Department of Marketing Policy on Student Term/Research Papers
A primary purpose for research papers, term papers, themes, essays, and other written work, as well as some types of oral presentations,* is to provide an opportunity for students to advance their knowledge and understanding of a topic or subject matter. This learning goal will not be fulfilled if the student submits work that he or she did not do. Similarly, this goal will not be met if the student has previously studied and presented the research question in an identical or substantially similar format and manner, whether inside or outside of the Department of Marketing. For these reasons, it will be considered to a violation of the Department's Policy on Student Term/Research Papers for a student to:
1) submit a course paper that was written, in whole or in part, by someone other than the student who is submitting the paper for course credit. Plagiarism or the inappropriate use of another's words or ideas is unethical and may constitute a violation of the University’s Scholastic Dishonesty Code and the Department of Marketing’s Plagiarism Policy. The use of properly attributed quotations and ideas of others in a paper or presentation is acceptable and encouraged, if in the process, the student is weaving them together to support his/her thesis or to develop a review of the literature. A series of quotations that is merely regurgitated, and does not demonstrate synthesis or integration of information, while not in itself unethical or improper, does not reflect an original contribution by the student.
2) submit the same paper or a substantially similar paper in two or more courses (whether taken in the same or different semesters, and whether taken inside or outside of the Department of Marketing). It may be permissible for a student to write more than one paper on a particular topic, as long as there is a substantially different "approach" or perspective. In general, a replication or a paper which merely tests/develops the same research question in the same or a similar way does not constitute a new and unique learning experience. Students who are proposing to do a paper that is topically the same to one that has been completed for, is being undertaken for, or is proposed for another course are required to consult with the appropriate faculty before embarking on the project.
In all questions concerning course requirements, it will be the determination (judgment) of the faculty involved as to whether the student is satisfactorily meeting his/her course requirements and is in compliance with the Department of Marketing policies, norms and expectations.
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*Henceforth, when the term papers is used in this document, it refers to research papers, term papers, themes, essays, group projects, and other written work, as well as some types of oral presentations.