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Faculty Services: Plagiarism

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Keep Plagiarism out

That Cheating Heart:
Keeping Plagiarism Out of Your Classroom

Plagiarism is an ongoing problem for educators. Whether it be students who don't understand how to cite materials or papers that were bought from the internet, it is our responsibility to be aware of the problem and to take steps to guard against it.  Below you will find resources that discuss the many facets of plagiarism, including forms of plagiarism, how to construct effective assignments, how to help students avoid plagiarism, and what to look for if you suspect plagiarism. While no amount of software can entirely eradicate this problem, it is important to give both educators and students the tools for prevention and detection.

Resources for Educators

Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers - http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm
Robert Harris, author of The Plagiarism Handbook, explains plagiarism from the ground up. Beginning with why students cheat and ending with how to handle cheating when it occurs, Harris gives concrete advice and techniques to handle this complex issue.
Center for Academic Integrity - http://www.academicintegrity.org/index.php
Affiliated with the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, CAI is a consortium of over 320 institutions dedicated to the enhancement of academic integrity throughout higher education.  The web site includes useful links, updates on recent research, fellowship information, and information on their annual conference.  Mississippi State University is a CAI member.
Cheating 101: Paper Mills and You - http://www.coastal.edu/library/presentations/papermil.html
This website, created as part of a teaching effectiveness seminar at Coastal Carolina University, gives comprehensive information on kinds of plagiarism currently being perpetrated, the internet's role in the problem and what faculty can do to fight it. All of the sources from the seminar are available including an extensive list of cheat sites.
Detecting Plagiarism - http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/faculty/plagiarism/detecting.html
Developed by the University of Texas at Austin Library, this website guides faculty on how to use popular search engines such as Google to find plagiarized sources.
Plagiarism Prevention - http://www.uwplatt.edu/library/reference/plagiarism.html
This site, from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, offers useful definitions of copyright and plagiarism in addition to a lengthy bibliography of print materials and websites dealing with the issue.
Plagiarism: The Definitive Guide to Prevention - http://www.plagiarized.com/
This site provides information on how to spot plagiarism, examples of plagiarized essays from the web, and many links to resources on copyright, cheat sites and research advice.

Websites to Share with your Students

Avoiding Plagiarism - http://www.writing.nwu.edu/avoiding_plagiarism.html
This site, created by Northwestern University, gives a definition of plagiarism, tips on avoiding accidental plagiarism and examples of the most common forms of plagiarism.
Avoiding Plagiarism - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
This site, while it has the same title as the one above, was created by Purdue University and breaks down the contradictions in student's may feel about academic writing. This site not only gives students guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism, but also provides practice questions for students to test their citing and paraphrasing knowledge.
Combating Plagiarism (CQ Researcher) - http://www.cqpress.com/docs/Combating%20plagiarism.pdf
Congressional Quarterly provides free access to the September 19, 2003 issue of the CQ Researcher, dedicated to the topic "Combating Plagiarism".  Here students will find an excellent overview of the plagiarism issue, including a discussion of (in)famous writers and journalists who have been accused of plagiarism.  Includes a chronology and bibliography.
Examples of Plagiarism (Academic Integrity at Princeton) - http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html
Part of the Academic Integrity website at Princeton University, this website provides concrete examples of plagiarized text and computer code.  The website presents a primary passage and three plagiarized essays, with explanatory notes about the plagiarized text.  An excellent teaching tool!
Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it - http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
This site, from Indiana University, provides students with the tools to avoid plagiarism. Among these are examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing and definitions of terms such as Common Knowledge.
A Statement on Plagiarism - http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml
This site, created by Capital Community College, defines plagiarism and uses concrete examples to show how proper citation and paraphrasing are necessary in order to avoid plagiarism.
What is Plagiarism? - http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html
This site, created by Georgetown University's Honor Council, walks students through the many types of plagiarism that they may encounter and why it is important to use proper citation practices.

Asbury University Academic Integrity Policy

As listed in the current University Bulletin
(found here: https://www.asbury.edu/offices/registrar/bulletin)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic integrity, the embodiment of the moral and spiritual principles to which we adhere, is the essential basis of the Asbury University academic community. Integrity, as partially defined by the student or Program Handbook on Community Life Expectations, is “both knowing the right thing to do and doing it regardless of the circumstances.” This definition may be applied to all of the scholastic interactions of the academic community. Every member of the community shares responsibility for maintaining mutual trust, respect, and integrity. Violations of such trust and specific acts of academic dishonesty will be subject to disciplinary action.
 
Definitions of Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty can be defined as any type of cheating relative to a formal academic requirement. Academic dishonesty is typically thought of first as plagiarism. Plagiarism, whether intentionally or unintentionally, occurs when credit is taken for what someone else worked hard to discover and record if there is no clarification from where or from whom information is taken. Plagiarism is the use of another’s ideas, words, thoughts, or organization without appropriate credit and documentation when used for a project, paper, presentation, or exam.
More examples of academic dishonesty include , but are not limited to: unauthorized collaborations, fabrications of data, unauthorized access to sources on an exam, excessive revision by someone other than the student, re-use of previous work without permission, and other situations described by faculty for specific purposes.
 
Appeals Process
Students desiring to appeal a determination of academic dishonesty will follow the ‘Academic Appeals Procedure’ found in the Probation, Suspension, and Appeals section of the Asbury University Bulletin.
 
Determination of Academic Dishonesty and Consequences:
Faculty will address suspected occurrences of academic dishonesty as follows:
  1. The faculty member will meet with the student individually to discuss the incident. At the faculty member’s discretion, the department chair will either be notified of the meeting or be asked to be present for it.The student will be informed of the department chair’s involvement.
  2. At the faculty member’s discretion the student will receive a lowered grade, an ‘F’ or 0% on the assignment in question.
  3. The faculty member will report the incident in writing to the Registrar who will maintain a record of academic integrity violations.

a. If the incident is the student’s second offense of academic dishonesty as verified by the Registrar, the student will meet with the Dean of the college or school where the most recent incident occurred. At the Dean’s discretion, the student will receive an ‘F’ in the course.

b. If the incident is the student’s third offense, the student will be suspended from Asbury University.

[This information is located on page 19 of the current Bulletin.]

Writing Center Suggestions

The Center for Academic Excellence (aka Writing Center) posted to faculty by email two documents that might prove helpful.