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Project materials and source code Student writing guide

How to Use Worked Examples and Source Code Ethically

A worked example can teach a method or make a technical idea easier to test. It is not evidence that you conducted a study, and code that runs is not automatically an approved or original project. Use examples transparently, follow your department’s rules on collaboration and attribution, and document what you changed and tested yourself.

A practical guide from FINAL YEAR NG Check your department's current instructions before you submit.

Check what a material actually is

  • A planning template contains prompts; it has no results.
  • A synthetic dataset is generated for teaching; it does not represent a real sample.
  • A starter repository is a small scaffold; it is not a complete final-year project.
  • A published study is an existing work; it must be cited and cannot be presented as your own.
  • Your project report must accurately describe your own decisions, implementation, data and evaluation.

Research integrity guidance treats invented data and misrepresented results as serious problems. Clearly label synthetic examples, do not claim to have recruited participants when you have not, and never add fabricated results or references to make an unfinished project look complete.

Adapt a code starter with a record

  1. Read the README, license and dependency list before running a starter.
  2. Write your own requirements and acceptance tests for the problem approved by your supervisor.
  3. Run the original tests and record the baseline behavior.
  4. Make one change at a time, write tests for it and document the reason.
  5. Cite reused libraries, code snippets and design ideas as required by your programme.
  6. Describe the parts you implemented, changed, tested and could not complete.
Honest report wording

'I adapted the educational command-line starter to add input validation and a summary view. I wrote tests for both changes. The starter was supplied as teaching scaffolding and the included sample records are synthetic.' Use only wording that matches what you actually did.

Use the included learning materials

The linked downloads are original teaching materials. The CSV and analysis note use synthetic records for practicing data handling; the source-code ZIP is a small runnable starter with tests. Neither is a completed project, a participant dataset, a result you may attribute to a real population or a guarantee of departmental approval.

Sources and further reading

These university writing resources inform the general advice here. They do not replace your department's handbook or supervisor's guidance.

  1. U.S. Office of Research Integrity: Definition of Research Misconduct
  2. Purdue OWL: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
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