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The Open University

Developing good academic practice

The Open University via OpenLearn

Overview

This course aims to teach learners the principles of good academic practice, including understanding what constitutes appropriate academic behavior, writing in their own words, distinguishing between collaboration and collusion, recognizing common knowledge, and mastering referencing techniques. The course employs a combination of instructional content, quizzes, and examples to help learners develop the necessary skills for maintaining academic integrity. It is designed for students at all levels who want to enhance their academic writing and research skills.

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1 What is good academic practice?
  • 1 What is good academic practice?
  • 1.1 Good academic practice
  • 1.2 Demonstrating your academic abilities
  • 1.3 Reproducing someone else’s words
  • 1.4 Inappropriate academic practice
  • 1.5 When does poor academic practice become a major problem?
  • 1.6 Summary
  • 1.7 Quiz
  • 2 Writing in your own words
  • 2 Writing in your own words
  • 2.1 What do we mean by ‘writing in your own words’?
  • 2.2 Quiz
  • 3 Collaboration versus collusion
  • 3 Collaboration versus collusion
  • 3.1 Good collaborative practices
  • 3.2 What is collusion?
  • 3.3 Using extracts from spoken and online discussions
  • 3.4 Collaborative group answers
  • 3.5 Quiz
  • 4 Common knowledge
  • 4 Common knowledge
  • 4.1 General examples
  • 4.2 Subject-specific examples
  • 4.2.1 Arts
  • 4.2.2 Health and Social Care
  • 4.2.3 Maths, Computing and Technology
  • 4.2.4 Science
  • 4.2.5 Social Sciences
  • 4.3 Quiz
  • 5 Referencing
  • 5 Referencing
  • 5.1 Why should you cite references?
  • 5.2 Alphabetical referencing
  • 5.3 Numerical referencing
  • 5.4 Quoting
  • 5.5 Quiz
  • 6 Why do students plagiarise?
  • 6 Why do students plagiarise?
  • 6.1 Common problems
  • 6.2 Quiz
  • 7 Test your understanding of good academic practices
  • 7 Test your understanding of good academic practices
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements

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