Managing student plagiarism in 2013:

complex issue, complex solution

Jude CarrollEducational Development consultantfor University of Kent, January 2013

Key ideasEffective management requires a

shared, holistic response: institution, teachers, students

Plagiarism is a learning issue and an integrity issue [but you need to focus on learning]

Management lessons have been learned: same and different from 10 years ago

Plagiarism occurs when someoneSubmits the work productOf a named or identifiable person or

sourceIn a situation where originality is

expectedWithout showing the source of the

work productFor credit or benefit

Fishman, 2010

““

What defines cheating?

intention

creating a false impression

seeking unfair advantage

more than just ‘breaking the rules’

In 2013, there are more ….- more diverse students in higher

education- more opportunities to bypass the hard

work of learning- more instances of deliberate cheating

… perhaps- more coursework – type assignments

Is all this true here?

What’s changed about plagiarism (2001-2013)?From surprise to everyday event

From being a student’s responsibility ( ‘be honest’) to a shared responsibility for strong academic values & scholarship

From print-based copying to electronic & networked finding, sharing and copying.

in some places

What’s changed? (continued)From assuming all plagiarism is

cheating to recognising a range

From individuals finding solutions to having institutional policy

More marketing of ‘detection’ (sic) software and much more commissioning

Cheating, intention to deceive

misuse

misconductStudent does not know the rules;

student breaks the rules

misunderstanding

Student knows, makes a mistake

A few unwelcome changescreating fear in students

(‘….haunted by the specter of plagiarism’ Neville, 2010)

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

authorityI have chosen top peopleYou can be confident about what I write

validityI have chosen reliable peopleYou can believe what I write

traceable You can check what I write: is it correct?

recent What I write is up-to-date and relevant

broad research I have done a lot of researchI have looked for the best sources

using terms correctly This is how people use this term in my subject

politeness and community We all work together to build knowledge. It is not just

me who thinks this.

Where to start?1. Clear 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, consistent the

holistic approach

1. A working, understood definition

….There is more to plagiarism than copying

[….. There is more to stopping plagiarism than saying, ‘No copying’.]

Students explaining why they 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.”

More false ideas I have encountered about copying

Copiers lack integrity.Copying is always a bad way to

learn‘A 0% copying score on Turnitin is

best’If teachers stop students from

copying, then their work with students is done…..

Copying is ‘cultural’

What software can do to help with restricting copying

Stopping students from copying1. Acknowledge students’ previous

experiences2. Recognise language issues3. Empathise with students’

unwillingness to change4. Provide many exemplars + force

students to interact with them5. Practice, practice, practice6. Penalties that reflect the reality

‘No copying’ leaves many students confused‘Taking others’ work’ NO! ‘Using others’ work’ YES!Writing from sources’ YES!

1. Differentiate what is ‘owned’ and what is not2. Select what work needs acknowledgement3. Understand how to acknowledge4. Do the acknowledgement skillfully

THE PLAGIARISM

PARADOX

using others’ work transparently

Skills development:If I told you the laws of cricket, would you be a good cricket player?

What would it take to become a good cricket player?

information examples

tools and equipment

Practice the ‘subskills’

feedback

working with an expert to aim high

motivating reasons

putting sub skills together. Practice

feedback

time

practice

Last word on awareness + skillProgramme-level responsibilityMultiple points of informationMultiple means of ‘getting the

message’

Requires interaction and discussion to ensure understanding. Requires practice.

Important to distinguish between knowing what to do & knowing how

and

knowing how to do it

Strategies for using [programme and] task design to deter students from plagiarism

An aside about deliberate cheatingIt happens …. but how much?It is easier now than ever ….

impersonationcommissioningback translation, usually linked to

CCP‘fooling’ Turnitinand?

Spotting plagiarism?Turning a blind eye?So much to say about this issue!

On spotting: sharing skills, using a range of strategies, using software well

On ‘blind eyes’: fair, trusted procedures

Procedures that do not hurt the ‘spotter’

Takes time and commitment to get it right

Anything you would like to talk about, linked to detection (sic) software?

When to use it?How to use it?Limitations and strengths?Staff development issues

Last but far from least…..

You need to design procedures for handling cases that are:

not painful for the spottercapable of managing large

numbers criteria-based (for severity, for

setting penalties)RecordedAnalysed for lessons

Last word on managing plagiarismComplex problemUnlikely to disappearFocus on learning, not on

cheatingRequires a systematic, joined up

and ongoing set of actionsIn general, there’s more good

news than bad.In later sessions, we will address

the procedures at Kent