Student plagiarism: Student plagiarism:

10 years on10 years on

Jude Carroll

how today will runhow today will runoverall look: issues, changes, ‘what’s on top for you’

policy and procedures: why they matter, what makes a good one

teaching students how to use others’ work appropriately ‘referencing’

using softwareworkshop on assessment redesign to discourage finding, faking and copying

What’s changed (2001-What’s changed (2001-2012)?2012)?From surprise to everyday event

From students’ responsibility to ‘be honest’ to a shared responsibility on upholding academic values

From text-based copying to electronic & networked sharing and copying

What’s changed What’s changed (continued)(continued)From assumption that all plagiarism is cheating to recognition of a range

From DIY by individuals to systematic, policy-driven solutions

From software as ‘magic bullet’ solution to faith in assessment redesign

Student knows, does it wrong

Cheating, intention to deceive

misuse

misconductStudent does not know the rules; does it wrong

misunderstanding

What’s changed (3)?What’s changed (3)?creating fear in students (‘….haunted by the specter of plagiarism’ Neville, 2010)

distorting students’ effort: away from why we use citations to how they are formatted

[unchanged: journalists’ annual ‘epidemic of cheating’ stories]

Why do we cite? Students

Published work

Both

1. Credibility. It shows that what I write can be believed.

2. To show that knowledge is a collaborative project by individuals.

3. To show how a theory or an idea is built on other people’s work.

4. Authority. We can evaluate the sources. Is a key research referred to? Are sources up-to-date?

5. To show key terms are used correctly

6. To show what I have read. Show my scholarship.

7. Show that I have researched the issue.

MoreMore-diverse students [+ more stereotyping of particular groups]

-opportunities to bypass work [including commissioning sites]

-? deliberate cheating (from a low base)

- coursework – type assignments

Over to youOver to you

4’sWhat is your experience with managing student plagiarism?

What changes have you seen in the last decade?

What are current top-of-the pile issues?

changes?changes?everyday eventshared responsibilityrange of levels of severityelectronic & networked opportunities

focus on assessment designpolicy and procedures in placemore student fear

more cases? more cheating?

Where to start?Where to start?1. Definition [Knowing what….]

2. ‘Rules of the game’: induction, informing students

3. Skills practice : [Knowing how]

4. Designing programmes & assessments to discourage copying

5. Spotting it when it happens

6. Dealing with cases: fast, fair, defensible

Plagiarism happens Plagiarism happens when youwhen you1. Submit the words, ideas or work

product

2. of a named individual or source

3. in a situation where original work would be expected,

4. as if it is the result of your own work [w/o sufficient attribution],

5. for credit or other benefit. (Fishman, 2010)

…….. why ‘plagiarism’ is a complex .. why ‘plagiarism’ is a complex idea….idea….

Submitting

Someone else’s work

Work

Acknowledgement

Correct acknowledgement

A draft cannot be plagiarism …. or can it?

Most work requires many steps; for some steps, having help is OK. Where does ‘OK’ stop?

Not all work belongs to someone

“My work” and “their work”…. how does their work become ‘mine’?

Not just writing! All products of a named individual or source

Applies only to some aspects of the ‘work’

Formal ways (citation)

Informal ways (‘As the book by Brown shows…..’)

(‘I agree with this point….’)

How correct?

Should we get obsessed by formatting issues?

Most plagiarism is not Most plagiarism is not cheatingcheatingMisunderstanding

Students do not know what we expect

Students do not ‘get’ the definition

MisuseRules badly appliedSmall amount, small impact

Misconduct:Know the rules [what to do + how to do

it]Seek unfair advantage by breaking the

rules.

[Fraud ]

All plagiarism is All plagiarism is significantsignificantCopying bypasses learning[Transformation creates understanding]

Credit reflects learning. ‘We do not give credit for handing in stuff; we accredit learning’

Cheating devalues awards and threatens confidence

Integrity, transparency and politeness are key values in HE

The good news:The good news:Loads of good practice & guidanceAnswer? Treat as a learning issue. Don’t focus on ‘avoiding plagiarism’.

Value the process of writing, programming, solving ……. and the final product

Be realistic about students’ chances to bypass making an effort….. and protect students from the temptation to try it.

The bad newsThe bad newsSome assessments make plagiarism more likely [Make or fake? Do or find?]

Threats don’t work.

Software cannot solve this problem

Learning to write from sources is complex & time consuming – it is probably harder than it has ever been

All teachers are writing teachers. ‘Learning to write is an academic apprenticeship to thinking in the discipline’

Policy does matter. If your policy is wrong, then other efforts to manage plagiarism are much less effective.

The holistic approachThe holistic approach1.Definition [Knowing what….]2.‘Rules of the game’: induction, informing students

3.Skills practice : [Knowing how…. it means learning more than ‘the referencing’]

4.Designing assessments to discourage copying

5.Spotting it when it happens6.Dealing with cases: fast, fair, defensible

7.Policies set up for 2012

Focus on stopping Focus on stopping students from copying students from copying …..…..

….. the best place to start.What are the issues for students around copying?

myths and ‘hauntings’ unlearning and ‘the empty

cupboard’

Students explaining why they Students explaining why they copied: copied: “This person writes exactly what I think.”

“This person writes it better than I do.”

“This person writes English better than I do.”

“There is only one way to write this.”

“These are my own words. I copied them myself.”

“These are my own words. I copied from a book but I bought the book.”

Stopping students from Stopping students from copyingcopying1. Acknowledge students’ previous

experiences2. Recognise language issues3. Empathy with students’

unwillingness to change4. Provide many exemplars +

opportunities to interact with them

5. Practice, practice, practice6. Penalties that reflect the

reality

Last wordLast wordComplex problemUnlikely to disappearFocus on learning, not on cheating

Requires a systematic, joined up and ongoing set of actions

In general, there’s more good news than bad.