Academic Integrity in the 21 st Century Collegiate Environment

Focus on Plagiarism: Basic Questions to Ask How big an issue is it? Where do we find it happening? What form/s does it take? What are the root causes? What are the solutions? What makes it an important educational issue?

Basic Questions to Ask 1. How big an issue is it? –What is the extent of the problem? (Substantial Interest from 2011 National Institute Roundtable) –Is our information more than anecdotal? Are there data?

Basic Questions to Ask 2.Where do we find it happening? –Online program assignments –Traditional classroom assignments –Portfolio essays

Basic Questions to Ask 3. What form does it take? What are the root causes? What are the solutions?

turning in someone else's work as your own copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit - no citation failing to put a quotation in quotation marks giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit – paraphrasing without credit copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules) (from internet site Plagiarism.org: Types/Forms of Plagiarism

Basic Questions to Ask 4. What are the root causes of plagiarism? Dishonesty Lack of knowledge Educational immaturity Cultural issues Information overload – electronic media

Effects of Electronic Media –Wikipedia –Social Media –Mash-ups –Internet “Certainly attention spans seem shorter these days, and the line between actual thinking and mere aggregation grows ever blurrier.”* * Hallberg,, Garth Risk Review of Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation, by Tom Bissell. The New York Times Book Review, 6 May, 2012.

Basic Questions to Ask 5.What are the solutions? –Better detection Turnitin or other plagiarism detection software Google or other search engines Context Writing style –Barriers to detection Evaluator/mentor time Lack of detection software

Solutions? –Review of institutional policies: Look at consistency among campus-wide published sources – Examples –Catalog –Student Handbook –Website – Institutional approach: Punitive or “Developmental” Consistency in executing policies

Solutions Continued Review ways assignments are given. How is portfolio handled? –Course match –Course challenge –Life essay

Why Is Academic Integrity Important? Intellectual honesty Information Literacy –With a information-saturated landscape, students need to know how to evaluate quality of the information received. –Citation helps students identify and think about sources – Primary, secondary, etc. Original Thought –Develop the capacity through analysis and critical thought to develop original ideas –Develop confidence in intellectual skills

Carleen Baily Program Advisor Thomas Edison State College x3435