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Educator's Voice

Volume 5, Issue 4
April 14, 2004

Online Plagiarism: Copy and Paste or Cite and Paraphrase?

So the story goes that in the mid 1990s, a group of fraternities and sororities was sent an e-mail message explaining that there was a new site dedicated to providing free reports, papers, and essays to college students. But that's an urban legend, right? Before we continue, let's check out one or more of the following:

www.schoolsucks.com
123helpme.com
www.oppapers.com
www.a1-termpaper.com

I have attended several conference breakout sessions that deal with plagiarism in the online classroom. It is of great concern to most faculty and administrators, and the reasons for this are obvious. But recently, I was interested to hear some conference speakers discuss why students cheat, as well as how to handle it. Citing studies and research from the mouths of students, they came up with this information. Basically, the main reasons were three-fold:

1. Pressure: Pressure from family, be it parents, grandparents, or spouses, cause such angst in people that they feel plagiarism is a reasonable solution.
2. Practicality: As we know about adult learners, there must be some degree of application for any given topic or there will be little desire to learn. Many students feel that a specific course or concept is a "hoop" or "necessary evil" and therefore, cheating is appropriate.
3. Grade Maintenance: I was surprised (and I think most in the audience agreed) to find that most plagiarism came at the hands of the "A-B" student. Those who definitely could do the work often spent more time trying to find a way around the work than the original work would have ever taken to keep their good grades!

Now you might be asking, "so what?" Why does it matter what the motivation is for cheating -- it's still cheating? In one sense, you are right. All of the excuses in the world do not change the fact that it is wrong. However, perhaps you might consider filtering your course material through a different lens. As you present course content, ask yourself some questions:

1. Is this information designed for my audience?
2. Is there some practical application of this material?
3. Am I challenging my students without overloading them?
4. How well do I know my students?

These are important questions for any educator at any level. However, it does not necessarily erase the issue. So, let's look at some practical strategies for trying to overcome plagiarism in the online arena.

1. Prevent: Place a link or two in your syllabus directing students to one of the links listed below. These plagiarism detection sites can be intimidating to students who think their term paper is only a copy and paste away. Sometimes the simple act of viewing these Web sites can deter would-be cheaters. Remember this important concept: Perception Determines Reality!

   www.turnitin.com
   www.canexus.com/eve/index.shtml
   plagiarism.com
   www.wordchecksystems.com

2. Prevent: Let students know that you are aware of the paper repositories available on the Internet. In fact, consider taking them there to show them a poor example of a paper. When they see that your standards are higher than these papers present, it might also help deter plagiarism.
3. Prevent: Give specific directions. A general, ambiguous title or set of directions makes it much easier to find a paper on the Internet. "Write about the Civil War" is much easier to find than, "Explain in 7-9 pages how the Civil War brought economic ruin to one of the southern states," etc.
4. Detection: You can use any of the sites listed here, but you also might simply consider www.google.com or some other search engine. Place a paragraph of text into the "search" field and look for an exact match (the "I'm feeling lucky" button in Google).
5. Detection: Know your students' writing styles. Use threads and "mini-papers" about very specific subjects to determine each student's writing style. After all, this is how many papers written by an older sibling or spouse have been detected in the live classroom! The same principles work online.
6. Detection: Check for citations and sources! It's a good idea to require that specific books or sources be used for research, but don't forget to check the citations of the papers you receive. Even if it's random, you might turn up something.

Finally, there are a lot of resources and references out there. Don't let your students be the only ones to use them! Type "plagiarism" into a search engine and see what pops up. Here are a few teacher resources to get you started:

www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html
www.wiu.edu/users/mfbhl/wiu/plagiarism.htm
www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html

And there are many more! Be diligent and don't let it catch you off guard. It's just a new set of resources for the ethical and the unethical alike -- we just have to more industrious, right?

By the way, there have been no significant studies to show that plagiarism or cheating take place more in online classes than face-to-face. These plagiarism sites are equal opportunity offenders, not concerned with the medium at all. If someone wants to cheat badly enough, they will try to find a way. In fact, I know a man who paid for his entire college experience at a very prestigious university -- tuition, books, spending money - by taking classes for other people. His "job" was to pose as that person all semester and get an "A" or a "B" for them. This was long before online classes existed… but that's another article. Good luck and good teaching!

       --Jeff D Borden, M.A.

TIP

When Students Don't Discuss As You Want Them To

I have frequently encountered instructors who tell me that they love threaded discussions. With great enthusiasm, they report observing a lot of thoughtful discourse, both with and amongst their students. On the other hand, I have more often come across instructors who ask: "How can I get my students to participate more, as well as more effectively, in my threaded discussions?" Sometimes just puzzled and other times utterly disappointed, many of these instructors describe how they invite their students to participate in discussions, but get little or no response.

So, for some time now, I have puzzled over (and researched) what it is that leads to the difference, and what kinds of things more successful instructors (i.e., those having good discussions) might be doing to ensure good participation in threaded discussions? Here are a few of my more significant findings:

Recruit or Promote Inquiring Minds! Some of the more successful instructors have a lot of students who have what we might call "inquiring minds." Many of the students who have enrolled in their courses are pretty bright and appear to know that to learn, it is useful to take some initiative and ask good questions. These learners expect active discourse of themselves, their teachers, and their classmates. They know how to formulate good questions. And, they know that good teachers appreciate active, thoughtful and energetic students. It would appear that many of the more effective instructors are knowingly or unknowingly recruiting the right kinds of students. It would also seem that many of these teachers also create conditions that attract or create such students; that is, they teach in such a way that enables more "average" students to participate well in discussions.

Clear Communication of Expectations. Going beyond a simple invitation to join in the discussions, most of the more successful instructors make it very clear as to what they consider to be appropriate performance. They describe how, as well as how often, students are to participate (e.g., "you are to log into each week's discussion at least twice a week, once before Wednesday, to respond to the initial question posted, and again later in the week, before Saturday at 6 p.m., to respond to at least two of your classmates' responses").

Samples, Examples, Guidelines. The more successful instructors often provide additional guidelines. They might provide a handout describing the importance of, as well as how to go about, asking good questions (e.g., That's A Good Question). And some even provide the transcript of a good discussion from an earlier class -- one in which it's clear that simple "off-the-cuff" opinions are not sufficient, but rather that critical thinking, logical analysis, and supportive evidence is valued.

Make It Count. Without exception, those instructors who appear to be getting the most effective results make it clear that participation counts in a variety of ways. They know that students tend to ignore that which does not get a grade. So, they let their students know that it is not optional and a significant portion of their grade will depend on the quantity and quality of participation. They may further provide their students with a description of their grading rubric for online participation (e.g. Grading Online Discussion Participation: A Sample Rubric; Discussion Board Grading Rubric).

Active, Supportive Mentoring. Finally, the most successful instructors are very active and supportive. They reach out to all students, particularly the most tentative. They actively find ways to comment positively or reinforce the contributions of students, and provide corrective feedback in sensibly sensitive ways. They model the asking of good questions with an eye toward promoting higher-order thinking (as described in Asking Good Questions).

So, the next time you wonder about why students don't discuss as you want them to, think about it. And then try experimenting with some of the above methods. It will take some planning, some time, and some effort, but you might discover some interesting, inquiring minds in your class! (If you have another suggestion for promoting better participation in an online class, please feel free to let me know. I'd love to hear from you, and you can reach me easily at edl@eCollege.com. Thanks!)

       --Edward H. Ladon, Ph.D.