Academic Honesty and Integrity
Instructional Labs - Chemistry Department
Academic Honesty and Integrity is expected from all our students. The faculty assumes that themes, term papers, studio work, results of laboratory experiments, examinations and computer-generated material submitted by the student represent the student’s own work. The presentation for academic credit of the same work in more than one course is prohibited unless a joint project receives the express and prior consent of the instructors involved. All student work, including collaborations, should conform to the University's ethical standards.
Binghamton University has several resources to help you understand and comply with the Student Academic Honesty Code.
Whenever there is a question regarding academic integrity, students and faculty should consult the Student Academic Honesty Code.
For More Information on the Academic Honesty Code:
Full details of the Academic Honesty Code are available in the University Bulletin under "Academic Policies and Procedures for All Students." Downloadable copies of the "Report of Category I Academic Dishonesty Form" are available online.
BU Chemistry Library Resources
In this link you will be able to find a list of chemistry resources for labs, papers, and proposals. There is also a list of databases and indexes covering Chemistry and related areas (Materials Science, Physics). Lastly, there is also information on how to contact the Chemistry Librarian!
ACS Style Guide
(The links are from the ACS website and must be used within the BU CAS environment.)
|
References |
Effective Writing & Word Usage |
| 4.3.1 Why Cite? | 5.1.1 Effective Writing |
| 4.3.2 Creating References | 5.1.2 Five Common Word Usage Pitfalls |
| 4.3.3 ACS Style Quick Guide | 5.1.3 Word Usage |
| 4.3.4 Citation Elements | 5.1.4 Phrases to Avoid & Suggested Alternatives |
| 4.3.5 Reference Formatting & Examples by Source Types | 5.1.5 Additional Resources |
| 4.3.6 Deriving a Citation for a New Content Type | |
| 4.3.7 Additional Resources |
Writing Center Tutoring for all students, from all disciplines, on all assignments!
The Writing Center provides free tutoring in college writing for all students. Excellent tutors are available Monday-Friday to assist you with any assignment from any class, including essays, arguments, research papers, reports, analyses, editorials, proposals, abstracts, and lab reports, along with critical reading, developing presentations, and citing sources.
You can make your appointment by logging in or creating an account at https://binghamton.mywconline.com and choosing an appointment that suits your schedule. You can also add your name to a waiting list for as many specific days as you like. If you update your profile with your cell number and carrier, you’ll receive a text when an appointment becomes available.
Extra resources:
- Quick Tips on How to Write a Lab Report
- Chemistry BU Help Room Office Hours
- Purdue Online Writing Tips
- Cornell Writing Center
- Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism
- Indiana University - How to Write a Lab Report
Academic Policies and Procedures for All Students
Written Work
Much coursework is assigned to students individually rather than in groups. In carrying
out such assignments, unless prohibited by the instructor, a student may ask
others for criticism of a piece of writing. Effective learning is often fostered by
cooperation and assistance. Nonetheless, such assistance should never be so complete
or so detailed that the piece of writing becomes more the work of the person assisting
than of the student. That would be a form of misrepresentation. Similarly, a student
may occasionally feel the need for preliminary aid in understanding the principles
involved in various problems and the methods to be used in solving them (for example,
in mathematics and foreign language courses). Such aid is legitimate, but in every
case, the student must be responsible for the preparation and presentation of assignments.
Without these precautions, the student may unwittingly become involved in collaborative
work so extensive that it may be considered plagiarism.
Laboratory Experiments
Although students may be permitted or required to cooperate with one or more other
students in a laboratory experiment, many experiments are to be done by the
students independently, and all require some independent work. For students to submit
the results of another's experiment as their own, or to accept unauthorized
help in an experiment, constitutes academic dishonesty.
Credit
All sources of assistance — published or unpublished — are to be scrupulously acknowledged in every piece of writing and in oral reports.
Examples of Actions Outside the Boundaries of Academic Honesty and Integrity
No set of written guidelines can anticipate all types and degrees of violations of
academic honesty. To the extent that the examples below are not exhaustive,
duly-appointed representatives of the University will judge each case according to
its merits. They will be guided by the principle that academic dishonesty involves
misappropriation of academic or intellectual credit to oneself or to the discredit
of others. Instances of such dishonesty include:
Plagiarism
Presenting the work of another person as one’s own work (including papers, words, ideas, information, computer code, data, evidence-organizing principles, or style of presentation of someone else taken from the Internet, books, periodicals or other sources). Plagiarism includes:
- quoting, paraphrasing or summarizing without acknowledgment, even a few phrases;
- failing to acknowledge the source of either a major idea or ordering principle central to one’s own paper;
- relying on another person’s data, evidence or critical method without credit or permission;
- submitting another person’s work as one’s own;
- using unacknowledged research sources gathered by someone else.
Cheating on Examinations
Giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during or after an examination. Examples include:
- unauthorized collaboration of any sort during an examination;
- reading of an examination before it has been given;
- unauthorized use of notes, books, tapes, computers or other aids during an examination;
- allowing another person to take an examination in one’s place;
- looking at someone else's examination during the examination period;
- allowing another person to use one’s own examination during the examination period;
- passing examination information to students who have not yet taken the examination.
Multiple Submissions
Submitting substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once, unless there is prior explicit consent of the instructor(s) to whom the material is being or has been submitted.
Unauthorized Collaboration
Collaboration on projects, papers, computer programs or other academic assignments that have been prohibited by the instructor.
Fabrication and Misrepresentation
Misrepresenting or fabricating material, including misleading citation of sources as well as falsified or fabricated data or results from experiments or other analyses. Misrepresenting facts related to academic performance, including the justification of absences, late assignments and other activities.
Forgery
Imitating another person’s signature on academic documents (for example, an academic advising form or one’s own paper that is signed with respect to the time of submission) or other official documents that have an effect on academic credit (for example, a medical form submitted in support of taking a make-up examination).
Sabotage
Deliberately impairing, destroying, damaging or stealing another’s work or working material. Examples include destroying, stealing or damaging another’s laboratory experiment, computer program, term paper, examination or project; removing uncharged library materials with the effect that others cannot use them; defacing or damaging library materials with the effect that others cannot use them; hoarding or displacing materials within the library with the effect that others have undue difficulty using them; interfering with the operation of a computer system so it has an adverse effect on the academic performance of others.
Bribery
Offering or receiving any service or article with the purpose or effect of receiving a grade or other academic benefit that was not earned on the merits of the academic work.
Responsibility for Implementation
Each school of Binghamton University, including the Graduate School, will implement the Student Academic Honesty Code and adjudicate all matters related thereto (except as noted below) through its own committee structure. All reports of findings of guilt (either by admission or by adjudication) will be reported to the Provost’s Office for archival purposes.
For cases involving graduate students in the six schools, initial implementation shall occur in those schools. For graduate cases in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, initial implementation shall occur in the cognizant department or program. Any graduate programs temporarily residing in the Graduate School will report and adjudicate all cases through the Graduate Council’s Academic Standards Committee. At its discretion, the Academic Honesty Committee in any department or school may consult with the Graduate Council’s Academic Standards Committee about unusual or complicated cases. When an act of academic dishonesty violates the University’s policy on ethical research, the procedures outlined in the Policy on Responsible Conduct of Research, as found in the University Bulletin, apply.
For cases involving University-Wide courses (including CDCI, ELI, OUT, SCHL and UNIV courses), implementation and adjudication will occur through committee structures in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences. The Harpur College honesty committee may consult with other schools, as needed, for University-wide honors cases involving students from those schools.
Enforcement Procedures
Each school should develop its own procedures, consistent with these guidelines. These procedures may vary, depending on the size of the school and other relevant factors. The appropriate procedures for addressing the two categories of violations are as follows.
CATEGORY I VIOLATIONS
If an instructor discovers one of these violations, the instructor should first communicate with the student regarding the nature of the charge and the evidence on which the instructor has relied in reaching the conclusion that a violation has occurred. The student should be given the opportunity to respond. If the instructor remains convinced by the preponderance of evidence that a violation has occurred, the instructor may check to see if there is a record of a previous violation by the student. Students who are accused of a second Category I offense will be treated as being charged with a Category II offense and referred to the committee of the school in which the offense occurred.
If there is no previous violation, the faculty member should impose the appropriate penalty. The instructor should then fill in a Report of Academic Dishonesty Form describing the violation that occurred and the evidence supporting that finding. The form will also explain to the student the procedures whereby the student may appeal the decision. The student will be asked to read and sign the form and will be provided with a copy. If a case involves multiple students, the student acknowledges, by signing the form, that they may be asked to appear at a hearing as a witness. If the student chooses not to sign the form, the case goes to a hearing before the committee of the school in which the offense occurred. The instructor will then forward the Report of Academic Dishonesty Form along with the supporting evidence to the chair of the appropriate committee, who will send a copy to the Provost’s Office, where it will be kept on file. Records of Report of Academic Dishonesty forms should be retained until the student's graduation, or for six years following the semester or term of the violation in the case of a student who departs from the University without graduating.
CATEGORY II VIOLATIONS
If an instructor discovers a Category II violation, the instructor should first communicate with the student regarding the nature of the charge and the evidence on which the instructor has relied in reaching the conclusion that a violation has occurred. If the instructor remains convinced that a Category II violation has occurred, he or she should submit a detailed written charge with supporting evidence to the honesty committee of the school in which the offense occurred. The student will be notified of the charge and the date of the hearing and will receive a copy of the committee procedures. The instructor should assign an Incomplete grade for the student’s work, pending the outcome of the hearing. If, after the hearing, the committee concludes that the charges were unproven, the faculty member should re-evaluate the student’s work in light of that finding. In determination of any penalty for Category II violations, committees will consider all relevant factors, including the nature of the violation and any previous violations that may have been committed by the student. The chair of the appropriate committee will report any guilty findings to the Provost’s Office, where they will be kept on file. Records of hearing cases should be retained for six years following the semester or term in which the hearing is held. If a hearing case is appealed, the six years would begin after the semester or term in which the appeal decision is made.
