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FACULTY LIBRARY AND TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP - Technology, Text & Originality

Strategies for Promoting Academic Integrity and Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism

January 22, 2003

presented by Tom Brooks, Shana Gass, and Stephen Mathis

Introduction

This afternoon you will:

  1. See examples of technology we might use to prevent/verify instances of academic dishonesty
  2. Find out about the human resources available to you and your students
  3. Consider ways to support academic integrity at Wheaton (individually, collaboratively, and within the community)

A Working Definition of Plagiarism for this session:

"Plagiarism is using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to the other person." -- The Plagiarism Handbook by Robert A. Harris

Opening Questions:

  • How many of us have encountered plagiarism at Wheaton?
  • What leads us to suspect a case of plagiarism?
  • How have we attempted to verify individual cases of plagiarism?

Detection/Verification: Demonstration

Google: Recommended Search Engine
http://www.google.com

  • Still the biggest
  • Content: Google indexes web pages, PDFs, MS Word documents, others
  • Recommended method: phrase searching.
  • Enclose phrases in quotes: "george washington" (This works in most search engines)
  • Default is Boolean AND: additional words create a more specific search (fewer records to look at!)
  • You may use Boolean OR in Google. You need to capitalize OR. Use parentheses to nest.
  • Example: "positive globalizers" (globalization OR globalisation)
  • Google limits to 10 words; 4-6 words are optimum
  • You can't truncate in Google: what you type is exactly what you get

Techniques:

  • Distinctive phrases (especially those that seem in the wrong register for the writer) Example: "cultural tapeworm"
  • Distinctive phrases in combination with words that express topic (fix the context) Example: "cultural tapeworm" television
  • A peculiar combination of words (probably nouns)-with the right combination, you may not need to phrase-search Example: manga perfume globalization
  • Take advantage of peculiar words & misspellings-and remember potential alternate spellings (such as British ones) that may have been altered

Save Your Eyes:

  • Google Cache is handy for pages no longer online, for highlighting search terms
  • Shortcut: Find in page/document command: Applekey + F or Ctrl + F

Search Engine Savvy:

Paper Mills/Essay Sites

Examples:

Lists of Paper Mills:

Search for â≈¥term papersâ≈√ at:

or see this list of Internet Paper Mills from Coastal Carolina University:
http://www.coastal.edu/library/presentations/mills2.html

Note that there are both free and fee-based services.

  • Bad news: An ever-changing landscape...sort of a hall of mirrors
  • More bad news: You won't be able to see the complete text of for-fee papers without buying them-just a title, an abstract, and sometimes the first paragraph
  • Good news: Many free essays will turn up in a general search engine search as well
  • More good news: Essays tend to be posted in multiple places (also mills may have multiple URLs)
  • Try a Google search, with the broad subject of the paper/phrase search from 1st paragraph, plus words such as essays, papers, etc.

Library Subscription Databases

Example: InfoTrac, Expanded Academic ASAP Index

Access InfoTrac through the Wallace Library Electronic Resources page:
http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/library/resources/electronic

Widely known by students at Wheaton, InfoTrac Expanded Academic covers a range of subjects and includes much full-text content.

Expanded Academic Tips:

  • Limit to full-text box to start with
  • Search in the body of the article by changing radio button to search â≈¥in entire article contentâ≈√ in the Keyword (basic) search; in Advanced search, select â≈¥text wordâ≈√ from the pulldown menu
  • String phrases together within a search box with proximity operators: Example: lethal w1 amusement w1 park
  • Truncate with an asterisk (*) to maximize the chance of locating altered text (e.g., altered verb forms) Example: motivate* finds motivate, motivates, motivated, motivator
  • Use Boolean operators from pulldown menus for more specific searching

General Tips:

  • Search either in full-text or in abstract fieldâ√˚remember that this is also a source of text
  • Use Advanced Search if possible
    (usually this makes it easier to see just what fields you are searching)
  • Every interface is different!
    Read the documentation, or ask a Reference Librarian
  • Know which electronic resources we subscribe to in your field.
    Try the Subject List of databases:
    http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/library/resources/electronic
    or ask your liaison librarian for ideas

Other multidisciplinary full-text resources at Wheaton:

  • LexisNexis Academic (news)
  • JSTOR and ScienceDirect (scholarly journals in PDF)
  • Project Muse (humanities journals)
  • Britannica Online (subscription version of Encyclopedia Britannica)

Originality Tracking

Turnitin.Com
http://www.turnitin.com
(formerly known as Plagiarism.Org; Turnitin.Com continues to run this site)

  • Student papers uploaded (batch uploading possible); Originality Report generated "within 24 hours"
  • Paper can be uploaded by student or professor; some choose to upload en masse, others only when a paper is suspicious
  • All student papers become part of Turnitin's local database
  • Text is compared to pages indexed from the Web with a focus on â≈¥online paper mills, academic resources, online encyclopedias, and news agenciesâ≈√; own local database of already-submitted student papers
  • Pay service: individual, departmental, and institutional subscriptions available
  • Free individual trial available: 1 month, 5 Originality Reports included
  • Some schools now subscribing: Swarthmore; Duke; BU; Cornell; Wesleyan, CT

Literature Search

  • Approach would depend on subject.
  • Consultation with a liaison librarian recommended-acquainted with local resources, sources of full text in specific field; versed in subject searching in various resources to pinpoint material.

Remember. . .

As always, your liaison librarian can assist you with searching technique/source selection.

At your request, your liaison librarian can also help you track down the sources of suspected plagiarismâ√˚we understand how onerous searching for plagiarized sources can be.

Prevention of Plagiarism, Promotion of Academic Integrity

Questions: How can we be proactive in promoting academic integrity?

  • Have you altered your approach (to assignment design, citation education, class expectations, etc.) as a result of experiences with student plagiarism?
  • If you have not faced a case of possible plagiarism, do you have any strategies for minimizing that possibility?
  • How can faculty work together, and faculty, library and technology staff collaborate to support academic integrity at Wheaton?
  • Can you envision next steps to continue this conversation?

Acknowledgements

Shana would like to thank Lisa Lebduska, for sharing materials, ideas, and time discussing the topics of this session-and Marcia Grimes and Zeph Stickney, for their thoughtfulness (in both senses of the word) in helping to shape the hour. As always, Margaret Gardner imparted a particularly cogent insight.

The following presentations were especially valuable in preparing this workshop. Their web sites include much intriguing supporting material in their own right-bibliographies, comparisons of plagiarism detection software, etc.

Plagiarism: Strategies for Addressing and Preventing Plagiarism in the Digital Age, by K. Michaelsen, Seattle Central Community College Library, February 2002
http://www.seattlecentral.org/faculty/kmicha/plagiarism

*Preventing, Detecting & Dealing with Plagiarism: A Workshop Coordinated by the Oberlin College Library, January 10, 2002
http://www.oberlin.edu/library/programs/plagiarism

Bibliography

Starred items are especially recommended for addressing the issues in a comprehensive fashion.

Reading Packet Articles
Washington Post Magazine article & Chronicle of Higher Education articles can be found in LexisNexis Academic

Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2002). Defining and avoiding plagiarism: The WPA statement on promising practices.
http://www.ilstu.edu/~ddhesse/wpa/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf

Foster, A. L. (2002, May 17). Plagiarism-detection tool creates legal quandary. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 37.

Fister, B. (2001). Reintroducing students to good research. http://www.gac.edu/~fister/LakeForest.html

Howard, R.M. (2001, Nov. 16). Forget about policing plagiarism. Just teach. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 24.

Kellogg, A.P. (2002, Feb. 15). Students plagiarize online less than many think, a new study finds. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 44.

Nietzel, M. (2001, Dec. 21). The wrong way to fight plagiarism. [Letter to the editor.] Chronicle of Higher Education, p. 22.

Schulte, B. (2002, Sept. 15). Cheatin', writin', & 'rithmetic: How to succeed in school without really trying. Washington Post Magazine, p. W16.

Academic Integrity Web Sites

*Academic Integrity in the Classroom: A Selected List of Resources for the University of Michigan
http://www.lib.umich.edu/acadintegrity

Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University
http://www.academicintegrity.org
Wheaton is a member organization.

Plagiarism: Definitions, Diagnoses, Preventions, & Cures for Students and Faculty at the University of Minnesota
http://cisw.cla.umn.edu/plagiarism

Bibliographies & Webliographies

Current Issues and Resources: Plagiarism, University of Maryland University College
http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/links_plagiarism.html

*Plagiarism by librarian Sharon Stoerger
http://www.web-miner.com/plagiarism.htm
Wealth of links, including articles, plagiarism detection, paper mills...Material originally gathered for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Plagiarism Resource Site by Prof. Lou Bloomfield , University of Virginia
http://plagiarism.phys.virginia.edu
Focuses on plagiarism detection.
[Bloomfield devised a computer program that showed that 158 of his students had plagiarized; 45 students were expelled from U.Va as a result. See: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,45802,00.html]

Books & Articles

Auer, N. J. & Krupar, E.M.. (2001). Mouse click plagiarism: The role of technology in plagiarism and the librarian's role in combating it. Library Trends, 49(3), 15-32.
Available from InfoTrac Expanded Academic Index ASAP database.

Bodi, S.(1998). Ethics & information technology: Some principles to guide students. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 24(6), 459-463.

Bricault, D. (1998). Legal aspects of academic dishonesty: Policies, perceptions, and realities.
http://campus.northpark.edu/esl/dishnst.html

*[Carbone, N.] Thinking and talking about plagiarism. (2001). Bedford St. Martins TechNotes.
http://bedfordstmartins.com/technotes/techtiparchive/ttip102401.htm

Buranen, L. & Roy, A. M. editors. (1999). Perspectives on Plagiarism and Intellectual Property in a Postmodern World.Albany: State University of New York Press.
Stacks PN 167 .P47 1999

Gajadhar, J. (1998). Issues in plagiarism for the new millennium: An assessment odyssey. UltiBase.
http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/dec98/gajad1.htm

*Harris, R.A. (2001). The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for preventing, detecting, and dealing with plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pryczak.
Stacks PN167 .H37 2001

Hincliffe, L. (1998). Cut-and-paste plagiarism: Preventing, detecting and tracking online plagiarism.
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm.

Howard, R.M. (1999). Standing in the Shadows of Giants: Plagiarists, Authors, Collaborators. Stamford: Ablex.
Stacks PN 167 .H69 1999

LaFollette, M.C. (1992.) Stealing into Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Misconduct in Scientific Publishing. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.
Stacks Z286 .S4 L33 1992

Lester, M.C. & Diekhoff, G.M. (2002). A comparison of traditional and Internet cheaters. Journal of College Student Development, 34(6), 906-911.

Mallon, T. (1989). Stolen words: Forays into the origins and ravages of plagiarism. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
Stacks PN167 .H37 2001

McCabe, D. L. & Trevino, L. K. (1996). What we know about cheating in college: Longitudinal trends and recent developments. Change, 28(1), 28-33.
Available from InfoTrac Expanded Academic Index ASAP.

Murray, B. (2002). Keeping plagiarism at bay in the Internet age. Monitor on Psychology, 33(2).
http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb02/plagiarism.html

Roig, M. (2001). Plagiarism and paraphrasing criteria of college and university professors. Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 307-323.

Roig, M., & DeTommaso, L. (1995). Are college cheating and plagiarism related to academic procrastination? Psychological Reports, 77(2), 691-698.

Tenpenny, P. L., Keriazakos, M.S., Lew, G.S., & Phelan, T.P. (1998). In search of inadvertent plagiarism. American Journal of Psychology, 111(4), 529-559.
Available from InfoTrac Expanded Academic Index ASAP.

Whitley, B.E. & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2002). Academic dishonesty: An educator's guide. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Stacks LB 3609 .W45 2002

Wilhoit, S. (1994). Helping students avoid plagiarism. College Teaching, 42(4),161-164.


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