1. Plagiarism Workshop Noel Raftery 31.01.2008

2. Acknowledgement This presentation is an edited version of an online presentation by George Siemens, an Instructor at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is available at http://www.elearnspace.org/presentations/plagiar ism.ppt http://www.elearnspace.org/presentations/plagiar ism.ppt

3. Definition “the act of passing off as one's own the ideas or writings of another." http://www11.georgetown.edu/programs/gervase /hc/plagiarism.html

4. It’s not just students… Academics, research, authors Claiming work as own, or using without appropriate acknowledgement, are forms of plagiarism, academic dishonesty, or (at minimum) ethical lapses

5. But… This workshop is focusing on plagiarism as an obstacle to “fair and consistent assessment of learners”, a HETAC prerequisite for programme validation (see IT Sligo QA Procedures) It applies to learners presenting work for assessment in part or whole fulfillment of the requirements for a course

6. Prevalence 80% of college students have cheated 54% of college students admit to plagiarizing from internet 47% say instructors ignore known issues of cheating 55% of instructors say they wouldn’t be willing to devote real time to document suspected plagiarism http://www.plagiarism.org

7. Types and degrees Types Accidental Intentional Degrees Limited Significant

8. Some Issues How do we define individual contributions when society increasingly values collaborative work efforts? Assessment at a higher level –Compile –Analyse –Synthesise –Evaluate

9. Approaches to dealing with plagiarism 1.Reactive: Detection and disciplinary procedures 2.Proactive: Prevention by redesigning learning activities and assessment model

10. The reactive approach (Detection and disciplinary procedures) Detection is never as good as prevention Time consumed by disciplinary procedures, etc Culture of distrust Core problem not addressed: teaching the learner to perform at a higher authentic level

11. The proactive approach (Redesigning learning activities and assessment model) Embed plagiarism prevention as strand through all courses and programmes Clarify what plagiarism means for learners Assist learners in avoiding plagiarism Know how to recognise plagiarism

12. Embed plagiarism prevention as strand through all courses and programmes See plagiarism prevention as a learning tool and specify where it is to be covered in syllabus Design assignments to minimise risk of plagiarism If this is not practical, design assignments to minimise risk of non-detection of plagiarism by lecturer, e.g., incorporate interview

13. Clarify what plagiarism means for learners Provide written requirements for each assignment including marking scheme Provide detailed written information to students on the procedures, mechanisms and regulations for continuous assessment including plagiarism

14. Assist learners in avoiding plagiarism Define the requirements for quotations and citation in the assignment and specify a style, e.g., the Harvard System Incorporate simple examples of citation in the handout and refer learners to more detailed explanations (see link on last slide) Explain paraphrasing (see link on last slide) Explain how to keep track of sources Ask for outline, draft, and final reports Detail appropriate collaboration

15. Know how to recognise plagiarism Know your subject area and sources Identify inconsistent writing styles in written assignments Use Google Use Turnitin

16. Links The Harvard system – see website http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/ harvard.html (University of Queensland) http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/ harvard.html How to Paraphrase - see “Plagiarism - what it is and how to recognise and avoid it”, http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagi arism.shtml (Indiana State University) http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagi arism.shtml Google - http://www.google.comhttp://www.google.com Turnitin - http://www.turnitin.comhttp://www.turnitin.com