PLAGIARISM in the INTERNET ERA

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PLAGIARISM in the INTERNET ERA

• Are You Prepared?
• Fall Faculty Conference ? August 1999

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Todays Agenda

• Define plagiarism
• Examine how the Internet changed this phenomenon
• Techniques for researching suspect papers
• How to prevent plagiarism
• Other resources to consult

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What is Plagiarism?

• The wrongful appropriation or purloining, and
  publication as ones own, of the ideas, or the
  expression of the ideas (literary, artistic,
  musical, mechanical, etc.) of another.
• From the O.E.D., v. 11, p.947

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Plagiarism Defined 2

• To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of
  another) as one's own use (another's
  production) without crediting the source
• To commit literary theft present as new and
  original an idea or product derived from an
  existing source
• Merriam-Websters WWWebster Dictionary,
  http//www.m-w.com/home.htm, 21 July 1999

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Acts of Plagiarism

• Turning in a paper a peer has written for that
  student
• Turning in another students work without their
  knowledge
• Copying a paper without proper acknowledgment

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Acts of Plagiarism 2

• Copying material, supplying proper documentation,
  but leaving out quotation marks
• Paraphrasing material without appropriate
  documentation
• Wilhoit, Stephen. Helping Students Avoid
  Plagiarism. College Teaching 42 (1994) 161-164.

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The Internet Effect

• Term paper and research assistance have always
  been available for a price
• Internet has expanded their sphere of influence
  and made them easy to find
• Quality of the Mills ranges from horrific to
  superb

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Detecting Plagiarism 1

• Analyze the writing
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Tone
• Sentence structure
• Does it sound like the students voice?

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Detecting Plagiarism 2

• Check the formatting
• Match your formatting requirements
• Grayed out letters in the text or margins
• URLs in headers or footers
• References to tables, graphs, pictures, etc.,
  that arent there

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Detecting Plagiarism 3

• Review the assignment
• Answer entire assignment or just parts
• References to professors, classes or class
  numbers that dont exist at UE
• Historical events or people are presented in a
  current tense

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Detecting Plagiarism 4

• Examine the bibliography
• URLs to www.schoolsucks.com
• All items are over 5 years old
• Obscure foreign language journals or books
• Web sites are broken
• Students cannot produce physical copy of cited
  sources

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Tracking Plagiarism Down

• Search engines
• Term Paper Web sites

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Search Engines

• Hotbot Northern Lights allow for targeted
  segment searching
• Enter phrases with unique keywords
• Possibility that paper came from various Web
  sites (cut-and-paste plagiarism)

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Term Paper Mills

• Free Papers
• School Sucks
• Other Peoples Papers
• Absolutely Free Online Essays
• Free Termpapers International
• Dorians Paper Archive

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Term Paper Mills 2

• Pay Per View
• Evil House of Cheat
• Research Assistance.com
• Lazy Students
• Superior Term Papers
• Cheat Factory

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Preventing Plagiarism

• Define what it is on class syllabus and discuss
  it in class
• Focus on writing process
• Submit thesis statements
• Working drafts
• Annotated bibliographies
• Ask for personal reflections on writing process

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The Good News

• UE is not alone in facing this issue
• Lots of information about the topic available
• Bibliography available
• www.evansville.edu/ma35/ffc1999.html

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The Final Word

• Plagiarism will not go away if it is ignored.
• Students who plagiarize are cheating themselves
  and wasting your time.
• Document your research