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. Before the 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)Referencing for Business

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 why it’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 (Accessed May 3, 2004) Carroll, J. (2002) Dealing with plagiarism, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Brookes University m.pdf m.pdf (Accessed May 6, 2004) York University (2002) A Sampling of strategies to help discourage plagiarism in assignment design (Accessed May 3, 2004)