Plagiarism and the Internet
A major concern among college students, high school students, professors and teachers is plagiarism. Most students are unaware of what exactly plagiarism is. They all have general ideas, but most donπt know the extent to which it spans. On the other side, teachers and professors are unaware of how to handle the situation. All the technological advances and the World Wide Web make it easier for students to pass off anotherπs work as their own.
Plagiarism can be defined as using anotherπs words or ideas as your own without stating the source of information. This not only includes words or ideas, but pictures, graphs, charts, and statistics. The only case where citing is unnecessary is when the fact is common knowledge that can be found in a variety of places and most people know about it. Students who plagiarize from the internet, donπt even consider it really plagiarizing. They feel that since it is not a hard copy of the work that it really isnπt wrong. This goes back to the idea that students today arenπt even sure what to consider plagiarism.
With the creation of the World Wide Web, students have the ability to access great amounts of information at a faster speed. Years ago, in order to plagiarize students had to spend hours searching through books to copy information from to write a paper. The internet today contains information on so many topics, that is almost impossible to not find what you are looking for. There are even websites that specialize in providing students with papers. The task of plagiarizing from the internet has become so popular that according to a survey found in Education Week, ≥54% of students admitted to plagiarizing from the internet≤ (≥Statistics≤ 1). The commonness of plagiarizing has grown so much from past decades that is becoming hard to control.
Although, plagiarism has become so easily accomplished, the same can not be said for catching plagiarists. There is just too much information of the World Wide Web, that it makes it almost impossible for plagiarists to be caught in the act.
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.
When times get rough and tough it seems like most students do turn to the internet for a little extra "help". In Cybercheats it clearly shows how students use certain websites to get free or even pay for important papers and essays. As technology gets more advanced it appears that some people actually get lazier. Plagiarism plays a very important and major part in this article. It is clear that if caught plagiarizing you can be suspended, expelled, and/or receive an F on your assignment. For most students though it is worth the risk. Plagiarism is an act of cheating. Plagiarism is cheating.
In this article Gabriel asserts that in this day and age a student can go to any website and just copy and paste what they need, but when they do not document the source they have committed plagiarism. Gabriel documents various sources throughout the article such as the different cases that occurred at the Rhode Island University, DePaul University, and University of Maryland. He also pointed that it occurs outside of school environments, too, when he mentioned the bestselling
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.
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
The debate on Plagiarism is one that remains constant. Whether it is done unknowingly or with intent, the result is the same. It affects everyone. The impact it has in today’s society, mainly in the work of students, prompts the interest of both experts and students alike. What is Plagiarism? In the article, it is using words that one did not originally write in their own work without properly citing where the information came from. I will analyze the concept of plagiarism in the article “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age”, by Trip Gabriel. My focus is his ability in conveying the views of both educators and students, and what plagiarism means to them.
In order to properly learn more about plagiarism, it is important to appreciate the process of distribution and creation of ideas in the university. All knowledge is developed from preceding knowledge. As we read, revise, execute, research, and collect perspectives, we are building on other people’s thoughts. While drawing on other peoples thoughts and ideas, we manage to develop our own. In this base therefore, students should not shy away from using the work of others. Instead, they should learn how to avoid plagiarism.
The impact of plagiarism can be a self-destructive for a student. On the other hand, plagiarism may cause an instructor to feel betrayed and disrespected by a student.
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.
Plagiarism is a very serious topic to be dealt with, due to the fact that it can damage one’s future very severely. It is done often by students in high school and other institutes such as universities and colleges. People plagiarize intentionally and sometimes even unintentionally. The people who plagiarize intentionally are people who don’t really care about their future and career. The people who plagiarize unintentionally are people who do not cite their work properly and completely. Most people that plagiarize do not get a good mark and most likely have to face consequences such as failure, suspension or the chance of being expelled. In conclusion it is believed that one should not put his/her future at risk and try to expand their mind through the process of critical thinking independently, so they do not have to make the mistake of plagiarizing.
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.