Academic Integrity, AI Use & Research Ethics

Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, using AI tools, and research consent.

As a student, you’re a member of the scholarly community, and your writing deserves the same attention to ethical standards as professional writing. APA’s core ethical principles are: (1) ensuring the accuracy of scientific findings; (2) protecting the rights and welfare of research participants; and (3) protecting intellectual property rights (APA, 2020, p. 11).

Plagiarism and self-plagiarism

Plagiarism: presenting someone else’s work — or AI-generated work — as your own. Serious academic fraud, whether intentional or not.

Self-plagiarism: presenting your own previous work, including earlier homework, as new. Just as serious as plagiarism.

Read the full EBS Academic Fraud Statement. Check your own work with Strike Plagiarism before submitting.

Reporting AI use

Every paper needs an author’s note describing how you used AI tools, unless your instructor says otherwise. Be specific: name the tool, describe exactly what you used it for (idea generation, literature search, writing or grammar support, data analysis), and include the prompts or steps you used. All analysis and conclusions must be your own work — AI only supports it.

Download an author’s-note template on the Templates & Samples page. Full policy: EBS Guidelines for Using AI Chatbots for Teaching and Studies (rector’s decree).

Research ethics and participant consent

If you collect data from people — interviews, surveys — get their informed consent first: explain the study, tell them participation is voluntary, they can decline any question or withdraw at any time without giving a reason, and that their data will be kept confidential and anonymized in any resulting report or publication. Use the consent form template on the Templates & Samples page.