journals when you have
finalised a specific area to research

●Use your critical thinking / analysis skills -
do not take any information on face value

What about Wikipedia?

Categorize

Options (13)

Wikipedia (usually)

Academic journal article

Scientific research paper

Government report

Peer-reviewed study

Statistical analysis from reputable organization

Interview with subject matter expert

Blog post from an unknown author

Social media post

Personal opinion piece

Advertisement

Tabloid newspaper article

Self-published book

Organize these options into the right categories

Credible Source

Not a Credible Source

Note Taking - of Huge Importance

●The way in which you take notes is essential. If you
simply shorten the information from the text you
have read without placing it in your own words,
summarising & forming your own views about what
you have read, you could accidentally find yourself
plagiarising through using your own notes.

●Practise your note taking skills and annotate as you
go through before consolidating / summarising /
writing questions at the end to support you with
this.

Cornell notes can be hugely beneficial for this
purpose.

What is academic honesty / integrity?

‘Academic Integrity is the guiding principle
in education and a choice to act in a
responsible way whereby others can have
trust in us as individuals. It is the
foundation for ethical decision-making and
behaviour in the production of legitimate,
authentic and honest scholarly work.’

(Academic Integrity Policy, IB, 2019)

Multiple Choice

Is it academic dishonesty?

You decide to team up with a
classmate on your papers.
Since you’re writing separate
papers it’s okay to share all
your resources and ideas.

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

Is it academic dishonesty?

You use AI to find some initial
quotes to support your topic.
You fact check them and
ensure to cite them correctly.

• Yes

• No

Academic Integrity in your Career

Academic integrity is important to your
career too. How does your future
profession ensure honesty and integrity?

Attributing/ Citing

Citing is essential when using others’ work to form ideas and
opinions, especially when referencing directly or indirectly.

‘The Prem student and teaching community generally use the
American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing,
however due to the nature of some subjects, the Modern Language
Association (MLA) style of referencing may be used at times instead
of APA. Check with your teacher which style of referencing is
appropriate for the piece of work you are completing.’

(Prem Academic Integrity Policy & Procedure, 2023)

AI (the elephant in the
room)

This is a grey area - both in terms of
moral and legal implications.

●What ways can AI be helpful /
supportive in terms of effective
research?

●What ways can AI be damaging /
supporting dishonesty in relation to
research?

(Academic Integrity Policy, IB, 2023)

Hallucinations

●

AI engines are designed to give you
the answer you want. To do this, they
may hallucinate on an answer that
may have no basis in reality.

●

AI can make up articles, authors,
quotes & events in an effort to
generate what the user is requesting.

●

Do not trust sources / articles or
research curated through the use of
AI engines without fact checking, like
you would with any other source.

Copyright

●

Copyright is a huge concern in the
growing use & accelerated
advancement of AI.

●

The copyright status of AI-generated
products is currently unclear.

●

In the US at the time of writing, the
copyright office will not register a
work that was created by an
autonomous AI tool.

Think Carefully & Check

●

Research and the process of learning / discovery
should be the work of you, as an individual, that
leads you to develop and grow as a person and
student; AI removes this incredible opportunity from
you if you are using it to garner ideas and opinions.

●

AI can be great to summarise, draw out questions,
define ideas etc, but should never be used as a
CREATOR or IDEAS GENERATOR.

●

If we allow AI to think for us in the name of apathy or
efficiency, humanity is doomed!

●

I am here to support so if you are ever unsure, please
come and see me.

Multiple Choice

What are AI hallucinations?

• Where we dream about AI

• Where AI creates fictitious sources & references

• Where AI is used

• Where AI uses credible and relevant references

Multiple Choice

What is patch writing?

• Where you cite correctly

• The use of Cornell notes

• Where you copy & paste sources but change the words slightly

• Where you use a source but summarisethroughout into your own words

Multiple Choice

Which word does NOT apply to academic integrity?

• Legitimate

• Dubious

• Ethical

• Honest

Multiple Choice

Which citation style is NOT used at Prem?

• Harvard

• MLA

• APA

Multiple Choice

According to the IB Integrity Policy, can students use AI in their work?

• Not at all

• Yes with no limits

• Only if they cite its use & not for aspects that could be deemed academically dishonest

• Only if they cite its use then it can be used fully

Multiple Choice

What should you do if you are unsure about anything related to research or the use of AI in your work?

• Google it

• Don't worry

• Ask - we are here to support you

• Worry about it and hope the problem goes away by itself