Integrity: A Lifelong Practice
By John Bond
Integrity underlies so many aspects of academia, but it is rarely front and center in discussion. Perhaps it is a given and therefore need not be brought to center stage. But with the changes to the world in the past year, five years, or twenty years, a closer look might be worthwhile.
Integrity is the very foundation of academia. The word itself can be quixotic. In my mind it means, acting honestly and ethically in all aspects of academic endeavors and, more specifically, in scholarly work. This includes everything from conducting research and presenting results to collaborating with others and critiquing their ideas. The fundamentals of academic integrity are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.
Integrity is what lends credibility and reputation to academic research. Imagine a discipline where published studies could not be trusted, or where plagiarism and data falsification were rampant. Scholarship would suffer and future research would be in jeopardy. But we are a long way from that point.
How does integrity show itself in our everyday lives?
- Honesty in Research and Writing: This includes truthfulness in all research, openness in methodologies, and concise and original writing.
- Proper Attribution: Crediting all sources is the bedrock of academic life.
- Being Responsible: Whether it is honesty in setting deadlines or the extent of your expertise, or by owning up errors in analysis, honesty in all moments of academic life helps build credibility and future trust. Heaven forbid that a correction or even a retraction is needed, accept the circumstances and move on to do better.
- Model Your Values: Students, colleagues, and your readers will evaluate you more by your actions than by what you say. Demand integrity in everyone you deal with, in particular researchers or authors. You won’t regret it.
Check out the International Center for Academic Integrity (or ICAI). It is a consortium of colleges, universities, and other institutions devoted to the cultivation of integrity in educational spaces and endeavors. It provides a forum to identify, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty, teachers, researchers, and administrators. They define academic integrity as a “commitment, even in the face of adversity, to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action.”
Integrity is an ongoing responsibility. Whether in your research, writing, academic life, or broader life, it is a lifelong practice. The world improves one person at a time. Let it start with us.
John Bond is a publishing consultant at Riverwinds Consulting. His most recent book is: The Little Guide to Getting Your Book Published: Simple Steps to Success. He is also the host of the YouTube channel “Publishing Defined.” Contact him at jbond@riverwindsconsulting.com.
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