4. Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s ideas, words, or copyrighted work as if they were your own, without giving proper credit. It is a serious breach of academic integrity and ethics, and in some jurisdictions, it may also be illegal, potentially leading to penalties such as fines or imprisonment (see APU Style Guide for Writers for more information).

Plagiarism can constitute academic misconduct when you either intentionally or due to negligence fail to acknowledge the original source of the material. This includes the use of:

• Published hard copy materials such as books, journals, and theses.
• Soft copy or digital materials like websites, email attachments, and e-journals.
• Other digital formats such as audiovisual content (e.g., MP3s, videos).
• Live/oral presentations, including lectures and speeches.

The following are the examples that can be considered as plagiarism if you:

• Copy ideas, phrases, paragraphs, formulas, methods, evidence, programming code, diagrams, images, artworks or musical scores without correctly referencing where it came from
• Copy from another student’s work without indicating this is what you have done
• Mention the source in your bibliography but do not reference content properly in the main body of your work, so the assessor does not know what work is your own
• Change the order of words taken from other material but retain the original idea or concept, without correct referencing
• Quote from a speech or lecture without acknowledging the speaker
• Quote from a secondary source, without acknowledging the primary source.

The use of another student’s ideas or words in an examination or report obviously constitutes plagiarism and is taken seriously by the university. Similarly, giving your ideas or words to another student to represent their own also constitutes plagiarism. It is a form of cheating; indeed, it is a form of theft. It indicates academic misconduct and a lack of personal integrity, which may affect not only your grade, but also how your professors perceive your academic commitment.

In learning, academic integrity requires respect for prior research and responsibility for one's own actions and judgments in the advancement of studies through ethically sound methods. This forms the foundation for the fair evaluation of learners' efforts and achievements.

Copying others' ideas or words without proper attribution, or presenting those words as one's own, is not only subject to disciplinary action for academic misconduct but also represents a serious problem that works to the detriment of the learner itself in the following ways:

• Plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity in learning and constitutes the voluntary abandonment of the opportunity to think and learn independently.
• The correct acknowledgement of sources used in the text avoids plagiarism, strengthens the content of the writing, and makes the arguments more convincing. However, failing to do so constitutes the abandonment of the practice.
• In your future professional career, if you plagiarize, you can lose your job. Moreover, if plagiarism is found in your thesis or academic outputs after graduation, you can be stripped of your degree.

Falsifying data; misrepresenting another’s work as one’s own, including cheating on exams, reports, or quizzes, or purchasing materials online; plagiarizing others’ work; improper citation; fabrication of data; or submitting substantially similar work for different courses without authorization, constitutes academic misconduct and is a serious offense. Knowingly assisting other students in cheating or plagiarizing is also considered academic misconduct.

In APU, to preserve academic integrity and ensure a fair and equitable learning environment, the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Academic Regulations in its Article 72 defines academic misconduct in examinations and other types of assessments. Specifically, the following items are listed:

Students found to be cheating may be punished in several ways, including the following:

• Receive an F grade for the course
• Punishment pursuant to the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations on Punitive Measures for Students

Using AI-generated content (e.g., from tools like OpenAI’s, ChatGPT, Goolgle’s Gemini, DeepSeek etc.) without proper citation or acknowledgment can also be considered a form of plagiarism. Furthermore, since AI output itself may constitute copyright infringement or other rights violations, it is crucial to thoroughly verify the authenticity of AI generated content and whether it infringes on copyright.
Even if the AI does not directly copy from another source, students who present AI outputs as entirely their own, without recognizing the role of the AI or attributing the assistance, are effectively misrepresenting the origin of the content.
While AI tools offer convenience and support, ethical and responsible use require users to clearly acknowledge and cross check the information when and how such tools have been used in the creation of academic or professional work.

It is not considered plagiarism if:

• The ideas or words are commonly used and there is no other way to express them
• You have made the discovery yourself through experimentation or analysis
• You have combined the work and ideas of others to reach your own conclusion and have acknowledged these sources in the body of your work.
• You follow the assignment instructions, which allow the use of generative AI and do not require citations to complete the assignment. Please note that expectations and restrictions may vary between assignments and courses, so always follow the instructions provided by your instructor.

The basic rule is that whenever you use the exact words, the summarized words, or the ideas of someone else, you should always acknowledge the author of the original source by including an author-date citation and a bibliographic reference.

• Follow international guidelines on citation and referencing, e.g. American Psychological Association (APA). Books on the APA style are available from the APU Digital Library, such as Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
• Every time you use the exact words of someone else, you must set them in quotation marks, include an author-date citation (in the text) and include a bibliographic reference to the source (in the reference list).
• Every time you paraphrase or summarize the words of someone else using your own words, you must include an author-date citation (in the text) and a reference to the source (in the reference list).
• Every time you refer to someone else’s idea, you must include an author-date citation (in the text) and a reference to the source (in the reference list).
• Whenever you are in doubt, ask your instructor.

Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct, and students who commit it will be subject to disciplinary action for plagiarism, including expulsion, suspension or warning, in accordance with the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations on Punitive Measures for Students in addition to the disciplinary action for the specific course.