Ethical use of data means not fabricating or altering research data, following research ethics guidelines, and referencing data sources accurately according to institutional guidelines to avoid academic misconduct and plagiarism.
The University Student Handbook(opens in new tab) defines plagiarism as "the representation of another person’s work, without acknowledgement of the source, as the student’s own". It means 'passing off’ someone else’s work (intellectual property) as if it is your own work without crediting the author/s.
If you plagiarise, you may fail and may be asked to attend an academic misconduct/avoiding plagiarism class. You can easily avoid academic misconduct and plagiarism by referencing properly using our Cite Them Right(opens in new tab) Harvard referencing guide. Our Referencing skills section provides extensive guidance.