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Plagiarism Goes High-Tech
Student Judicial Affairs Evaluates New Prevention Tools
Like it has with most things, the Internet has contributed a unique twist to the phenomenon of plagiarism. Rather than consciously copying text from a book in one's own hand, plagiarism can now consist of simple keyboard Cut and Paste keyboard commands on computer. Students have found that entire papers are available for the taking on the Web. A student who faces writing struggles or an imminent deadline in the middle of the night can find the Internet to be a very tempting friend. During the 2001-2002 academic year, 78 of the 142 cases of suspected plagiarism referred to Student Judicial Affairs on campus were identified as plagiarism from the Internet. This new high-tech plagiarism challenges instructors and students alike. Tools for Instructors
Student Judicial Affairs has found that the first line of defense against plagiarism is the instructor's expert ability to notice when the writing style of a paper seems inconsistent, too polished, or unmatched with the assignment topic. To find the source of suspect passages or papers, the Internet has given instructors equally powerful detection tools in search engines and plagiarism detection services. Just typing a suspect phrase in quotation marks using a search engine like Google often yields one or multiple Web sites from which information was borrowed. UC Davis is currently evaluating a popular plagiarism detection service called Turn It In, which checks for a submitted text on the Internet as well as an ever growing database of submitted papers. The system uses color coding to mark material that has been plagiarized. It also provides the source of the borrowed material. UC Davis has a license to use Turn It In until the end of December 2002, allowing for the submission of up to 20,000 student papers. Any instructor who would like to assist in the evaluation of Turn It In may contact Student Judicial Affairs at 752-1128 or email SJA at sja@ucdavis.edu. Tips for Students
Student Judicial Affairs notes that many students have expressed doubt about how to correctly cite sources of information on the Internet. An excellent reference guide for doing so can be found on the UC Davis Library Web site. This site contains standard citation forms from the major style manuals for electronic resources. Students should also choose their Web sources wisely, since many Web sites contain unreliable information. The UC Davis library offers an excellent guide to the many established journals or periodicals that are now published online. After all, some Internet sources are as accurate and long lasting as television infomercials, changing or disappearing altogether over time. When in doubt, students should print a copy of their Web sources and hand them in with the paper. The tools for conducting research and checking papers have certainly changed in an electronically-connected world; however, the basic skills required for conducting sound research and good writing have not. Students can seek assistance with writing projects from the Writing Specialists at the Learning Skills Center (2205 Dutton Hall). The professional staff at Student Judicial Affairs is available to provide orientation sessions and workshops to Instructors and Teaching Assistants about confronting and reporting academic dishonesty. More information is available by calling Student Judicial Affairs at 752-1128. Send us your comments on this story. |
