Glossary
A
- Accuracy
- In the context of information, accuracy relates to the extent to which the information is correct.
- Acknowledge
- Indicate by means of citation both in your reference list and in the body of your work, that a piece of information comes from someone else's work.
- Appropriation
- This is taking the idea or ideas of a person, usually without their permission, and using them in another new context which is unrelated to the original context (Artlex Art dictionary
) - Attribution
- Publicly acknowledging the use of someone else's work and ideas in the creation of another work.
- Authoritative
- A piece of information can be said to be authoritative if you can trust the originator of an idea. Students may question if the author of a piece of information is from a reputable organisation or is an individual whose work can be trusted.
- Bias
- Bias relates to the extent to which the information you have found is skewed in the direction of one point of view only.
- Bibliography
- A bibliography includes all the sources used in the preparation of a piece of work - not just those that have been cited in the text of the work and included in a reference list. The bibliography is located at the end of the piece of work and is usually listed in alphabetical order of the authors of the different sources used.
- Blog
- This term is short for 'weblog' which is a journal or newsletter that is kept on the web. Blogs are updated regularly and structured in reverse chronological order.
- Cheating
- This is dishonest behaviour by a student that gives them an unfair advantage over others. (Board of Studies NSW
) - Citation
- This is information about a source that is quoted, copied, paraphrased or summarised in a piece of work. A citation includes information needed to locate the source of the material used. Citations appear in a reference list and also in the body of the work.
- Collaboration
- The process of students working together in groups of two or more on a shared goal. This is sometimes called cooperative learning.
- Collusion
- Collusion is a form of plagiarism It can occur when there is inappropriate collaboration during group work. It usually involves working with someone else to produce work that is presented as your own independent work. For example, when work is presented as an individual's when it has resulted from collaborative effort.
- Common knowledge
- Facts known by most people, eg. the 2000 Olympic Games were held in Sydney.
- Copying
- Using others' work as your own without adequate acknowledgement or attribution
- Copyright
- A creator's legal right to control the use of their work and earn money from it.
- Currency
- In the context of information, currency relates to the extent to which the information you have found is up to date.
- Discussion board
- An online bulletin board where people can leave messages and expect responses.
- Duplication
- This is where the same or almost identical work is submitted for more than one course or module.
- Endnotes
- Endnotes are citations that appear immediately after the text of a piece of work and provide exact details of where the information used in the piece of work was found. Endnotes have a corresponding entry in the reference list which appears at the end of the work.
- Ethics
- A code of conduct which guides the way we behave towards each other so that we act appropriately and morally. (Free Dictionary
)
- Fabrication
- This happens when a student says that he/she has carried out tests, experiments or observations that have not taken place or presents results which cannot be supported by the evidence which has been collected.
- Fact
- A statement that is correct. For example, the heart pumps blood around the body.
- Focus questions
- These are aspects of a topic that can be researched in response to a particular issue or question. Focus questions assist students to investigate a topic, organise note-taking and structure arguments.
- Footnote
- Footnotes are citations made at the foot of a page to provide exact details of the source of information used in the body of a piece of work. Footnotes have a corresponding entry in the reference list which appears at the end of a piece work.
- Freelance
- Working for yourself, under contract to another organisation
- Harvard referencing
- The Harvard style of referencing is sometimes referred to as the author-date style. It requires the acknowledgement of source(s) of information or ideas using in-text citation and a reference list. The Harvard system of in-text citation requires three pieces of information about a source within the text of a piece of work: the name of the author or authors, the year of publication and the page number (where appropriate). In the Harvard system, the reference list requires full details of the sources referred to or cited.
- Indigenous people
- The first people of a country, native to it. For example, Aboriginal people are indigenous Australians.
- Infringement
- Breaking a law or rule.
- Integrity
- Having characteristics of honesty and authenticity.
- Intellectual property
- The ownership of any original work, such as music, images, games, plays, poems, programs made by a creator.
- In-text citation
- An in-text citation is a note made in the text of a page within a body of work to provide exact details of the source of information used in the work. In-text citations have a corresponding entry in the reference list.
- Keywords
- Keywords are the words most likely to produce a good result for students when they are searching for information on a particular topic or issue. Keywords relate to the significant aspects of the topic.
- Malpractice
- Any activity that allows you to gain an unfair advantage over other students. Rules and Procedures for the HSC

- MLA referencing style
- The MLA (Modern Language Association
) style of referencing is most commonly used for scholarly manuscripts and research papers. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers provides details of MLA format. - Moral rights
- The right of an author, artist or creator of a work to be acknowledged as the creator of the work, to be protected against false attribution and to have his/her work treated with respect
- Paraphrase
- Putting someone else's idea(s) into your own words. A paraphrase covers the points the author has made, while changing the words.
- Plagiarism
- 'Plagiarism is when you pretend that you have written or created a piece of work that someone else originated. It is cheating, it is dishonest, and it could jeopardise your HSC exam results.'
(Board of Studies NSW, HSC Assessments and Submitted Works, Advice to Students
, 2006)
- Quotation
- A quotation uses the exact words of another author. A quotation should be placed in quotation marks and the source acknowledged.
- Reference list
- A list of all the sources of information that have been quoted or referred to in a piece of work. The reference list is located at the end of a piece of work and is usually listed in alphabetical order of the authors of the different sources used.
- Royalty
- Money paid to a creator or publisher when an original work is copied or used.
- Scholarship
- This is the code of principles and practices used by scholars to ensure the validity and authenticity of their work.
- Source
- Any information students consult to respond to a task or a question. Sources include books, encyclopedias, journal articles, websites, blogs, wikis and people.
- Stakeholder
- An individual or group with an interest in the outcome of a project or activity.
- Substantial portion
- An instantly recognisable portion of a work that requires copyright permission if the work is not used for study or review purposes
- Summary
- A summary selects and condenses the main idea of a text.
- Synthesis
- The process of bringing together separate ideas and knowledge into a cohesive whole as, for example, an idea, argument, explanation.
- Wiki
- A wiki is a website where contributors can easily add, delete or generally change the content which has been put there. (Wikipedia
)