Academic Integrity

Consistent with Harvard University policy, it is a violation of academic honesty and the HBS Community Standards to present work (including ideas and analysis) developed by others as one's own. This policy applies equally to written work and class discussion. Students must therefore acknowledge the source of any substantive ideas or analysis that they obtained from others, whether submitting written work or offering comments for discussion in the classroom. For example, if the source of a particular idea or analysis is from one's study group, a student is encouraged to acknowledge the group when presenting the information.

Plagiarism and Collaboration

All work submitted for credit is expected to be the student’s own work. In the preparation of all papers and other written work, students should always take great care to distinguish their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from other sources. Failure to do so is plagiarism. The term “sources” includes not only published primary and secondary material, but also information and opinions gained directly from others, including fellow students, editors, advisors, and tutors.

The amount of collaboration with others that is permitted in the completion of assignments can vary, depending upon the policy set by the course head and/or teaching faculty. Students must assume that collaboration in the completion of assignments is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the instructor. Students must acknowledge any collaboration and its extent in all submitted work.

In summary, plagiarism is defined as any of the following situations:

  • The use of words or ideas of another with no credit to the original source.

  • Paraphrasing or restating the ideas of another without acknowledgment.

  • Presenting data or facts that have been borrowed without full citation to the original source. Fraud, a more serious offense, involves the presentation of fabricated data or facts.

  • Using a unique term or concept that one has read, without acknowledging its author or source.

  • Non-written occurrences of plagiarism. While verbal plagiarism is more difficult to detect and enforce, the same standards and principles of credit and attribution apply. For example, non-written plagiarism includes any instance in which a student uses the ideas of another student without giving credit for those ideas. These ideas include those obtained through study groups, notes, comments from other students who have participated in previous class discussions, and the electronic transfer of notes without explicit credit to the author.

  • Copying a computer program from another student or any other source, or deriving a program substantially from the work of another, without their permission and without acknowledgment.

This section was reprinted in large part from the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Handbook for Students (1996).

Self-Plagiarism

In every course at HBS, it is expected that all work submitted for the course was completed solely for that course. Self-plagiarism includes the practice of submitting identical or very similar material for credit in two separate courses. While the School encourages students to integrate continuously their learning across courses, it is not acceptable for a student to submit the same piece of work, or a very similar one, to more than one course. Papers and presentations for each course must be distinct in both content and writing. In some cases, it is both possible and acceptable to produce more than one distinct analysis and deliverable based on a single research project.

Proper Citations

Each student is responsible for learning the proper forms of citation, and are advised to review the HBS Citation Guide. Examples of proper citation include:

Quotations

When directly using the words of someone else, the words must be placed within quotation marks and must be cited fully, including the page number(s) on which the quoted words appear in the original text.

Paraphrasing

All paraphrased material must be acknowledged completely. Whenever ideas or facts are derived from a student's reading and research or from a student's own writings, the sources must be indicated. For more information about proper citation, see the Baker Library Citation Guide. Students who are in any doubt about the preparation of academic work should consult their instructor or the Standards Administrator before the work is prepared or submitted.

Use of Course Materials

Out of respect for authors' rights, copyright interests, and the confidentiality of certain information, students cannot make course materials available to individuals or organizations without obtaining advance clearance from HBS Publishing. This applies to both printed and electronic course materials.

Please note that reproducing copyrighted materials without express permission violates copyright law.