Plagiarism in an Online Environment

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Plagiarism in an Online Environment

• Mary Pat McQueeney
• Associate Professor of English at JCCC
• http//staff.jccc.net/pmcqueen
• pmcqueen_at_jccc.net

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WPA Definition

• In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs
  when a writer deliberately uses someone elses
  language, ideas, or other original (not
  common-knowledge) material without acknowledging
  its sources.
• --from Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism The WPA
  Statement on Best Practice
• Council of Writing Program Administrators

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Academic Integrity

• Pats policy statement from her syllabus
• Represent your work honestly, and give credit
  according to accepted conventions to the work of
  others, whether you gained use of it from a
  paper, an electronic source, a visual, or from a
  conversation.

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• Students who have someone else do their work
  commit fraud. Misrepresenting the work of
  others--their specific words or their ideas--is
  plagiarism. Both fraud and plagiarism are serious
  offenses that will result in failure for the
  assignment and a letter submitted to the
  student's permanent file.

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• Take care to protect your files from theft or
  misuse. I will not sort out individuals
  intentions if I receive one paper submitted by
  two people.

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Plagiarism Categories by Intention
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Create learning environment

• Use CMSstudents own learning
• Promote student communication
• Class pictures (secure shell) and bios
• Discussion Boardpeer review/cyber lounge
• Chat
• Encourage civil discourse

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• Involve students in process
• Explain assignment strategies
• Disclose plagiarism deterrents
• Encourage review of exemplary communication
• Listservs
• Individual and organizational web pages
• Journals online
• Student exchanges

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Address confusion about .

• Best places to search for a source
• Nature of a particular source or site
• Whats reliable
• Ownership of a text

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• Selection of best information
• Conventions for acknowledging sources
• URL paths
• Boolean logic
• Use of word processing programs
• Copy and paste
• Format
• Edit

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Adapt to online environment.

• Jamie McKenzie, writing about the new
  plagiarism emerging from technological factors,
  points out that
• it is reckless and irresponsible to continue
  requiring Topical go find out about Research
  projects in this new electronic context. To do
  so extends an invitationto binge on
  information.
• --From The New Plagiarism available at FNO.org
  7.8(1998)

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Topic Tips

• More options not better
• Specify some sources
• Tie curriculum to
• Theory
• Theme
• Student career goals

• Promote thinking
• Encourage higher order how, why, and
  good/better/best inquiry.
• Value narrow/deep rather than broad/shallow.

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Process Tips

• Make writing real
• Real audience and purpose.
• Publish end product.
• Scaffold assignments across a course.
• Chunk out tasks to permit damage control and
  accountability.
• Require peer feedback throughout process.

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• Draw on templateswith temperance
• Use support services
• Incorporate CAC
• As students begin--
• Brainstorm in groups
• Report choice of topic to class
• As project progresses--
• Give oral progress report to class or group
• At the end--
• Present PowerPoint, Web, or scientific poster
  presentation
• Ask class for oral feedback

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Deter fraud.

• consistent policy
• Google (or other search engine)
• Commercial systemswith care and ethical
  reflection
• What will (and will not) system detect?
• Have students given permission to put papers in
  databases?

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A positive final thought

• How the increase of Internet Plagiarism has
  improved our instruction
• Challenges traditional writing genres and trite
  assignments.
• Challenges the banking model of knowledge and
  education
• Promotes thinking about interrelationship of
  academic inquiry and thinking.
• --Russell Hunt

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• Slides and a linked bibliography are available
  at Writing Matters!, my web site, for the
  remainder of the semester. Go to
  http//staff.jccc.net/pmcqueen
• Click on Teaching
• My email pmcqueen_at_jccc.net