Plagiarism Detection and Prevention
What is Plagearism?
Types of Plagiarism
Anyone who has written or graded a paper knows that plagiarism is not always a black and white issue. The boundary between plagiarism and research is often unclear. Learning to recognize the various forms of plagiarism, especially the more ambiguous ones, is an important step towards effective prevention. Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense: Sources Not Cited
1."The Ghost Writer"
The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.
2."The Photocopy"
The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.
3."The Potluck Paper"
The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.
4."The Poor Disguise"
Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.
5."The Labor of Laziness"
The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.
6."The Self-Stealer"
The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions.
Sources Cited (But Still Plagiarized)
1."The Forgotten Footnote"
The writer mentions an author's name for a source, but neglects to include specific information on the location of the material referenced. This often masks other forms of plagiarism by obscuring source locations.
2."The Misinformer"
The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.
3."The Too-Perfect Paraphrase"
The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information.
4."The Resourceful Citer"
The writer properly cites all sources, paraphrasing and using quotations appropriately. The catch? The paper contains almost no original work! It is sometimes difficult to spot this form of plagiarism because it looks like any other well-researched document.
5."The Perfect Crime"
Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.
Consider the following:
What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?
How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?
Build the assignments to enable students to prevent plagiarism
- Use of reference material
- Life experience
- Collaboration
- Teacher created questions that are required to be addressed
- Comparison or application questions
What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?
- Clarify and educate learners about the definition of plagiarism
- Guide students to resources with the college and course that explain how to prevent plagiarism.
- Encouraging the use of resources prevents plagiarism by encouraging sited sources.
What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?
As an instructor its essential to be knowledable of current resources and methods of plagiarism. It is necessary to guide students toward resources and methods that will help them understand what plagiarism is and how it can damage their credibility. Designing course materials so that students are required to answer specific questions and use course resourses encourges honesty. Utilizing software to help detect and prevent plagiarism is also important on major coursework. Knowing that work will be investigated encourages academic honesty.
Resources:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
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Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting reading through the different types of plagiarism. I have to admit, that I have done some of these--unintentionally.
I agree with Pratt & Palloff who stated in the video presentation, "Plagiarism and Cheating" that their belief is that most students do not intentionally or consciously plagiarise. I believe that to be true as well. Once a student has read through a number of different resources and then attempts to prepare a paper some of those thoughts, ideas and even styles of writing, seem to automatically come through.
Collaboration and creative projects have the greatest potential, at least in my mind, to prevent plagiarism.
Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteYour explanation of the different ways people may plagiarize was written and clearly explains the various types. This assignment has made me more aware of how to cite resources more effectively. I agree with Sandra who stated, “collaboration and creative projects are one way to prevent plagiarism”. Additionally, assessments should be based on real-world activities. This would allow not only for the research to take place, but would encourage collaboration with others as well.
I really like your new blog post! Really refreshed and bright! Is this your original artwork in the background?
ReplyDeleteNow to get on topic! I very much appreciated reading the fine distinctions of plagiarism that you've shared in your post. I can see how many students would not understand that they have committed an act of plageriasm. It has also made me realize the important of creating original work and how important this is as a source of assessment. Original and creative thought used to apply content to real world challenges could make for an interesting assessment. I think if a student is challenged to be personally creative, the desire to cheat intentionally, falls away. Perhaps it would be useful at the beginning of the course to post a list of types of plageriasm such as you did to help students understand what is meant by the word.
Thanks for a great post!
Thanks, this lesson was informative for me as well. While reading through the postings the main point that hit me was that awareness and knowledge can prevent a great deal of unintentional plagarism.
ReplyDeleteAs Deborah stated if I had been presented with this list along with other quidelines and expectations as I started my courses I would have clearly understood the complexities of using information. To me personally the most surprising was the use of ones own work is considered plagarism. My best friend told me this a few months ago as she discovered this working on her Doctorate. We both stated then that not enough information was given to students regarding fair use and acceptable practices early and frequently through their educational careers.