Academic Integrity Essay Example for Free

Academic Integrity Essay Andre Gide once said: â€Å"Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.† That is, even if cheating does not hurt others, it hurts the one who cheats. This is the meaning of integrity. It means acting in a way of which one can be proud. This concept can easily be applied to academics. Specifically, it is important to generate your own ideas and information rather than using the internet to do all of the thinking for you. This is the problem with modern students: rather than actually going to the library to do some traditional research using books (the publication of which requires heavy scrutiny), the average student prefers to â€Å"Google† the information (the publication of which requires nothing more than internet access). Thus, students often find themselves in a position where their academic integrity is called into question; it is far too easy to copy and paste information when one feels a great deal of stress to complete an assignment. When it comes to academics, modern students should strive to have more integrity. See more: Unemployment problems and solutions essay More often than not, the average student seeks an immediate answer by going into Google and asking it a question. This passes for â€Å"research† today. The trouble with this method is that, once an obstacle is encountered, the average student declares, â€Å"I could not find any research on my subject.† Beyond the fact that the research skills are poor, the next issue is the fact that, once the student finds research, he or she does not know what to do with the information. That is, there appears to be no attempt at explaining the significance of the research, or asking substantial questions in response to it. Rather, students will copy the information into their own assignments as if to say, â€Å"There! I’ve written a research paper because I did research and I inserted it into my paper.† This is where academic integrity comes in. Having academic integrity means that one does research properly. It means that one actively seeks out answers to questions, and goes beyond the surface of what one found. One does not simply collect information and ideas like a child collects rocks for display; one makes an honest attempt to â€Å"get to the bottom† of an issue, so to speak. Furthermore, academic integrity means that, when submitting one’s work, one always ensures that proper credit is given for all ideas and information that were not generated by the writer himself or herself. I implore you to consider the academic value of the research you are doing. Are you doing it to better yourself and demonstrate your learning? Are you being â€Å"faithful to that which exists within yourself† as Gide asks? Or are you simply taking a shortcut and shortchanging yourself?