Combating Plagiarism

1
Combating Plagiarism

• Partnering with faculty to eliminate academic
  crime

Image accessed at http//librarianinexcellence.blo
gspot.com/2006/02/is-it-worth-it.html/. April
21, 2008.
2
Who is Cheating?

• I have been teaching 10 years in the college
  classroom
• and within the last 18 months I have seen a
  drastic
• increase in incidents in my freshman/sophomore
  survey
• courses. - AASU History Instructor
• 40 of students admitted to plagiarizing from
  written sources 38 to cut and paste from
  internet sources
• Donald McCabe at Rutgers University (New York
  Times, 2003)

3
Why are they cheating?

• Competition / pressure for high grades
• Poor time management
• Poor research skills
• Lack of interest in the topic
• Low self-confidence in their own abilities
• Genuine ignorance of academic standards

4
How can Librarians help?

• I think some of them students really dont get
  why this is wrong. Its
• hard to hold them accountable if no one has ever
  explained exactly
• whats ok and whats not.
• - AASU History Assistant Professor.
• In our roles as facilitators of research,
  instructors, and defenders of intellectual
  freedom, it falls under our auspices to assist in
  student education on academic integrity.

5
Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• What Library was doing
• Plagiarism tutorial on library website
• Integrated into library information literacy
  sessions by request

• History Dept. concerns
• Large increase in of students brought in on
  plagiarism charges
• Differing opinions within the department on how
  to pursue the charges and ambiguity on the
  procedure.

6
Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• Desired Outcomes
• Creation of a stand-alone class developed and
  presented by a librarian on the topic of
  plagiarism.
• Framed within the context of the discipline.
• To be required of all History majors.
• Taught in conjunction with the Introduction to
  Historical Research Methods course, but also
  available to all members of department.

7
Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• Lesson Plan Objectives
• Understanding of the ethical reasons against
  plagiarism
• Discipline-specific expectations of academic
  integrity
• Emphasis on integrating research into writing
  when to use quotes, paraphrase or summary
• Practice of MLA style for bibliographic citation

8
Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• Lesson Plan Outline
• Part 1 Class Discussion
• Allow students to discuss together the definition
  of plagiarism, the importance of citation, the
  reasons why plagiarism happens why it is wrong.
  
• Clarity of AASU honor code and repercussions
• Plagiarism cases in the news why it matters in
  real life

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Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• Lesson Plan Outline
• Part 2 Citing Your Sources
• Clarity Practice on
• Direct quotes
• Paraphrase
• Summary
• Bibliography vs. Internal Citations
• Definition of Common Knowledge, Public Domain
  and Fair Use.
• Discussion of research time management
  techniques to avoid the temptation.

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Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• Lesson Plan Outline
• Part 3 Practice
• In-class assignment to practice reading
  understanding material, writing skills and
  citation practice.

11
Case Study at AASU Lane Library History
Dept. Collaboration

• What worked?
• Student participation in the discussion helps to
  establish peer norms for academic integrity.
• Participants were more likely to contact me or
  their instructor for help on their research and
  citations.
• Very good relationships with faculty who have
  participated strong support from the head of the
  department.

• What needs work?
• System to track that all majors have attended
• Further clarity for faculty within the department
  on process to address suspicions
• Scheduling open sessions to address current
  students beyond the intro course.
• Getting buy-in from all the dept. faculty
  some believe that they should not have to devote
  class time to this topic.

12
Best Practices how librarians can promote
academic integrity

• Discipline-based instruction can result in
  increased interest from students.
• Offer faculty a tutorial on how to prevent
  plagiarism and how to detect it.
• Offer faculty assistance in planning
  plagiarism-proof assignments.
• Remind students of appropriate note-taking and
  citations in all your interactions with them.
• Use stand-alone tutorials (ex. Web-based) as a
  support tool and not your only teaching tool.

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Best Practices in Assignment Design

• Process-based assignments
• Focus on critical thinking
• Clearly state expectations at the outset
• Allow students to pick their own topic
• Limit the number or kinds of sources they can use
• Require students to keep research notes
• Require an annotated bibliography
• More assignments so no one project bears the full
  weight of the grade
• Require an in-class writing sample at the start
  of the course

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Possible Creative Assignments

• Write a book or article review.
• Write an opinion-based editorial.
• Fact-check a newspaper article.
• Annotate a chapter in a novel.
• Research project with final oral presentation
  rather than a written paper.

• Compare contrast 2-3 websites on a topic
  regarding content, bias, authority, etc.
• Analyze a primary source and place it in
  historical context.
• ????

15
Resources

• Auer, N., Krupar, E. (2001). Mouse Click
  Plagiarism The Role of
• Technology in Plagiarism and the Librarian's
  Role in Combating It. Library Trends, 49(3),
  415. Retrieved July 17, 2008, from Academic
  Search Complete database.
• Caravello, Patti Schifter. (2006). Into the
  Breach Teaching Graduate Students to Avoid
• Plagiarism. In D. Cook N. Cooper (Eds.),
  Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Social
  Sciences Students and Practitioners A Casebook
  of Applications (pp. 225- 234). Chicago
  Association of College and Research Libraries.
• Ercegovac, Zorana Richardson, John V., Jr.
  (2004) Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism
• included, in the Digital Age A Literature
  Review. College Research Libraries, 65(4),
  301-318. Retrieved July 10, 2004 from Wilson
  Omnifile database.
• Johnson, Doug (2004) Plagiarism-proofing
  Assignments. Phi Delta Kappan, 85 (7), 549- 556.
  Retrieved July 10, 2008 from Academic Search
  Complete database.
• Lampert, Lynn (2004) Integrating discipline-based
  anti-plagiarism instruction into the
• information literacy curriculum. Reference
  Services Review, 32(4), 347-355. Retrieved July
  10, 2008 from Proquest Research Library database.
  
• Rimer, Sara. (2003, September 3). A Campus Fad
  That's Being Copied Internet
• Plagiarism Seems on the Rise. New York Times
   (Late Edition (east Coast)),  p. B.7. 
  Retrieved July 17, 2008, from New York
  Times database. (Document ID 392707721).
• Wood, Gail Warnken, Paula (2004) Academic
  Original Sin Plagiarism, the Internet
• and Librarians. Journal of Academic
  Librarianship, 30 (3), 237-242. Retrieved July
  10, 2008 from Wilson Omnifile database.