Plagiarism and the Internet
It appears that plagiarism is a problem that has very unclear guidelines according to most. People seem to be struggling with the concept of it in regards to the internet because others do realize the vastness of information on the internet is very difficult to regulate in plagiarism.
The realization is that in many institutions instructors simply overlook the crime because they themselves find it too tedious to check all the information on the websites to verify their originality. This seems shocking because of all the warnings students receive about plagiarism.
The largest concern it seems is finding ways to sift through all the information that is turned in for a paper. One of the websites used to aide in this process is turnitin.com. It is a place where students can send their papers to be checked. It searches the internet and finds anything that is plagiarized in the entire paper. This then also rids the instructor from having to check all the sources the student used because that is what the website does. "Who wants to sit around looking for websites trying to find out if a paper is plagiarized or not... pretty soon you're a private investigator." -- a Stanford University professor, from an article in TechWeb News. (http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism_stats.html)
While the internet is so huge and many ideas circulate throughout it at all times, there are proper ways to do a research paper without having a problem with plagiarism. There are several websites that list the proper way to cite several types of information on the web. There are plenty of resources available giving out information and warnings about plagiarism.
One website offers information about the situations instructor face when dealing with students who plagiarize. The website commented that it is something that can be ¡Ýa painful, time-consuming experience for faculty.¡Ü Because there are different levels of plagiarism sometimes faculty feel that the punishments that universities give are too much and need to vary with the level of plagiarism.
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.
The problem of plagiarism has increased drastically over the years with all of the new electronic sources. Now, all that the student has to do is to copy an article, highlight it and paste it into a word processing program. It was not much harder for a student to plagiarize before the Internet. A lazy student could easily copy an entire section out of a book word for word and conveniently “forget” to cite the reference from which it came. It would take the professor forever to find this source especially if it was not well known. With just some quick manipulating of words, professors can be tricked into believing that they are looking at a new original work.
There is much more to plagiarism than most people think. To the average individual, that person probably thinks plagiarism is simply copying an original work and thinking it is not a big deal. I used to think this way also, until reality gave me a good slap across the face. Truthfully, plagiarism is a huge issue and is in fact a crime punishable by several means.
In conclusion plagiarism can occur intentionally or unintentionally but overall it is up to the student to avoid at all costs. Recognizing ideas of those who created them should be second to none when using information to support your hypothesis or theory. The policy for Academic Integrity is in place for a good reason and establishes an honor code between students and faculty. A student must ask plenty of questions and utilize available resources when they are unsure about citing a source or creating enough originality to create a legitimate product. Referencing sources often provide credibility and strengthen a student’s point of view (Neville). To be successful through this process a student must understand policies and procedures in place, the consequences if rules and regulations are not followed, and the tools available to prevent academic dishonesty.
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.
Plagiarism takes various forms. A student may cheat doing something as extreme as purchasing a paper, hiring someone to write a paper or turning in a paper freely provided by a friend. Many students unknowingly commit Plagiarism by failing to properly cite their sources crediting the authors. Still others cite, but plagiarize by coping much too much and writing far, far too little of their own synthesized thoughts and ideas. Students must be careful about copying too much. If a paper is mostly other writers’ material, that can be considered Plagiarism, even if the student credits their sources.
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 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.