Plagiarism

Overview

Easy access to information leads to an unwanted "side effect" - easy access to cheating and plagiarism. Simple definition: Plagiarism is using someone else's work without acknowledgment or permission.

Many educators feel (and some studies support) the rise in cheating in education - a condition often viewed as an indication of larger societal and moral issues. For an instructor, however, the concerns are twofold: how to teach students foundational concepts of academic integrity (ethics), and secondly (often a more immediate concern) how to ensure that the work submitted by students is their own.

Resources

Academic Practices, School Culture and Cheating Behavior
"In recent years, studies have indicated that there is an alarming increase in cheating behavior among students. In the past, it would have been easy to dismiss these reports as isolated or to look with condescension on a school which had permitted cheating to get so out of control, but not anymore."
Very informative essay on issues of cheating. The author extends the concept of cheating as a moral issue "...most students believed that cheating was wrong, cheating behavior was often induced by contextual factors."

Center for Teaching - U of Iowa
Focuses mainly on term papers and details practical guidelines for instructors to follow in order to minimize opportunities for students to cheat.

Cheating and Plagiarism on the Internet
An excellent resource. Lists sites for cheating, examples, detector sites, etc.

CollegeValues
"The special focus of this web site is character development in college...how colleges and universities influence, both intentionally and unintentionally, the moral and civic learning and behaviors of college students."

Faculty Guide to Cyber-Plagiarism
Excellent. Topics: Why students cheat, terminology, preventing plagiarism, detecting plagiarism, handouts for students, resources.

Internet Plagiarism
"Having been confronted by an increasing number of instances of academic dishonesty, our high school principal was determined to take a proactive stance. A group of staff members had met over the summer to draft a pamphlet on cheating that would be distributed to students upon their return to school (see Figure 1). As library media specialist and the unofficial expert on Internet research, I had been asked to prepare a presentation and a handout for teachers on the topic of plagiarism. "

On Plagiarism
"The following discussion has been prepared so that no student will commit plagiarism out of ignorance."

Papers, Profits, Pedagogy
"If there is any doubt about the prevalence of cheating in colleges and universities, one need only examine the research of Donald McCabe, a Rutgers University business professor. In studies conducted over the past 11 years in which students are asked to report on their own cheating habits and those of their peers, McCabe has found that on most campuses, over 75 percent of students admit to having cheated at least once."

Plagiarism and the Web
"Plagiarism is a perennial temptation for students and an eternal challenge for teachers."

Web-based Plagiarism
Probably the best, most concise compilation of plagiarism I've come across. Also, see Plagiarism Detection and Prevention. Both of these resources are from Web Tools for Learning.

How to Recognize and Avoid Plagiarism
Quick, simple overview of concerns and issues of cheating and plagiarism.

Student Plagiarism in an Online World
"Plagiarism is alive and well on campuses and in cyberspace. But educators should take some solace in the fact that while the Internet is a useful resource for plagiarists, it is also an excellent tool to use against them."

Preventing Academic Dishonesty
A good list of strategies to reduce cheating.

SchoolSucks
An example of an online plagiarism site (though the site denies it's plagiarism).

Turnitin
"Turnitin.com is a group of dedicated professionals working to stop the spread of Internet plagiarism and promote new technologies in education."

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