Cyber Cheating: Strategies for Detecting and Preventing Plagiarism

1. Cyber Cheating: Strategies for Detecting and Preventing Plagiarism Jennifer Lagier Patty McEfee Hartnell College

2. The Problem • Technology-enabled cut and paste plagiarism. • Online paper mills. • 69% of all college professors detected one or more instances of plagiarism per year. • 1850 papers at University of Virginia checked—100 questionable submissions.

3. 3 Levels of Plagiarism • Outright cheating. • Non-attribution. • Patchwriting.

4. Online Cheatsites • SchoolSucks.com: • http://www.schoolsucks.com • Other People’s Papers: • http://oppapers.com

5. Educators Fight Back • State laws to prevent the sales of term papers, essays, reports, or dissertations. • Some states allow the college or university to seek court action to prevent paper mills from selling papers to students. • Instructional methods as well as technology can help prevent as well as detect cyber cheating.

6. Why Students Cheat • Ignorance. • To compensate for poor planning and time management skills. • Poor study skills. • Competition. • Aggressive parents.

7. Scope of the Problem • Survey of 2,200 students from 21 colleges revealed that 10 percent admitted to plagiarizing. • Out of 340 U.C. Berkeley neurobiology students, 45 had plagiarized . • University of California reported an increase from 70 cases of plagiarism in the 1994-1995 school year to 142 cases in 1999-2000. • A George Washington University professor checked every paper submitted by students in her class and found 42 submissions composed almost entirely from plagiarized information.

8. Student Tools • Better education. • Class discussions that explore the effects of plagiarism. • Online student guides. • Indiana University, http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html • Princeton University, http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html

9. Strategies for Instructors • Spot checking phrases using online databases or search engines. • Plagiarism-detector Web sites: • http://www.turnitin.com/ • http://www.canexus.com • http://plagiarism.com

10. Low-Tech Detection Strategies • Create unique assignments with specific criteria that canned papers most likely will not address. • Require students to adhere to an instructor-prepared list of unusual or narrow topics. • Insist papers contain specific components or kinds of resources. • Require students to follow a list of sequential process steps for the paper. • Require the inclusion of annotated bibliographies.

11. More Strategies • Discuss plagiarism with students. • Place the emphasis on the research process. • Require students to apply rather than describe ideas. • Include a reflection paper as a supplement to the assignment. • Design assignments that require detailed explanations, problem-solving, and decision-making.

12. Conclusions • Studies have shown that plagiarism and cyber cheating are on the rise. • Students often lack time management and organizational skills. • Increased competition and the pressure to achieve academic success combine with poor study skills, leading to serious lapses in ethical judgment.

13. Instructor Actions to Combat Plagiarism • Use of online resources. • Software tools. • Re-engineering assignments. • Assign thought-provoking topics.

14. References Academic integrity at Princeton. (N.D.). Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the world wide web: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html Argetsinger, A. (2001). Technology exposes cheating at u-Va. The Washington post online. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the world wide web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

15. References Carnevale, D. (1999). Web services help professors detect plagiarism. Chronicle of Higher Education, 46(12), 49. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from EBSCOhost (Masterfile) on-line database: http://ehostvgw2.epnet.com Flynn, L.J. (2001). The wonder years: Homework is free online. The New York Times. September 10, 2001. Retrieved April 9, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.jointpartnership.com/nytimes/

16. References Harris, R. (2002). Anti-plagiarism strategies for research papers. VirtualSalt. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm Hinchliffe, L. (1998). Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism: Preventing, Detecting and Tracking Online Plagiarism. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm

17. References Kitalong, K. (1998). A symbolic web of violence. Computers & Composition, 15, 253-263. Kleiner, C. & Lord, M. (1999). The cheating game. U.S. News and World Report, 127(20), 54-63. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from EBSCOhost Masterfile on-line database, http://ehostvgw2.epnet.com

18. References McKenzie, J. (1998). The new plagiarism: Seven antidotes to prevent highway robbery in an electronic age. From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal, 7(8). Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.fno.org/may98/cov98may.html Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it. (n.d.) Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://indiana.edu/~wts/plagiarism.html

19. References Ryan, J.J.C.H. (n.d.). Student plagiarism in an online world. PRISM Online. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.asee.org/prism/december/html/student_plagiarism in an onlin.htm Standler, R. B. (2000). Plagiarism in Colleges in U.S.A. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm

20. References Young, J.R. (2001). The cat-and-mouse game of plagiarism detection. Chronicle of Higher Education, 47, A26-27. Retrieved April 8, 2002 from EBSCOHost Masterfile on-line database, http://ehostvgw2.epnet.com

21. For more information: jlagier@hartnell.cc.ca.us mailto:pmcefee@hartnell.cc.ca.us http://www.hartnell.edu/faculty/pmcefee/cybercheating.html http://www.hartnell.edu/faculty/jlagier/CyberCheating.ppt http://www.hartnell.edu/faculty/jlagier/ccheat.htm