Combating Plagiarism Partnering with faculty to eliminate academic crime Image accessed at April 21, 2008.

Who is Cheating? “I have been teaching 10 years in the college classroom and within the last 18 months I have seen a drastic and within the last 18 months I have seen a drastic increase in incidents in my freshman/sophomore survey increase in incidents in my freshman/sophomore survey courses.” - AASU History Instructor courses.” - AASU History Instructor ► 40% of students admitted to plagiarizing from written sources; 38% to “cut and paste” from internet sources  Donald McCabe at Rutgers University (New York Times, 2003)

Why are they cheating? ► Competition / pressure for high grades ► Poor time management ► Poor research skills ► Lack of interest in the topic ► Low self-confidence in their own abilities ► Genuine ignorance of academic standards

How can Librarians help? “I think some of them [students] really don’t get why this is wrong. It’s hard to hold them accountable if no one has ever explained exactly hard to hold them accountable if no one has ever explained exactly what’s ok and what’s not.” what’s ok and what’s not.” - AASU History Assistant Professor. - AASU History Assistant Professor. ► In our roles as facilitators of research, instructors, and defenders of intellectual freedom, it falls under our auspices to assist in student education on academic integrity.

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration What Library was doing: ► Plagiarism tutorial on library website ► Integrated into library information literacy sessions by request History Dept. concerns: ► Large increase in # of students brought in on plagiarism charges ► Differing opinions within the department on how to pursue the charges and ambiguity on the procedure.

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration Desired Outcomes: ► Creation of a stand-alone class developed and presented by a librarian on the topic of plagiarism. ► Framed within the context of the discipline. ► To be required of all History majors. ► Taught in conjunction with the Introduction to Historical Research Methods course, but also available to all members of department.

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration Lesson Plan Objectives: ► Understanding of the ethical reasons against plagiarism ► Discipline-specific expectations of academic integrity ► Emphasis on integrating research into writing : when to use quotes, paraphrase or summary ► Practice of MLA style for bibliographic citation

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration Lesson Plan Outline Part 1: Class Discussion ► Allow students to discuss together the definition of plagiarism, the importance of citation, the reasons why plagiarism happens & why it is wrong. ► Clarity of AASU honor code and repercussions ► Plagiarism cases in the news – why it matters in “real” life

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration Lesson Plan Outline Part 2: Citing Your Sources ► Clarity & Practice on  Direct quotes  Paraphrase  Summary ► Bibliography vs. Internal Citations ► Definition of “Common Knowledge”, Public Domain and Fair Use. ► Discussion of research & time management techniques to avoid the temptation.

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration Lesson Plan Outline Part 3: Practice ► In-class assignment to practice reading & understanding material, writing skills and citation practice.

Case Study at AASU : Lane Library & History Dept. Collaboration What worked? ► Student participation in the discussion helps to establish peer norms for academic integrity. ► Participants were more likely to contact me or their instructor for help on their research and citations. ► Very good relationships with faculty who have participated; strong support from the head of the department. What needs work? ► System to track that all majors have attended ► Further clarity for faculty within the department on process to address suspicions ► Scheduling open sessions to address current students beyond the intro course. ► Getting “buy-in” from all the dept. faculty – some believe that they should not have to devote class time to this topic.

Best Practices : how librarians can promote academic integrity ► Discipline-based instruction can result in increased interest from students. ► Offer faculty a tutorial on how to prevent plagiarism and how to detect it. ► Offer faculty assistance in planning plagiarism- proof assignments. ► Remind students of appropriate note-taking and citations in all your interactions with them. ► Use stand-alone tutorials (ex. Web-based) as a support tool and not your only teaching tool.

Best Practices in Assignment Design ► Process-based assignments ► Focus on critical thinking ► Clearly state expectations at the outset ► Allow students to pick their own topic ► Limit the number or kinds of sources they can use ► Require students to keep research notes ► Require an annotated bibliography ► More assignments so no one project bears the full weight of the grade ► Require an in-class writing sample at the start of the course

Possible Creative Assignments ► Write a book or article review. ► Write an opinion-based editorial. ► Fact-check a newspaper article. ► Annotate a chapter in a novel. ► Research project with final oral presentation rather than a written paper. ► Compare & contrast 2-3 websites on a topic regarding content, bias, authority, etc. ► Analyze a primary source and place it in historical context. ► ????

Resources ► Auer, N., & Krupar, E. (2001). Mouse Click Plagiarism: The Role of Technology in Plagiarism and the Librarian's Role in Combating It. Library Trends, 49(3), 415. Retrieved July 17, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. ► Caravello, Patti Schifter. (2006). Into the Breach: Teaching Graduate Students to Avoid Plagiarism. In D. Cook & N. Cooper (Eds.), Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Social Sciences Students and Practitioners: A Casebook of Applications (pp ). Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. ► Ercegovac, Zorana & Richardson, John V., Jr. (2004) Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism included, in the Digital Age: A Literature Review. College & Research Libraries, 65(4), Retrieved July 10, 2004 from Wilson Omnifile database. ► Johnson, Doug (2004) Plagiarism-proofing Assignments. Phi Delta Kappan, 85 (7), Retrieved July 10, 2008 from Academic Search Complete database. ► Lampert, Lynn (2004) Integrating discipline-based anti-plagiarism instruction into the information literacy curriculum. Reference Services Review, 32(4), Retrieved July 10, 2008 from Proquest Research Library database. ► Rimer, Sara. (2003, September 3). A Campus Fad That's Being Copied: Internet Plagiarism Seems on the Rise. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. B.7. Retrieved July 17, 2008, from New York Times database. (Document ID: ). ► Wood, Gail & Warnken, Paula (2004) Academic Original Sin : Plagiarism, the Internet and Librarians. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (3), Retrieved July 10, 2008 from Wilson Omnifile database.