Week 6: Plagiarism Detection and Prevention
According to the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA Council, 2010), plagiarism “occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.” Plagiarism is growing due to the availability of electronic sources and the ease of copying from the Internet to a digital document. Chao, Wilhelm, and Neureuther (2009) explain that in a 2005 study, 40 percent of the students surveyed admitted to plagiarism. Online course instructors need to be aware of these statistics and take steps to detect and prevent plagiarism.
Plagiarism Detection Software
Colleges and some high schools require students to submit electronic copies of papers and projects. Online courses require all papers to be submitted electronically. Fortunately, this also allows instructors to use programs to detect plagiarism automatically. Free search engines, detection software, and online services are all readily available to “compare individual student papers to Web documents and/or essay databases to find and report instances of matching text” (Jocoy & DiBiase, 2006). A few common systems include:
In addition, Petronzio (2012) offers a list of ten websites designed to detect plagiarism. There are also many other online websites that offer a free interface to enter text and determine if it matches previous documents. Fortunately, Jocoy and DiBiase (2006) found that automated processing such as Turnitin is more thorough and effective than manual checking.
Effective Assessment Design to Prevent Academic Dishonesty
Checking for plagiarism is helpful, but designing effective assessments to limit the urge to plagiarize is even more important. Assessments and projects should be designed in a way that incorporates more collaboration, real-life experiences and situations, and that break free from the traditional mold of course exams (Laureate Education, n.d.). These types of assessments will be less likely to be plagiarized. In addition, the Council of WPA created a list of “best practices” for instructors to “improve the design and sequence of assignments” (WPA Council, 2010):
- Design assignments that require students to explore a subject in depth
- Start building possible topics early.
- Consider establishing a course theme, and then allow students to define specific questions about that theme so that they become engaged in learning new ideas and begin to own their research.
- Develop schedules for students that both allow them time to explore and support them as they work toward defined topics.
- Support each step of the research process by using planning, creating in-class activities, portfolios, and building low-stakes writing into the research process.
- Make the research process, and technology used for it, visible
- Attend to conventions of different genres of writing
If online instructors and designers create assignments and project that follow these guidelines, cheating and plagiarism will become less common.
Facilitation Strategies
Many instructors simply ask online students to “be aware of plagiarism” or to “be sure you read” the institutional legal manual on plagiarism and cheating. But, they never create opportunities for students to dialogue or practice citing and paraphrasing sources. Chao et al. (2009) found that “simply telling students not to plagiarize is not enough.” Jocoy and DiBiase (2006) and Chao et al. (2009) explain that instructions on avoiding plagiarism, paraphrasing practice exercises, and teaching proper quotation, citation, and paraphrasing techniques greatly reduced the number of plagiarism cases. Instructors should take time to provide resources to students, opportunities to practice paraphrasing, and constructive feedback on students’ ability to cite, quote, and paraphrase. This will lower cases of plagiarism.
Teachers should also attempt to distinguish between simple unintentional or accidental uses of sources and intentional plagiarism. Teachers should “emphasize their institution’s code of conduct” (Chao et al., 2009) and share originality reports with students whose assignments contained violations (Jocoy and DiBiase, 2006). Many times students have simply made mistakes or need more instruction on how to cite sources appropriately.
Additional Considerations
Teachers and administrators need to take “appropriate disciplinary actions” immediately if they determine the violation was intentional. Chao et al. (2009) explain that many students believe plagiarism is not a serious problem and that “lack of consistent enforcement” has contributed to this culture. Finally, the Council of WPA (2010) suggests that administrators encourage a climate “that values academic honesty” by:
- Publicizing policies
- Providing support services, writing centers
- Supporting faculty and student discussions
- Recognizing and improving upon working conditions – higher teacher-student rations
- Providing faculty development opportunities for instructors to reflect
Instructional designers and online instructors should be aware of the rise of plagiarism issues, and use the suggestions and guidelines regarding assessments, facilitation, and detection to control the growth of plagiarism and, at the same time, educate learners on the importance of academic integrity.
References:
Chao, C., Wilhelm, W., & Neureuther, B. (2009). A study of electronic detection and pedagogical approaches for reducing plagiarism. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 51(1), 31-42. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=eb878131-73dc-43e9-947c-234e4ddcf566%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=125&bdata=JmF1dGh0eXBlPWdlbyZnZW9jdXN0aWQ9bnMxODY0NTcmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=bth&AN=44351666
Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/242/495
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Plagiarism and cheating [Video podcast]. Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2652196_1%26url%3D
Petronzio, M. (2012, August 29). Use these 10 sites to detect plagiarism. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/08/29/plagiarism-online-services/
WPA Council. (2010). Defining and avoiding plagiarism: The WPA statement on best practices. Retrieved from the Council of Writing Program Administrators website: http://wpacouncil.org/node/9
I find it interesting to contrast conversations about plagiarism and cheating across generations, and student/instructor roles. The question that arises for me is one of whether it is realistic to assume that non-plagiaristic behavior is due to morality and ethics, or fear of the law. Thanks for the information you have provided.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. People don't slow down on the roads because it's safer, they slow down because there's an officer with a radar gun around the corner. You mentioned roles. I also think it has to do with the culture of the school and student social interaction. In my undergrad, I remember having conversations with fellow students about ways to cheat (of course, I never went through with it, but when it's late and I had an exam the next day I wasn't quite ready for, it was tempting!). It's especially tempting when other classmates are pushing it - peer pressure is a powerful dynamic.
Delete- James
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteyou said that teachers should teach students how to cite resources in their papers so that students have a good idea how to paraphrase when they write their papers. If instructors take the time to explain to students the proper format and correctly cite their resources, it would significantly reduce plagiarism. I know the APA format book is very lengthy and you can spend hours reading through this book, it can become tedious and time consuming. I struggle with citations and when I read through other students work and the instructors’ feedback, I make the adjustments and essentially learn from what other people say and actually implement that into my papers. I definitely agree with Purdue OWL (2013) when they stated, "Students are often so busy trying to learn the rules of MLA format and style or APA format and style that they sometimes forget exactly what needs to be credited." I have spent hours looking thorough the APA manual and it hasn't really helped me as much as what I have learned from my instructors and other students.
References:
Purdue OWL (2013). When do we give credit? Retrieved from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/2/.
Ha! I agree! Sometimes I spend more time trying to figure out the formatting than I do finding and using the source! You're right about the APA manual. I've also tried using the online resources, where it says "Cite" on an article, for example. But, the APA format is different from the manual, which is sometimes different from what the professor has suggested. Sometimes, I even choose to omit a good source, simply because I can't find the quality information needed to cite it or I don't know how to cite it. The inconsistencies in citing guidelines make it that much more difficult. But, you're right, reading through other students' works and professor's feedback really helps. Thanks for the response, Carmen!
Delete- Jame