Academic integrity is a commitment to, and the demonstration of, acting with the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage in scholarship, teaching, and research.
These standards of behaviour include purposeful avoidance of plagiarism, cheating, misrepresentation, and any efforts at facilitating any academic deception. It involves respect for intellectual property and ethical behaviour. It involves students' and faculty's personal and academic growth.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. The University of the West Indies (UWI) has many policies dealing with plagiarism. Refer to the section on below on Plagiarism Guidelines (UWI).
Students can avoid plagiarism by consistently adhering to the principles of citing and referencing.
In UWI Guidelines
Plagiarism – the unacknowledged and unjustified use of the words, ideas or creations of another, including unjustified unacknowledged quotation and unjustified unattributed borrowing:
For Staff & Students
Undergraduate Students Guidelines
Postgraduate Students Guidelines
In General (Note the exceptions provided below)
Based on The UWI Thesis Guide, students from the Faculty of Humanities and Education are to use the Modern Languages Association (MLA) style, except for students from the following Departments:
The latest version of the Modern Languages Association (MLA), the 9th Edition, can be seen below.
Modern Languages Association (MLA) – 9th ed.
Relating to students from the Department of History
All new students (incoming Academic Year 2024/2025) may use the latest (18th) Edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). If you are now starting to write your thesis, use CMOS 18th Edition. Continuing students who have almost completed their thesis and are near submission may submit in CMOS 17th Edition.
If you are unsure which edition to use, kindly consult your Faculty Liaison Librarian for verification.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) – 18th ed.
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) – 17th ed.
Relating to students from the Department of Literary, Cultural, and Communication Studies & from the School of Education
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) is the referencing style which The UWI Thesis Guide states should be used by students in the department of Department of Literary, Cultural, and Communication Studies (LCCS) as well as the School of Education (SoE), Faculty of Humanities and Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
All students from the Academic Year 2022/2023 onwards are to use the APA 7th Edition.
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) – 7th ed.
The UWI Thesis Guide provides students with a framework or basis of understanding as it relates to the preparation of theses, research papers/projects and casebooks.
Please note that students should consult their departments for specific Faculty requirements.
A link to the guide can be seen below:
EndNote 20 is a programme to manage a database of your references.
For currently enrolled students, EndNote 20 for Windows and Mac is available for download on the UWI STA student portal.
Steps to acquire EndNote 20