Turning the Tide of Plagiarism title borrowed from Ranald Macdonald why dont we turn the tide of pla

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Turning the Tide of Plagiarismtitle
borrowed from Ranald Macdonald why dont we turn
the tide of plagiarism to the learners advantage
Times Higher Education Supplement Nov 24, 2000
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What Tide?     There is a lot of cheating and
plagiarism going on nationally, and yes, even
here at Plattsburgh.    We have the
responsibility and the means to prevent much of
it.    We have the responsibility and the means
to detect much of it.Adapted from a SUNY
Librarians Association poster by April Davies
andHolly Heller-RossSUNYLA 2003Stony Brook
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Cultural differences in intellectual property

• Plagiarism is a problem the whole world around.
  From ancient to modern times, people have used
  the ideas and words of others. There are some
  historical and cultural differences however in
  how/if they have claimed them for their own.

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USA

• Words and ideas belong to the individual
• Quotations and citations are required
• But41 of students surveyed admit to cut
  paste plagiarism.
• Source 2001 Research project conducted by Donald
  L. McCabe of Rutgers University
  http//www.academicintegrity.org/cai_research.asp

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China

• Words and ideas belonged to the society, as did
  economic means of production
• Practice is to use quotes without citing as
  everyone knows its a quote
• Sources Dr. Jeff Hornibrook, Plattsburgh State
  University Asian Studies Scholar, andMyers,
  Sharon. "Questioning Author(ity) ESL/EFL,
  Science, and Teaching about Plagiarism." TESL-EJ
  3.2 (1998).

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Greece

• Definition of fairness based on individual
  success
• Cultural disregard for laws that make survival or
  success more difficult may be rooted in 400
  years of Turkish Occupation when Greeks felt they
  had to connive to come out ahead of the occupying
  authority.
• Source Evangeline Mourelatos, Professor, The
  American College of Greece. In Sinceritas Vol3,
  No6, Oct. 2003.

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Ancient Renaissance Western Civilization

• Words and ideas belong to an individual
• Butothers may and should imitate them widelyif
  they are any good!
• Source 1935 book by Harold Ogden White titled
  Plagiarism and Imitation During the English
  Renaissance

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Lost at Sea

• Sally and Sam Student are fighting to reach the
  coast of careful scholarship against the tide of
  plagiarism.
• However, the Terrible Tide of Plagiarism keeps
  reaching out to toss them back into the sea.

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The Coast Guard Tara Teacher, Larry Librarian,
Anna Administrator

• The coast of careful scholarship is a rocky one,
  but most students do make it onshore after a few
  tries.
• What can the Coast Guard do to help students
  fight against the Terrible Tide of Plagiarism?

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History Has the coast always been this rocky?
The tide this strong?

• The Romans rewrote the Greeks. Virgil is, in a
  broadly imitative way, Homer, and for that
  matter, typologists can find most of the Old
  Testament in the New. it was printing of
  course that changed everything.
• First English Use of Plagiarism 1755 Dr.
  Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language
  Plagiarism. N.f. from plagiary Theft literary
  adoption of the thoughts or works of another.
• Source Mallon, Thomas (1989) Stolen Words
  Forays into the origins and ravages of
  plagiarism. Ticknor Fields

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Statistics How many students are caught in the
tide?

• Almost 80 of college students admit to cheating
  at least once.
• 36 of undergraduates have admitted to
  plagiarizing written material.
• 58.3 of high school students let someone else
  copy their work in 1969, and 97.5 did so in
  1989.
• Source a variety of surveys and polls listed on
  the Plagiarism.org web site

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Nothing New, and Not Just Students!!!

• Teacher Christine Pelton in Piper Kansas (2002)
  resigned after the school board overturned zeros
  earned by 28 students.
• Senator Joe Biden from Delaware, plagiarized for
  a 1988 campaign speech.
• Columnist Mike Barnacle in Boston, 1998. Jayson
  Blair in NY, 2003,
• University of Virginia 2002, 45 students
  eventually dismissed, 3 graduate degrees revoked.

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Ethics Why should students struggle against the
Tide? Why should the coast guard guide or rescue
them?

• Virtue Ethics (Aristotle) Strive for happiness,
  to be as fully human as possible, balance between
  a painful excess of honesty and the vice of
  dishonesty.
• Ethical Relativism (Williams) Morality is a
  product of cultural norms, the culture of
  academia is to cite!! Alternate, student culture
  might be to plagiarize!
• Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill) The good
  produces a net benefit, learn and be rewarded.
  Alternatively, could be used to justify
  plagiarism in one class to study in another!
• Ethics of Care (Noddings and Gilligan) Moral
  responsibility for the benefit of those you care
  about, therefore dont cheat yourself out of an
  education, or your friends out of a fair grade.
  Alternative plagiarize from a book in order to
  help yourself or let a friend copy your lab
  report!
• Kantian Ethics (moral law) (Kant) There are
  moral laws and they apply equally to all persons,
  therefore dont plagiarize if you think it wrong
  to steal other peoples property, if you wouldnt
  want them to steal your property. Plagiarize only
  in order to protect life or something equally
  critical.
• Source Birsch, Douglas (2001 Ethical Insights A
  brief introduction, 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill
  Higher Education

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Common Reasons Why is the Tide so strong?

• Lack of Interest in Learning
• Ignorance
• Fear
• Poor Time Management
• Inconsistent Enforcement

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Prevention Can anything turn the Tide? Do any
buoys mark the channel?

• Course and assignment design
• Instruction in proper paraphrasing, quotation,
  and documentation
• Ethical, Fair, and Understandable policies
• Consistent enforcement of policy

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Detection How does the coast guard know who's
lost at sea?

• Know the common clues and look for them
• Inconsistent style/ fonts/ vocabulary
• Jarring transitions
• References in text or bib, but not both
• Search print references and online databases for
  suspicious phrases
• Ask your students to explain their work, or
  elaborate on a statement
• Ask a librarian or other colleague for help
• Use a plagiarism detection service turnitin.com,
  Glatt, Eve,

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Curriculum Can the coast guard offer boater
safely/navigation classes?

• Introduction to Information Research by Carla J.
  List. 2002 edition. Chapter 7 Evaluating and
  Citing Information Sources
• Plagiarism 101 from SUNY Albany. subtitled How
  to write term papers without being sucked into
  the black hole..
• Plagiarism Tutorial from North Carolina State
  University Developed by the NCSU Libraries'
  Scholarly Communication Center
• Searchpath Module 6 Citing Sources from Western
  Michigan University.

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Institutional Policy What can the city councils
do?

• Improve and publicize policies
• Support faculty educational and assignment design
  efforts
• Consider institutional strategies such as
• A modified honor code
• Integrity as part of orientation
• Tracking violations, repeats
• Involving the student judicial process
• Setting a a college-wide citation style
• Creating a college research and writing handbook