An Investigation into School of Arts First Year Students Perceptions of Plagiarism

1
An Investigation into School of Arts First Year
Students Perceptions of Plagiarism

• Debra Cairns and Franzel du Plooy-Cilliers

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Research Questions

• Why do first year students plagiarise?
• Is this the reason? Or is it more complex?
• Do students really understand what plagiarism
  means?
• Do students have sufficient abilities in English
  (writing and speaking) to cope with their
  academic demands?
• Are students equipped with the academic skills to
  avoid plagiarism?

Because they want to cheat to get ahead
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Background

• Traditional student bodies at universities
  worldwide have been changing to reflect greater
  multiculturalism and variability (Lea Street,
  1998 Vandeyar, 2003)
• In SA, political changes have left higher
  education institutions with the task of providing
  access and opportunities to students whose
  schooling may not sufficiently have prepared them
  for tertiary education (Van Wyk, 2002)
• MSAs particular mandate provides a huge
  diversity in languages, cultures and practices on
  campus

MSA lecturers share a common experience with
lecturers UK, Canada and Australia in their
perception that standards of student literacy are
falling, and that students can no longer write
(Lawrence, 2003 Lea Street, 1998)
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Background

• Multiculturalism Theoretically, embraced.
• In practice, universities display an assimilation
  agenda, and expect students to acquire the
  privileged discourse of academic power, while
  their own unique discourses, ways of knowing and
  ways of communicating are considered liabilities
  (Eijkman, 2003 Vandeyar, 2003)

An academic literacies approach views the
institutions in which academic practices take
place as constituted in and as sites of
discourse and power From the student point of
view a dominant feature of academic literacy
practices is the requirement to switch practices
between one setting and another, to deploy a
repertoire of linguistic practices appropriate to
each setting, and to handle the social meanings
and identities that each evokes (Lea Street,
1999)
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Background

• What should our response be to this dilemma?
• Attempt to grant access to and familiarity with
  the privileged discourse of academic power
• To also respect and dignify the subcultures and
  ways of knowing and practicing that have shaped
  and will continue to shape their development

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Background

• The importance of academic writing
• the key to access the privileged discourse of
  higher education
• Ability to switch linguistic codes according to
  context becomes critical (Chimbganda, 2001, Lea
  Street, 1998)

• Problem
• Second Language Speakers
• initial vocabulary poor so difficult to
  assimilate
• abstract (academic) concepts
• Language is thus decontextualised

7
Background
Plagiarism is a complex, contested concept, and
in student academic writing it may be the
surface manifestation of complex learning
difficulties which relate to the educational
environment, the nature of academic discourse and
the nature of language Shelley Angelil-Carter
(2000) Academic Development Programme, UCT

• Thus, perhaps the knee jerk response, that
  plagiarism is a deliberate act of academic theft
  needs to be re-examined

8
Background

• Lea and Street (1998) suggest that there is an
  unquestioned assumption that both lecturer and
  student share the same interpretation and
  understanding of the term Plagiarism
• Student confusion on the issue indicates clearly
  not the case
• Lea and Street further maintain that the
  authoritative, legalistic discourse round
  plagiarism silences students attempts to
  negotiate their understanding of the issue in a
  neutral setting

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Background

• Speculation on some of the complex, intertwined
  factors in student plagiarism
• Relevance/meaning of terms such as academic
  ownership and acknowledgement of ideas
• Difficulties with second language acquisition
• Difficulties with skills such as
  summarising/paraphrasing
• Disorganised in time management

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Methodology

• Participants
• 172 first year students from School of Arts,
  Monash, South Africa
• 2 samples
• 1 pilot study (n42) qualitative data only
• 1 main study (n130)
• 18-25 years (M21 SD3.6)
• Females (n93)
• Males (n35)

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Methodology

• Participants cont
• Many different nationalities represented
• South African (31)
• Zimbabwean (25)
• Botswanan (20)
• The rest from other African countries such as
  Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Nigeria,
  Congo
• Home language
• English (42)
• Setswana (18)
• Shona (14)
• Other (26)

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Methodology

• Materials
• Questionnaire developed based on pilot study

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Methodology Design
Action Research A research methodology in which
the researcher becomes actively involved in
planning and introducing a change and then
monitors and evaluates the effect of the change.
The information gathered then feeds into a new
Action Research Cycle

• WHY?
• Suitability for investigating and implementing
  changes in educational practice (Carson, Connors,
  Smits Ripley, 1989 Heydenrych, 2001)
• Emancipatory allows for freedom and change
  in areas not considered open for change

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Methodology

• Triangulation
• Qualitative data Open-ended questions
• Quantitative data frequencies of responses to
  close-ended questions

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Results
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What do First Year School of Arts Students
understand by the term Plagiarism? (n172)
Technical Skills Not acknowledging them Not
giving them credit Not referencing (80)
Morality (Values) Using another persons
work Copying someone elses ideas Deliberately
stealing Claiming the work as your own Claiming
the credit for yourself (97)
78 of responses combined these ideas
Conclusion Students understand the definition of
the term
17
2 a) In your opinion, have you been adequately
informed about what plagiarism is? (n130)
87.7
12.3
18
2 b) Have you been adequately informed about the
penalties for plagiarism? (n130)
87.7
12.3
19
2 c) Have you been told how to avoid plagiarism?
(n130)
83.1
2.3
13.8
20
What do First Year School of Arts Students
understand by the term Collusion? (n 172)
Dont Know (25) No response (23)
Group Discussion/ Group work handed in as
individuals work (11)
Cheating together (2) Mutually co-operating Sharin
g of work (written) (28)
Taking/stealing fellow students ideas/ Handing
in someone elses work as yours (without
acknowmt) (9)
Unauthorised by Lecturer (no consent) (7)
Getting help from others (undefined) (1.7)
21
Why do you think Universities make such a big
issue about Plagiarism? (n172)
Legally/Morally Wrong (37) Plagiarism is
cheating Because its a crime Its wrong claiming
s/one elses ideas Not fair to owner of
ideas It/s illegal Against the law Penalty is
severe
For the sake of the Student (49) To make
students think for themselves Train them to
produce their own work Show originality Show
their true ability Develop skills
11com-bined these ideas
For the sake of the University (12) Discredits
the university Devalues the degree and the
name of the university Makes the university a
questionable institution
22
Describe some of the reasons why you think
students may plagiarise (n172)
Intentional
Unintentional
Laziness (38) Too lazy to reference Lazy to do
their own work Easy way out
Ignorance (47) Lack of knowledge Lack of skills
how to Put things in own words/ How to
reference How to paraphrase Dont understand
Poor Time Managmt (28) Lack of prepn time No
time left/ Desperate to complete
Assignment (28) Battle with assignment Lecturer
didnt explain v. difficult topic
Stress (8) Stress from studying Volume of
reading Work demands
Selfish gain (11) To get ahead/ ego To be
rewarded To sound intelligent
Only 2 participants mentioned second language
difficulties
23
Consider some of the following circumstances and
decide whether you would view the plagiarism as
justifiable
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If you werent taught at school that it was
unacceptable to plagiarise (n130)
31
28
10
13
14
4
25
When you write down notes from a book or hear
something in class and then cant find or
remember the original source (n130)
8
38
21
18
11
4
26
When you have left out references in the text of
your assignment, but included them in the
reference list at the end (n130)
15
33
15
17
15
5
27
When you have referenced authors in the text of
your assignment but have not put them in the
reference list at the end (n130)
16
33
11
25
13
2
28
When you are forced to do an assignment at the
last minute due to illness (n130)
11
19
15
29
22
4
29
When you are not sure how to paraphrase the
writers material i.e. how to put it in your own
words (n130)
11
18
19
32
18
2
30
When you leave your assignment to the last minute
due to poor time management skills (n130)
5
15
72
3
3
2
31
When you are not a first language English Speaker
(n130)
8
19
20
18
32
3
32
When the assignment is very difficult and the
lecturer hasnt explained it adequately (n130)
13
21
21
21
21
3
33
When you are really struggling with the course in
general (n130)
6
12
20
37
22
3
34
When you didnt know the idea was someone elses
(n130)
32
30
12
17
6
3
35
When you were unaware of proper referencing
techniques (n130)
38
11
14
20
14
3
36
How do First Year School of Arts students feel
about the penalties for plagiarism? (n172)
Fair, BUT (16)
Unfair/Harsh (12)
Fair (37)
Comments / Recommendations
Should be an investigation into WHY (4)
Concern about first occasion and possibility of
ignorance (plagiarising unknowingly) (27)
Expulsion is not fair (6)
Recommendation of a workshop/ tuition on
plagiarism/ referencing for offender (6)
37
Consider some of the following suggestions to
assist in preventing plagiarism and indicate
which ones you personally would find useful (you
may tick more than one option)
38
Talk aimed at new students during Orientation
Week (n130)
75
11
7
7
39
First tutorial for all courses spent on teaching
how to reference (n130)
5
87
5
3
7
40
Voluntary workshop on how to summarise and
paraphrase (n130)
5
77
8
10
41
Voluntary workshop on referencing (n130)
5
79
3
13
42
A compulsory first semester unit in Academic
Writing which, among others, covers issues
related to plagiarism and referencing (n130)
63
14
15
2
6
43
Recommendations

• University lecturers play crucial role in helping
  students by making their discourses explicit
• Not only to clarify the rules, but also to
  express those expectations that are only implied
• i.e. verbalise those behaviours and practices
  considered simply common sense