Just as it is important to consider the cultural and regional areas when considering informed consent, it is also important to be informed of the cultural context of a study when determining plagiarism. In some cultural contexts, the concept of intellectual property is not understood and therefore plagiarism is difficult to comprehend (Evering & Moorman, 2012). In other areas, like the Unites States, it is a concept clearly understood in the same way that society understand the need for copyrights and patents.
Discussion/Findings
Professional and ethical conduct in research seems common sense. Yet, there are multiple studies that indicate that unethical practices still exist and some practices, particularly plagiarism, is more prevalent than ever before. Most researchers may understand that the safety and well-being of individuals is very important and would not purposely cause any harm to anyone. However, many people, particularly those who have grown up in the technological era, may not fully understand how plagiarism is hurting someone. With information readily available in the internet, it is very easy to access and to copy and paste into a paper or report. Many younger students have not grasped that the information found on internet, though easily accessible, is not all public domain and authored. The information is still the intellectual property of an individual and the individual must receive credit for it.
In the area of education, it seems that classroom teachers may, at times, in avertedly plagiarize since it is of common practice (even at times suggested by nationally known speakers like Harry Wong) that a teacher may “beg, borrow or steal” another teacher’s idea to implement in their own classroom. In fac...
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...Administration & Management (CCEAM)), 40(2), 99-114.
Evering, L., & Moorman, G. (2012). Rethinking Plagiarism in the Digital Age. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(1), 35-44. doi:10.1002/JAAL.00100
Estow, S., Lawrence, E. K., & Adams, K. A. (2011). Practice Makes Perfect: Improving Students' Skills in Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism With a Themed Methods Course. Teaching Of Psychology, 38(4), 255-258. doi:10.1177/0098628311421323
Franke, A., & Arvidsson, B. (2011). Research supervisors' different ways of experiencing supervision of doctoral students. Studies In Higher Education, 36(1), 7-19. doi:10.1080/03075070903402151
Shamim, F. and Qureshi, R., (2013) Informed consent in educational research in the South: tensions and accommodations, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43:4, 464-482, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2013.797729
In the article, “The Plague of Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty”, written by Kimberly Embleton and Doris Small-Helfer, the authors discuss the well-known subject of plagiarism. The authors not only define plagiarism, but they also discuss the different ways in which the Internet has played a role in the plagiarism problem, as well as how teachers, professors, instructors also have established ways to combat this educational, or not–so-educational epidemic of academic dishonesty.
Trip Gabriel, a reporter for the New York Times specializing in articles about education and politics, argues in this article, “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age” about how creativity and originality is under threat because students prefer to copy content off the internet without acknowledging original sources. The article raises some valid points but glosses over the fact that nothing is ever original: every new idea or thought is inspired by or an improvement over an old idea or thought.
Scott Jaschik discusses various situations of plagiarism in college in his article, “Winning Hearts and Minds in War on Plagiarism,” in order to argue that there are more efficient solutions to prevent plagiarism. Having his article published in an online news source, Inside Higher Ed, allows for Jaschik to have an audience of first year English and college instructors interested in learning about higher education. Jaschik writes in general to an audience who is interested in academic integrity and those who want to either stop or learn more about plagiarism. Jaschik employs various situations such as an online student discussion board and an assignment to purposely plagiarize in order to highlight common issues with why students plagiarize.
The awareness in regards to academic integrity is growing across campuses worldwide. This is a very serious subject in which students and faculty should take additional steps to educate themselves. A great example of this exposure includes Mississippi State University hosts an annual Academic Integrity week during the last week of October. “This program has been put in place to educate students on plagiarism and academic honesty and prevent future cases” (msstate.edu). Intentionally or unintentionally stealing or using another individual’s work verbatim without paraphrasing is considered plagiarism. Rules and regulations are set in place to inform students how to cite, when and where to cite, and the consequences available if the rules are not followed. “The differentiation between cultures can often confuse the true meaning of plagiarism” (Vessal, K). In this research paper I will highlight the details of Academic Integrity, the consequences if rules and regulations are not followed, and lastly tools available to avoid plagiarism.
New York Times journalist, Trip Gabriel, puts into perspective students ability to use their creativity throughout their academic career in “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age.” This article discusses issues of plagiarism in the digital age, especially through college students. There are different perspectives from various people either attending college or professors that argue why plagiarism occurs. Whether it’s because of laziness, unpreparedness going into college, originality, or authorship not taken into consideration. Overall, this article infers the different standpoints of plagiarism, demonstrating the ease the digital age gives students to plagiarize, and the importance
In the past various scholars used to write scholarly materials on the topic of plagiarism from the daily experiences they went through and small studies in the form of surveys in institutions they worked in. Majority of these scholarly materials have one thing in common; in that they try to comprehend how far and why plagiarism is practiced. They then offer possible measures to counter plagiarism to teachers like through better pedagogy or policies. Even the latest scholarly books about plagiarism today follow the same conventions. However, there are some that present new viewpoints and strategies. Thus in reviewing some of the scholarly materials on plagiarism, this research paper does not merely review but, also offers my perspectives, and gives possible directions on the essential issues which future scholars might need to address. Plagiarism can be considered as the use of someone’s work without proper referencing the source. Although there are different forms of plagiarism in different institutions, its definition is founded from the basis of the above words. Online education is the learning without necessarily being in the commonly known classroom environment.
The better educated you are, the better off you are socially, and economically. Having a degree is, in general, a good indicator of your level of education. To get it some students study very hard. Others, on the contrary, prefer to take some shortcuts that seem to be easier for them. Those, not so much interested in acquiring a solid education, simply want to plagiarize to pass their classes, to get that degree. Plagiarism spreads out through any level of our education system. It even extends beyond that limit to reach almost any aspect of our society. With the internet revolution, this problem becomes more acute. “The web has provided global access to an unfathomable cornucopia of term papers, essays, and other scholarly works, right there out in the open for purchase or outright theft” (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 160). This paper will discuss the different types of plagiarism. Before getting deeper into that discussion, we will start by explaining the word plagiarism.
In the technological world we live in, where we’re only a click away from accessing the web, with billions and billions of searches to our question, plagiarizing has become easier than before. Plagiarism is the act of taking other people 's work and ideas without giving them credit. This can include any form of cheating. Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in the Digital Age, written by Trip Gabriel explores the misunderstanding of plagiarism by students. It also provide anecdotes and reasons given by different people to why students plagiarize without necessarily choosing a stand. Interestingly, it have been found that students still plagiarize knowing that it is wrong, which contradicts the idea that students misunderstand authorship. Authorship
Gabriel, Trip. "Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age." Article. Line on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age. N.p., 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Plagiarism is seen as a severe contravention of normal scholarly conduct, necessitating colleges and universities in the US and UK to establish eit...
Estow, Sarah, Eva K. Lawrence, and Kathrynn A. Adams. "Practice Makes Perfect: Improving Students' Skills in Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism with a Themed Methods Course." ERIK, 2012: 4.
Plagiarism, or the unaccredited use of another's work or ideas, has become more and more of a problem in recent times than it was in the past. According to statistics found in a survey conducted by the Free Press, 58% of high school students let someone copy their work in 1969, but by 1989 this number had risen to 97%. The expansion of the World Wide Web and the number of people accessing the Web on a regular basis has caused an epidemic of plagiarism in this country, especially among students. This is a serious problem that must be addressed because many students feel that if they are not getting in trouble for cheating, than it is okay.
The general public conveys plagiarism to be “the capital intellectual crime” and in addition, is most often used by students and professors whose “undetected plagiarisms disrupt the system of student and scholarly evaluation” (http://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/posner-r-plagiarism.html). Such actions can become the cause of expulsion of a student or the halt of a professor’s career. Because this is a major offense and requires immediate discipline, several American universities have established guides indicating the types of plagiarism that exist. One prime example is California State’s Eagle Guide. Within it, three categories of various plagiarisms are presented with the first titled Turning in Someone Else’s Paper, also known as Type I. Basically, the individual was either too lazy or lacked the confidence in himself to compose the paper. “This is the worst type of plagiarism because fraud is committed that undermines the entire educational system. The material was not learned, writing skills did not improve, and the grade is based on deception. All in all, the person’s education is a fraud.” (http://web.calstatela.edu/centers/write cn/plagiarism.htm). Furthermore, Type II is the Internet “Pastiche” which is a “literary work composed of various sources” (Macmillan Dictionary, 1984). In this instance, the paper is assembled by the “writer” out of other texts. Paragraphs are “grabbed” and are carefully placed to form a final draft. Lastly, Type III is improper paraphrasing. This transpires when an author’s idea(s) are rewritten into other’s words and original sentence structure is used. Type III is the least hostile because it can easily be corrected with few practices.
As students of high school and college, and even in the professional world, we are asked to research and write on subjects that are seen to be important. The research that we are asked to do, has been done many times in the past, which means people are bound to use others’ ideas and words with no recognition, sometimes without even knowing it. This leads to plagiarism, which is something many people have heard of, but never learned the true definition and the harm it can create. Schools and society need to be more proactive in explaining what plagiarism is, how to write correctly in order to prevent it, and teach the consequences plagiarism has.
Plagiarism is a serious offense and a growing trend in our society today. Some may associate plagiarism with the idea of taking someone else’s writing and making it their own. In fact plagiarism involves anything that is copied or taken and said to be of your own work. Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work, as by not crediting the author”. In fact this definition covers all types of cheating and misrepresentation of ones own work. There are many numbers and statistics that can be found on the amount of individuals that have admitted to cheating. Perhaps the most astounding number is one that was reported by Moeck in 2002 aloft of 40% of higher education students commit academic dishonesty. This number I’m sure has grown since this report and will continue to grow with the development of the Internet. There are a number of ideas and strategies that can be employed in order to stop this ever-growing phenomenon. As teachers and adults, we are responsible for stopping this trend and educating students about the consequences and dangers of plagiarism. I believe there are a variety of reasons individuals plagiarize. First, students are insecure with their own ability; they don’t believe they can do the work therefore they take others. Second, students believe they can get away with the act because they know others who have plagiarized, and there were not any consequences. Lastly, students are uneducated on what plagiarism is and do not know the consequences of their actions if they commit an act. These ideas will be the focus of the position taken on plagiarism in today’s academic society.