Academic Integrity & the IA
Source: https://pixabay.com/en/chinese-characters-background-676647/
"Integrity gives you real freedom because you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide."
- Zig Ziglar (1926 - 2012), American author and motivational speaker
Academic integrity is at the heart of what the IB stands for. Essentially, academic integrity is about being honest and principled when it comes to academic work. The IB defines academic integrity as follows:
Source: https://ibo.org/academic-integrity
The IB regards academic dishonesty, or academic malpractice, as anything that gives a candidate an unfair advantage over others. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Plagiarism - copying the work of others is academically dishonest
Fabricating research data and findings
Collusion
Missing internal (school) deadlines.
Source: Pexels
Academic integrity involves citing or referencing the works, ideas and creations of others. Hence, if a student does not include citations or references in the IA, it becomes challenging for moderators to authenticate the work.
For academic integrity reasons, Internet web pages using the URL are not acceptable as a substitute to including the actual supporting documents (in the appendices and uploaded as a separate document for the external moderators).
All IB candidates are expected to provide a declaration of authenticity on for the IA. An example of such a statement is shown below:
I confirm that this work is all my own and that this is the final version of this written commentary. I have acknowledged the use of any information collected from primary and/or secondary sources. All supporting documents are attached in the appendices. These are contemporary in nature and were written within a maximum of 3 years prior to submission. All parts in the supporting document that relate directly to this commentary have been highlighted. Additional sources have been acknowledged in the bibliography.
Signed (initials of candidate) ……….…………. Personal code ………… Date ……………..
Students do not have to actually sign the declaration with their name (so as to keep the assessment work anonymous) but can write or type their initials instead.
The declaration of authenticity should appear on the front cover page of the business research project.
Finally, for academic integrity reasons, students must not be allowed to redraft their IA. The guide clearly states the following:
"As part of the learning process, teachers should read and give advice to students on one draft of the work. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved, but not edit the draft. The next version handed to the teacher must be the final version for submission."
Source: Business Management guide, page 51
Case Study - Academic misconduct and IB assessment
The proportion of individual students receiving a penalty for academic misconduct is actually quite low (approximately 0.2% of the total number of DP candidature). However, the absolute number of cases investigated by the IB remains high. For example, each year, the IB receives a significant number of reports from examiners relating to irregularities with citation and referencing (C&R). It is important, therefore, to understand the need for appropriate C&R in the business research project. In a nutshell, it is crucial that you acknowledge the ideas, words, or work of other people when using, presenting, or interpreting their original work.
Source: adapted from Diploma Programme Coordinator's Notes, January 2023 (page 21)
Word count limits
Recall that the word count limits for the IA is 1,800 words. Note that IA moderators are instructed not to read beyond the word count limit for the IA.
Word count limits exist to prevent students from spending too long on individual assessments (such as the IA or the Extended Essay), to reduce overall pressure on students across the IB Diploma, and to create a level playing field (for academic integrity purposes). The instructions in the IB Business Management guide on word count adherence are clearly stated on page 56 of the official guide.
Note that the following are not included in the word count:
Acknowledgements
Contents page
Tables of statistical data
Diagrams or figures
Equations, formulae and calculations
Supporting documents (but these must be uploaded separately on IBIS or ManageBac)
Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the business research project, not in the footnotes)
References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes rather than the body of the business research project)
Bibliography.
Note, as stated in the guide, that footnotes/endnotes can only be used in the IA for references only. Definitions of business management terms and/or quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count.
Also, note that citation is a shorthand way of making a reference (in the body of the written commentary), which is
then linked to the full reference in the bibliography.
Citation and referencing
References or in-text citations must be included in the IA to show where ideas, comments and evidence has come from
The IB does not prescribe any particular referencing system (be it APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago etc.) but it must enable the moderator to locate the original sources with relative ease
Footnotes/endnotes can only be used for references – using footnotes/endnotes for any other purpose (such as definitions) will be included in the word count
In-text citation is a shorthand method of referencing, which must be linked to the full reference in the bibliography
Statements made by the student that are not cited or referenced can inadvertently turn potentially good evaluation into opinions or assertions
If students do not reference their work, concerns about the authenticity of their IA may be raised.
Top tip 1!
Not only are citations and referencing (C&R) formal requirements of academic integrity, doing so also shows your respect for the ideas and work of other people. Do not leave the citations and referencing until the end of the IA writing process as you will find it really challenging and time consuming to compile a decent and comprehensive bibliography. So, cite as you write.
Top tip 2!
If a students chooses to use primary research for the IA, the teacher (marker) must be able to validate the research and findings. Therefore, it is important that students provide evidence of their primary research (such as the questionnaires and interviews conducted).
I recommend the following to my students (which may seem a bit overly cautious, but I prefer to be safe than sorry). Any combination of the following would satisfy my suspicious mind!
Signed copy of the interview transcript.
Business card, stapled to the transcript.
Email notification / confirmation of the research conducted.*
Copies of the questionnaires - there is no need to include these (scanned copies) in the IA, but they must be made available for authentication purposes.
Photographic evidence.
Viva voce with the student to authenticate their primary research.
* For example, these authentification letters were included in the appendices.
Top tip 3!
The IB does not recommend any particular style for citation and referencing (C&R) for the IA nor does it require that the latest version of any C&R style be used. Many schools choose to use the MLA style, whilst others use the APA, Harvard, or Chicago C&R styles.
What is important is that students use a consistent style for all C&R in the completion of their IA.
It can be very useful (for the students) if the school adopts a consistent C&R style across all subjects, as part of its academic integrity and assessment policies. It can be extremely challenging and confusing for students if different teachers/subjects do different things about C&R for internal assessments.
Top tip 4!
For schools using the MLA referencing style, here is a straightforward template that you can use for C&R in the Internal Assessments and the Extended Essay for Business Management.
Top tip 5!
If any of the supporting documents are not in English (the language of submission), the highlighted sections of these documents must be translated. The original supporting document must also be included.
Note: whilst citation and referencing are not explicitly assessed in the IA, please be aware of the following. There is further guidance for teachers in the IB Academic Integrity Policy. An excerpt is below:
"Incidents related to coursework
When a school identifies issues with a final piece of work before submission or upload to the IB and before the IB submission deadline, the situation must be resolved as per the school’s academic integrity policy, provided it specifies if resubmissions are permitted. However, the school should not submit to the IB a piece of work that does not meet the expectations in regard to academic integrity or award a mark of zero." (page 24)
Please be aware that IA moderators are instructed to raise an exception if citations and references are missing from the business management project. The IA is then reviewed by the Academic Integrity team in Cardiff.
This is another reason for why I encourage teachers to use a declaration of authenticity, but this does not mean students necessarily include basic citation and referencing in their work.
Ultimately, any IAs submitted to moderators without citations/references will be investigated by the IB as a potential breach of regulations that may result in a penalty imposed by the IB final award committee.
The IA and AI
The IB acknowledges the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in assessment work such as the IA and EE. The IB has updated its Academic Integrity policy (March 2023) which provides guidance on how students can correctly reference AI tools and maintain academic honesty. Read the policy statement here.
It is important to note that the IB will not ban the use of AI software for the IA (or EE). However, the use of AI must be in line with the IB's academic integrity guidelines and the school's internal assessment policy. Essentially, whilst AI can be used, schools must adapt and transform their assessment practices and policies so that students can use these tools in ethical and effective ways.
For the IA, it is vital to cite all sources (not just the 3 - 5 supporting documents), including any texts or images obtained from AI tools, such as ChatGPT, both in the body of the IA and in the bibliography. Use the reference style adopted in the school (see Top tip 2 above).
For further guidance on the use of AI for assessment purposes (such as the IA and EE), download the IB's infographic poster here.
Another useful resource is the IB's academic integrity webpage on its official website. This includes links to the IB's academic integrity policy and video resources to support teachers and students. Thes resources can be accessed here.
Top tip 6!
The Scribbr website provides examples of how to cite the use of IA, such as ChatGPT, using different referencing styles.
Important points to note:
If you are using ChatGPT (or alternative AI software) responses as a main source of information, you must cite this for its purpose - just as you would with any piece of evidence or research.
If you are using ChatGPT to help with the research or writing process (e.g., using it to develop a suitable IA research question or to create an outline plan), you must also cite or acknowledge this.
If you are using ChatGPT as a source of factual information (e.g., asking ChatGPT to define a key term or key concept and then quoting its definition in your IA), this still needs to be appropriately cited.
However, be warned that the likes of ChatGPT are not considered a credible source for use in academic writing, especially for the Extended Essay.
Read more from the use of AI in assessments from these IB publications:
Reflection and Discussion
In small groups (2-3 people), discuss the reasons for approaching academic integrity as a constructive and positive aspect of learning.
Be prepared to share your discussions with your teacher and fellow students.
Download my article from IB Review about academic honesty. Although this was written in the context of the Extended Essay, the rules apply equally to the IA. Feel free to share the document with your students. Permission to share this resource has been granted by Hodder Education, the publisher of IB Review.
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