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Students & plagiarism. Common issues & solutions for academic integrity. Common issues in plagiarism. Students often plagiarize for the following reasons: lack of knowledge / understanding ease of opportunity cultural differences in academic traditions. Lack of knowledge / understanding.
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Students & plagiarism Common issues & solutions for academic integrity
Common issues in plagiarism Students often plagiarize for the following reasons: • lack of knowledge / understanding • ease of opportunity • cultural differences in academic traditions.
Lack of knowledge / understanding • Students do not know how to reference • Students do not know when to reference • Students do not know what to reference including paraphrases • Students do not understand why they have to reference
Solutions Students need the opportunity to learn how, why and when to reference. Beforethe first assignment is due. • Provide students with details of required referencing systems, e.g. Harvard, APA. • Provide students with referencing models customized for your area. • Use citations in lecture materials as referencing ‘models’ for students • Request referencing workshops from the Learning Skills Unit • Further information / resources • RMIT assessment charter • How to avoid Plagiarism • RMIT library – referencing resources • Referencing for Business (interactive resource using Harvard)
Ease of opportunity • The nature of assignments could make it easy for students to copy information, e.g. questions are too broad • The same assignments are ‘reused’ every year • It is easy to copy from the Internet. • There is little checking of references
Solutions Relate assignment tasks to specific and/or ‘real world’ topics so that it is more difficult for students to copy information. Compare the following questions: • What are the fundamental distinctions between modernisation and socialist theories of development? • What are the fundamental distinctions between modernisation and socialist theories of development? Discuss using case studies from three developing countries. • Outline the major changes in the history of wine making. • What relevance does the history of wine making have to contemporary wine making practice in Australia? Use relevant industry examples in your answer.
Solutions ( continued) • Change your assessment tasks each year • Randomly check references • Design assessment tasks which focus on students’ ability to analyse and synthesize ideas rather than describe or report existing information
Cultural differences & academic traditions • Acknowledging the ideas of others is new to many students from Confucian heritage countries. • The concept of ‘ownership’ of discourse may be alien to students; intellectual property is sometimes seen as public property.
Solutions • Explain to students the practice of citing sources. Discuss whyit’s important and how it’s done. • Stress the importance of proper referencing in marking criteria. • Give early feedback on assignments.
Further information To discuss strategies to help your students avoid plagiarism, contact your portfolio Key Learning Advisor in the Learning Skills Unit. Business: Lila Kemlo Design & Social Context: Jen Anderson Science,Engineering &Technology: Elizabeth McAspurn Online referencing materials: Barbara Morgan
Bibliography: • Carroll J (2002) A handbook for deterring plagiarism in higher education, Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Website supporting this publication: • Carroll, J. Deterring plagiarism in higher education http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/4_resource/plagiarism.html (Accessed May 3, 2004) • Carroll, J. (2002) Dealing with plagiarism, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Brookes University http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/briefing_papers/plagiarism.pdf (Accessed May 6, 2004) • York University (2002) A Sampling of strategies to help discourage plagiarism in assignment designhttp://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity/assignments.htm (Accessed May 3, 2004)
