Writing
and Research Skills
Lack of research skills -- many undergraduate
students do not know how to search the library catalogue,
search databases for journal articles, or use other
reference sources. Faculty can help students acquire these
skills by working in conjunction with their library. The University of Alberta Libraries
offer free instructional sessions called Navigating
the Library.
These sessions introduce students to the library and teach
them how to search the library catalogue and databases. In
addition, the libraries at the
University
of
Alberta
offer reference services on a daily basis as well as e-mail
reference
and virtual
reference.
Problems evaluating Internet sources -- many
students do not know how to critically evaluate Internet
sources and this can impact on the research process and the
student's writing. It is important to remember that there is
no quality control on the Internet! Library research guides
such as Critical
Evaluation of Resources on the Internet are excellent resources for
students.
Confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing
-- studies indicate that up to 60% of students cannot
distinguish between paraphrased and plagiarized text. The
problem is magnified when students need to paraphrase
unfamiliar vocabulary and technical terms. A study published
in Psychological Reports found that "students
will use writing strategies that result in plagiarism when
they face the task of paraphrasing advanced technical text
for which they may lack the proper cognitive resources with
which to process it". The inability to distinguish
between plagiarized text and paraphrased text, and
incorrectly citing sources, are often the root causes of unintentional
plagiarism.
For a printable handout on how to distinguish between
plagiarism and paraphrasing, please click Handouts
for Students.
Confusion about terminology --
"Terminology is another problem that perplexes students
and compounds their confusion and anxiety. Many do not
understand the difference between a report and an essay,
between exposition and argumentation, between a theme and a
thesis . . . And 'analyse' and
'discuss' must surely rank at the top of the list of
all-time confusing terms".
Instructions
on assignments should be clear, concise, and easy to
understand.
Careless note taking -- many students
inadvertently plagiarize while doing preliminary research.
During the note taking phase paraphrased material and
directly quoted material can easily be mixed up if students
aren't careful. At a later date when students begin writing
their essay they may no longer be able to distinguish what
material is theirs and what material came from their
sources. In addition, the student may have written
incomplete or incorrect bibliographic information and cannot
locate the source they quoted to ensure that they have not
plagiarized.
To
alleviate this problem some writers use only direct
quotations while taking notes. This practice insures that
the writer knows when to paraphrase and when to directly
quote. Other methods of keeping track of direct quotes and
paraphrased material include writing a "P" beside
paraphrased material, plus the page number after every note
taken, or placing quotation marks around everything copied
word for word, even if it is only a phrase.
Confusion about how to properly cite sources
-- the lack of consistency among the different style guides
compounds the problems that students experience when citing
sources. A student can use up to four different style guides
in a year, and each guide may give conflicting information.
In
addition, online sources can be particularly difficult to
cite. First, there is no consensus among the style guides
about citing online sources. Second, URLs are unstable. It
is possible that a Web site address can change overnight, or
the URL may be long, complex, and confusing.
The
University
of
Alberta
Libraries
has an online guide that explains how to cite electronic
sources. Citation
and Style Guides for Internet and Electronic Resources
is available from the
University
of
Alberta
Libraries
home page.
Misunderstanding
Key Concepts
Misconception of plagiarism
-- students may erroneously assume that the act of
plagiarism only involves written text. However the theft or
lack of attribution for someone else's ideas is also
plagiarism.
Misconception of intellectual
property,
copyright,
and public
domain
-- students may not be able to decipher what information is
in the public domain, what materials and ideas are
copyrighted, and what materials and ideas are the
intellectual property of their creators and thus require
proper attribution.
Misconception of common
knowledge
-- students may not have the ability to distinguish what
materials, facts, and ideas are considered common
knowledge.
For a printable handout explaining the concept of common
knowledge, please click Handouts
for Students.
Perception of online information as public
knowledge -- because some students perceive information
found online as public knowledge, they do not realize that
Internet resources must be referenced. Journal articles and
books found in online databases often do not get properly
cited for the same reason. Students need to know that
information found online is the intellectual property of its
creator and it requires proper attribution.
External
Factors
Pressure from family, competition for scholarships
and jobs -- family members and personal expectations can
place a great deal of pressure on students to maintain a
certain grade point average regardless of what is learned.
Often the all that matters to students are grades when they
are competing for scholarships, jobs, or entry into graduate
school.
In
addition, "Students may also not be as personally
interested in their own education versus their career
aspirations . . . Even students who are
concerned about the learning part of their education may
justify plagiarism based on the fear that others are already
cheating, causing "unfair competition"(Fain
and Bates quoted in Auer and Krupar).
For
some students, learning may not be the point of an
education. They are there to get the qualifications or the
piece of paper. This mode of thinking can result in students
justifying academic offences because they only need to
finish this assignment, this class, or they need the grade.
Student ethics and relationship with the
University -- "Students lack a basic reference
point for ethical academic behavior. Too often learning and
the evaluation of learning - namely grading - are considered
one rather than two distinct processes. For some students,
getting the grade becomes the goal, and they might see any
behavior as appropriate which results in good grades. Thus,
lacking clear guidance from faculty and confused about the
goal of education, students do not know what constitutes
academic dishonesty" (Peterson
qtd. in Lathrop and Foss 115).
The commodification of knowledge and education
-- the move to business and market-models coupled with a
consumer mentality can result in some students viewing their
education as a commodity. There has been a shift from
valuing education for the sake of learning to valuing
education so that career aspirations can be fulfilled. As a
result some students expect to pay their tuition and cruise
through post-secondary education on their way to becoming a
professional in their chosen field. Education can be viewed
as the passport to a desired job rather than a learning
experience.
Internal
Factors
Poor time management and organizational skills
-- undergraduate students often do not have the time
managment or organizational skills necessary to complete a
large research paper. They can become overwhelmed by the
large task and procrastinate.
To
help alleviate the problem of procrastination faculty may
ask students to hand in an outline of their paper a week
before the paper is due.
Cultural
Factors
Culturally based attitudes towards plagiarism
-- The idea that an author has "ownership" of
language may be a ludicrous concept to students from
different cultures. In some cultures, copying someone else's
words or ideas is a high form of flattery. The notion that
words can be "owned" is a facet of Western
culture.
"Many
non-Westerners have a very difficult time understanding that
a person can "own" discourse. For many Asian
students in composition classes, proper acknowledgement of
the language and ideas of others is a very difficult concept
to understand, much less master . . .
Furthermore, in the West, . . . there
is a strong connection between ownership and selfhood, with
the implication that whatever one owns (language included)
makes up one's personal identity" (Bowden
13).
This
is not a justification for anyone handing in plagiarized
work, but it is useful to remember that it may take more
time and different approaches for some people to master
proper attribution.
Preventing Plagiarism
Preventing
plagiarism isn't as difficult as one might think. The
following are some simple strategies that faculty can use to
prevent plagiarism:
Clarifying
Concepts
Teach students how to correctly paraphrase, quote,
and properly cite sources. For printable handouts click on Handouts
for Students.
Some students do not know what plagiarism is. Explain
the concepts of plagiarism,
intellectual
property,
copyright,
collaboration
and fair
dealing.
Provide the URL to the Truth
in Education
project, a Web site devoted to the promotion of academic
integrity at the University of Alberta. The URL is: http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=http://www.ualberta.ca/studentservices/tie.
Course
Syllabi
At the beginning of the term tell students that
matters of academic dishonesty are taken very seriously at
the University of Alberta. Faculty can reinforce this
message by including a statement on academic dishonesty in
the course syllabi. This statement should, however, be
couched as fair warning rather than a threat.
In addition to reviewing the Code
of Student Behavior,
think about what special issues may arise in a specific
class. For example, is collaboration on assignments
permissible or not? Faculty must make their expectations
clear.
Faculty can help students learn how to properly cite
materials, particularly Web sources, by providing
information on style guides. The
University
of
Alberta
Libraries
has developed an online resource for citing materials. The Citation
Style Guides for Internet and Electronic Sources
provides thorough information on how to cite electronic
resources.
During
Class
Discuss plagiarism as a moral and ethical issue. The
relationship between faculty and students is based on trust;
teach students the value of academic honesty and outline the
responsibilities of being a junior member of the academic
community.
Discuss the benefits of citing sources properly.
Proper attribution shows that the student has done thorough
research and that the student has been exposed to a diverse
range of thought and opinion. As a result, the paper will
likely be stronger.
Print a paper from one of the paper
mills
and critique it in class. This exercise accomplishes two
things: first, it shows students that you are aware of paper
mills and corresponding plagiarism detection services and
second, you can teach them good writing skills by critiquing
the paper.
Before the first assignment is due, outline the
penalties for handing in plagiarized work and give examples
of what the punishment has been for those caught
plagiarizing in the past. The threat of being suspended or
even expelled from university or receiving a permanent mark
on a transcript may be enough to deter a plagiarizer.
Address the problems that students may have with
citing sources from the Web. Some students may think that by
citing a URL they are also citing any other links included
in the Web site. Stress that students must cite the URL for
any page or link they use.
Prior to the first major assignment, either book an
instructional session on how to use library resources or
make sure your students sign up for the Navigating
the Library
sessions that are offered through the University of Alberta
Libraries. Many undergraduates do not know how to search the
library for materials.
Assignment
Design
The
following list is comprised of suggestions only. Some
professors do not think they are responsible for policing
student behavior or that they should alter their assignments
to alleviate student procrastination. However fair warning
and enough time to complete an assignment, offers of help,
such as looking at drafts or outlines, and clear assignments
are things that faculty can do to help their students
successfully complete an assignment. Other suggestions
include the following:
Stagger due dates for different parts of a paper. For
example, make the bibliography due a week before the final
paper, or specify what materials students can use -- i.e.
two Internet sources, three journal articles, two
monographs, etc., or assign two or three smaller papers
throughout the term rather than a single large one.
Assign narrowly focused topics rather than broad
general ones or ask students to write about current events
as they relate to class materials.
Change the paper topics each time the course is
offered. This practice will prevent students from
appropriating work done by former students.
Tell students in advance that you will randomly check
sources in the bibliography.
Request that students hand in a photocopied page from
the sources cited in their paper, or include an annotated
bibliography as part of the assignment, or tell students
that they can only use references that have been published
within the last five years.
Require students to hand in notes or outlines with
their paper because you are looking for evidence of original
thought
Detecting Plagiarism
Indicators
of possible plagiarism include:
A student's paper exceeds his or her research or
writing capabilities, sounds professional or journalistic,
or is too scholarly..
The student's paper contains complex or specialized
vocabulary, jargon, technical terms, or other words and
expressions beyond what would be expected from a student at
that level.
The quality of writing is inconsistent. For example,
the introduction or conclusion may be poorly written
compared to the body of the paper.
The title page, font, references, format, or layout
of the paper is inconsistent.
There are imbedded links, page breaks, or incorrect
page numbers in the paper.
The topic of the paper isn't consistent with the
assignment, class lectures, or class handouts.
The bibliography is odd in some way. For example, it
may be long, the style guide used for the bibliography is
different from the one used in class, the citations are all
from older sources, or few or none of the materials
referenced can be accessed in the library.
There are links or URLs at the top or bottom of the
paper or grayed out letters or areas.
As a general rule, follow your instincts. Most
professors can gauge what level their students are at.
How
to track down a suspect paper
The same searching techniques that students use for
locating papers on the Internet can also be used to retrieve
plagiarized papers. Try typing in an unusual phrase or
sentence from a suspect paper into a search engine like Google
or Lycos.
Because no search engine can index the entire Web, it is
advisable to use more than one search engine.
In addition try using Google's Advanced Search
feature. You can specify the formats you would like to
search, the language, and you can construct far more
specific searches.
Another resource to search is the Invisible Web. Web
sites like InvisibleWeb.com
or CompletePlanet
offer
links to thousands of databases and Web sites that aren't
indexed by a regular search engines (Harris
172).
Although it may be tempting to submit student papers
to a free detection service, it is strongly recommended that
searchers only submit phrases or a few sentences to these
search engines. With a stroke of ingenuity, there is
evidence to suggest that some of these detection services
may be taking submitted student essays and re-selling them
from paper mills.
In addition, try searching some of the paper
mills
for a suspect paper.
If the quality of writing appears to exceed the level
of the student, faculty may initially check both print and
electronic reference sources like encyclopedias and
dictionaries. Online reference sources like AskJeeves.com,
Encyclopedia.com,
and eLibrary
offer links to other Web sites, newspaper and magazine
articles, pictures, and books on selected topics. The
eLibrary service has a subscription fee but offers a 7 day
free trial. Faculty may be able to locate plagiarized
sources searching some of these sites.
In addition to checking print sources faculty may
also want to search a few online databases. The suspect
paper may have been taken directly from an article found in
an online database like Academic Search Premier,
accessed via the library, rather than the Internet. The
database may also retrieve articles that were omitted in the
bibliography but have obviously been used by the student.
Another source students can plagiarize from for both
ideas and text is usenet groups and list serves. Some search
engines will automatically search these Internet sources,
but usually they will only search the Web unless the
researcher chooses usenet groups and list serves as the
format to be searched (Stebelman
49).
Ask a librarian for help if there is difficulty
searching for a suspect paper. Faculty can e-mail
library staff or go directly to a reference desk for
assistance.
Detection
Services
There
are three types of papers available on the Web:
1)
Papers "published" by students or instructors as
part of classroom assignments or research projects.
2) Papers that can be downloaded for free. These papers can
come from a variety of sources like online magazines, papers
published by organizations specifically for the Web, or
papers published by individuals.
3) Traditional paper
mills.
Paper
mill
is the term used to describe online databases that offer
research papers on thousands of topics. Some paper mills
operate via straight exchanges; you give them a paper of
yours and they give you a paper in return; others charge by
the essay or page; and others offer customized papers.
Most
of these sites have a disclaimer stating that papers
retrieved from the site are intended for
"educational" purposes only. The disclaimer from papers123.com
reads, "The intended purpose of our example of college
papers is that they be used as study aids or models of what
a good college paper should look like" (Paper
Store Enterprises par.1). Regardless of the content of these disclaimers,
operators of paper mills are usually indifferent to what
students do with papers retrieved from their site.
Reporting Plagiarism
Reporting
a plagiarizer and filing charges against a student can be a
painful, time-consuming experience for faculty but the worst
course of action is to turn a blind eye to students who
plagiarize. Ignoring plagiarism undermines the value of
education, it undermines the university, and it undermines
the academic community -- including the faculty member's
career. So what should faculty do when they suspect a
student of plagiarizing?
The
University of Alberta Code
of Student Behaviour provides guidelines for faculty to follow when they
suspect plagiarism has occurred. It is important to remember
that sanctions can only be imposed by the Dean of the
department. Dealing with a plagiarizer on one's own and
ignoring the judicial process undermines the University's
ability to administer appropriate punishment.
Some
additional resources faculty can consult when they suspect
plagiarism and are unsure of what the next step should be
are the:
Plagiarism
and Cheating: Cheat Sheet
Office
of the Dean of Students
Discipline Office - It is important to let students
know what their rights are when they have been charged with
plagiarism. The Student
Ombudsman Service
is an excellent resource for students, as is the University
Secretariat: Student Appeals and Discipline.
Why
faculty may be reluctant to report a plagiarizer
A
study conducted on nine campuses at
Rutgers
University
at
Newark
found that of 800 professors at 16 institutions, 54% had
"seldom" reported cheating, 40% had
"never" reported cheating, and only 6% had
"often" reported cheating (McCabe
found in Schneider, Alison).
Why
are the numbers of reported cases of cheating so low?
Some
of the reasons why faculty members are often reluctant to
file a formal charge against a student include:
- Some
perceive the university judicial process as tedious,
time-consuming, and un-supportive of faculty members.
- Often
the punishments do not fit the crime. For example the
punishment for plagiarism at some universities may be
the same whether the student stole another person's
entire paper, handed it in as original work, and
committed fraud, or the student misquoted a source, or
didn't give proper attribution for either words or
ideas. Clearly
these are different degrees of academic dishonesty.
- Most
faculty members do not want to damage the student's
reputation or career and would rather confront the
student themselves.
- It
can be difficult to prove that plagiarism has occurred.
- Some
faculty members are concerned that lodging formal
charges against a student can reflect negatively on
their teaching skills.
- Tracking
down a plagiarized paper or the sources used can require
hours of research.
- University
departments may not have consistent policies established
for dealing with plagiarism.
- Some
faculty members believe that they have very little
impact on the judicial process when cases are turned
over to administration.
- It
can be a traumatic, emotionally draining experience for
a professor to charge a student with cheating.
