Plagiarism in academic writing: identification and raising awareness

1
Plagiarism in academic writing identification
and raising awareness

• Carol Thomas and Phil Potter

2
What is plagiarism?

• To take the work or ideas of someone else and
  pass them off as ones own.
• Origins
• Latin plagiarius kidnapper
• Greek plagion a kidnapping

3
How serious is plagiarism?

• University of Chester (2007) Principles and
  Regulations, give a range of options from
• fail the particular element within an assessment
  component to which the accusation relates
• fail the entire component of assessment within
  the relevant module
• fail the entire module
• In exceptionally serious cases,
• fail the entire semester
• fail the entire level
• be required to withdraw from the University.

4
What do other universities do?

• 25 different penalties were identified including
• Expulsion (99)
• Reduce assignment mark to 0 (78)
• Reduce module mark to 0 (66)
• Written warning formal (61), informal (19)
• Tennant, P., Rowell, G. Duggan, F. (2007) AMBeR
  project academic misconduct benchmarking
  research project. JISCPAS. http//www.jiscpas.ac.u
  k/documents/resources/PDReview-Reportv1_5.pdf

5
Why do students plagiarise?

• Lack of time
• Improve marks
• Irrelevant modules
• Disinterested lecturers
• Challenge beat the system
• IGNORANCE

6
Inform Student of Policies and Expectations

• Induction
• Definitions of plagiarism, collusion and
  misconduct
• Reinforcing understanding of definitions for
  particular groups
• Defining collusion and informing students
• Continuing to offer information

7
Resources available to students

• Handouts
• APA Referencing Guide,
• Do not be a Copycat Guide
• LSS Seminars (regular)
• Department specific guidance
• Events
• PAW Plagiarism Awareness Week
• 14th 18th January, 2008.

8
Designing out opportunities for plagiarism

• Changing assessments
• Reconsider learning outcomes
• Create individualised tasks
• Integrate assessment tasks
• Set a range of assessment tasks
• key question are you asking them to do
  something that somebody else has already done?
• Carroll
• McKenzie
• Bone

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Methods to detect plagiarism in students work

• Changes in writing style
• High quality prose
• American spelling
• Sources not available locally
• Out of date sources
• Reliance on non-UK examples
• Mark discrepancies
• Cox (2002)
• Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Software

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Other ways to use Turnitin

• Utilising Turnitin formatively to enhance
  academic writing skills (case study University
  of Bedfordshire) http//breo.beds.ac.uk/webapps/po
  rtal/frameset.jsp?tab_id_682_1
• Teaching resources for plagiarism (Resources
  University of Leeds) http//www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/pl
  agiarism/teaching.php
• Investigating potential plagiarism using
  Turnitint (case study University of
  Bedfordshire) http//breo.beds.ac.uk/webapps/porta
  l/frameset.jsp?tab_id_682_1
• Using Turnitin with large cohorts (case study
  University of Bedfordshire) http//breo.beds.ac.uk
  /webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id_682_1
• Using Turnitin with medium sized cohorts (case
  study University of Bedfordshire)
  http//breo.beds.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
  ?tab_id_682_1

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References

• Bone, A. ( ) Plagiarism a guide for law
  lecturers. http//www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/trns/p
  lagiarism/index.html
• Carroll, J Appleton, J. (2001). Designing out
  opportunities for plagiarism. recommendations
  taken from good practice. Oxford Oxford Brookes
  and JISC
• Cox, D. (2002). How to identify when your
  students are using websites to plagiarise.
  http//escalate.ac.uk/1059
• JISC Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service
  http//www.jiscpas.ac.uk
• JISC (2005). Deterring, detecting and dealing
  with student plagiarism briefing paper.
  http//www.jiscpas.ac.uk/documents/resources/JISC-
  BP-Plagiarism-v1-final.pdf
• McKenzie, J. (1998). The new plagiarism seven
  antidotes to prevent highway robbery in an
  electronic age. From Now On. 7(8)
  http//fno.org/may98/cov98may.html
• Tennant, P., Rowell, G. Duggan, F. (2007) AMBeR
  project academic misconduct benchmarking
  research project. JISCPAS. http//www.jiscpas.ac.u
  k/documents/resources/PDReview-Reportv1_5.pdf