academic-integrity-v2
Chapter 1: Course Introduction
There is a very gray line when determining what is and what isn’t code plagiarism. This is because copying from some online sources is permitted while copying from other sources is not. Likewise, introductory assignments will prohibit copying, while more advanced assignments will encourage copying and sometimes even require it. Don’t worry, this will all be outlined in the next few chapters.
For this reason it is crucial that we first define coding plagiarism:
Coding Plagiarism: Copying or reproducing code that is not yours, without permission from the author, or against the assignment Academic Misconduct Policy. This includes copying code from online examples and fellow students, the use of libraries or frameworks, and the use of code generators.
Learning to code is useful no matter what your career ambitions are.
Arianna Huffington – Founder, The Huffington Post
The Effects of Academic Misconduct
Copying code is considered cheating. A single infraction will likely result in a zero grade on the assignment, a meeting with the programme coordinator and/or dean, and a notice will be placed on a student’s academic record. However, the effects of copying code go far beyond the academic consequences of cheating.
Learning to code can be hard. The most effective method of learning code is by actually coding; by spending lots of time trying, failing, debugging, and finally succeeding. The act of copying code will rob a student of the struggle required to learn code. If a student copies code during the crucial first few assignments,students will have an even more difficult time with more advanced assignments and become dependent on using code that is not their own.
Glossary of Terms
Academic Integrity Guidelines: A per assignment policy that outlines the use of code retrieved from the internet. The policy specifically addresses the use of code documentation, coding examples, libraries, frameworks, and packages.
Next Steps
In the next chapter we will review how to properly cite code when it requires a citation.
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