A couple of weeks ago we had a discussion on plagiarism, and basically if one is caught plagiarizing, then it is assumed that this was done "intentionally."
I had a problem with this. Why? Well, we are in "school" right? And in school one is supposed to "learn," right? Well, the concept of "learning" presupposes that one will make a mistake, otherwise, then they do not need to "learn"; they've alread done it correct. But, when it comes to plagiarism, learning is punished, or it appears to be.
In another class of mine, Hist. 251A, we had to take a plagiarism quiz. We had to study for the quiz at this anti-plagiarism web site, (the url is pasted in the "Labels for this post:").
It actually was kind of interesting visiting the web site, and learning about plagiarism and copyright, etc. I learned about the spirit behind having a well-documented paper, which is to show one's authority, and it encourages something called "academic integrity," which is kind of inspiring.
However, the web site also states: "Plagiarism, whether or not it is intentional, is looked upon as an academic crime." And they say some pretty serious things if one is caught plagiarizing, such as "the saction for any violation is severe." (Btw, this is a university web site).
Wow, are they serious? And yet plagiarism happens, does it not? If you go to Wikipedia and type in "List of plagiarism controversies," you'll see quite a few, too numerous for me to mention. Rembember Jason Blair? Or George Harrison?
Yep, both guilty of plagiarism.
Well, I supposed that most acts of plagiarism, outside of school, are done intentionally for personal profit.
I would argue though that in school, most acts of plagiarism are unintentional. Even if someone intentially steals someone else's work, I don't necessarily think that they're doing it because they want to cheat the system. I think they're doing it because they do not know how to do it correctly, or maybe they are too frightened that their own work is not going to be good enough. In other words they think they're going to be punished. So, like any intelligent person, they weigh the consequences.
To put this plagiarism issue in a different light, I'd like to refer to Kate Turabian. Under the heading "Guard against inadvertent Plagiarism," the authors write, "Many instructors warn against plagiarism but don't explain it, because they think it is always an act of deliberate dishonesty that needs no explanation." They go on to say that there are instances of deliberate plagiarism, such as when a student purchases a completed paper.
But in some cases, students do not know they are plagiarizing; they continue: "But many students fail to realize that they risk being charged with plagiarism even if they were not intentionally dishonest, but only ignorant or careless." (Turabian, 77).
Yes, sometimes we can be ignorant or careless.
I honestly believe that since plagiarism is such a serious issue, we should have more instruction on it. I've gone to school now for a number of years, and I've never been formally instructed on plagiarism. I've just been told "don't plagiarize."
This is really a criticism of our education system, which is considered "traditional," and punitive. I'd like to make an unequivical statement: Learning should never be punished. Never. In other words, if a student is caught plagiarizing, they maybe be something that the student needs to learn, and this should be looked at an encouraged.
I will say that if a student intentionally steals someone elses work, or intentionally takes credit for work that is not his or hers, and the consequences have been laid out to them (which they are aware of at the time), then, in this instance punishment may be justified. (italics mine. Actually, the whole statement is mine).
But even in this case there may be something to learn; something positive, and punishment may not be necessary.
So the bottom line, we have to check it out ourselves. It seems that the monolithic institution of our schools and universities treat most if not all acts of plagiarism as intentional, even though the student who is trying to get a college education the best way he or she knows how, and I might add, the way our competitive education system has taught him or her, may not have meant any harm. Perhaps if George Harrison and Jason Blair really learned about plagiarism, they would not have plagiarized.
THAT'S really interesting. Thought provoking. I feel that Christina the Librarian has a good, clear, simple way to put it, but the evening class did not have her on this topic. I tried to use her words - and cited them as hers. To "cite" comes from the Latin excite. It indicates you have done research on a topic and wish to bring various sources together. Citing shows your scholarship as well as gives credit where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteI think it is good to point out that no learning should be punished, but it is hard to conceive of a person "lifting" exact words and phrases out of another person's writing and planting them in her or his writing without that person knowing that something is amiss, something is pretense. While plagiarism could be better taught as Paul suggests, its basic contours must be recognized and felt by the do-er. Why else would the do-er weave around sentences that are his with sentences that are not his?
....Perhaps if George Harrison and Jason Blair really learned about plagiarism, they would not have plagiarized.
ReplyDeleteDon't group George Harrison with Jason Blair.
Please reconsider this misguided connection. There is NO comparison.
"but it is hard to conceive of a person 'lifting' exact words and phrases out of another person's writing and planting them in her or his writing without that person knowing that something is amiss, something is pretense."
ReplyDeleteYes, if I'm the person who has been stolen from, I'm going to be angry. For not only is some other person benefitting from my work, but, I could then be accused of plagiarizing him or her.
And this is why plagiarizing should not be overlooked, because this will not only protect others, but it may also force the plagiarizer to dig into himself for talents that they did not recognize they had; plus, it teaches us academic ethics.
"Why else would the do-er weave around sentences that are his with sentences that are not his?"
Well, this is something that should be explored when you catch someone of plagiarizing, or even before one is caught.
My point is that our education system already assumes the the plagiarizing incident is intentional, and this has detrimental effects on someone's writing ability. For example, I think it creates or contributes to a fear of writing.
A few other things . . .
ReplyDeleteI did a research of "plagiarism" on our online library search using "plagiar*" as a 'title' search in five databases: Academic Search Premire, ERIC, MLA International Bibliography, Humanities International Index, and Teacher Reference Center; this search came up with 441 full-text and peer-reviewed journal articles.
So, this is a pretty important issue, and there is plenty of information to have a class lecture on.
I read some of several of the journal articles, and found some interesting bits of information.
For example, there is something called "unconscious plagiarism," and the authors concluded:
"If you suspect someone of
plagiarizing your idea, then rather than thinking of them as malicious, you might consider it an act of flattery: They have either thought about your ideas or judged you to be an expert."
Source Credibility and Idea Improvement Have Independent Effects on Unconscious Plagiarism Errors in Recall and Generate-New Tasks. 2009.
Perfect, Timothy J., Ian Field, and Robert Jones.
Another study found that: "those who scored high on measures of integrity and responsibility were significantly more likely to plagiarize than those who did not."
In other words, they did not see much wrong with it.
"Plagiarism, Integrity, and Workplace Deviance: A Criterion Study." 2009. Daniel E. Martin and Asha Rao.
Finally, an interesting study found that "Students tended to favor “lighter sentences” (e.g., warnings, resubmission) as penalties for plagiarism."
That said, in this same study teachers did not feel that first offense merited a harsh penalty; 41% of teachers thought that a written or an oral warning was appropriate (62% of students); for repeated or a second offense, 13% of teachers (34% students) thought that the student should be allowed to re-submit the work with loss of marks (90% of teachers thought that an official reprimand from the head of the school was warranted; 65% of students opted for this).
Staff and Student Perceptions of Plagiarism and Cheating. 2009.
Jenny Wilkinson
Charles Sturt University
this post wins the contest as the longest, most serious post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that there needs to be a little more leniency. In law, mens rea - or, "guilty mind" - is a requirement for categorizing an act as a crime. Basically, the person who committed the act must have been aware they were doing something wrong in order to be accused of wrongdoing. Now, I know we're talking about university policy, which isn't bound by the same criteria as the law, but certainly (in a perfect world) there should be some amount of leniency for people who plagiarize unknowingly. Most people know that copying chunks of information off of Wikipedia and pasting them onto a Word document to hand in as an essay is wrong, but I think that if a student accidentally leaves out one citation because they forgot, or just weren't sure... well, that student shouldn't punished. Instead, the responsibility should be placed in the hands of the university for not preparing the student well enough (as in, a basic writing class covering plagiarism should be a pre-req for ALL courses, both lower- and upper-division).
ReplyDeletePC - I think if a person knows he has to do it for Wikipedia, he also knows he has to do it for any other lifted statements. I think this is drummed into high school students and that they are all bright enough to "get it." To blame the university for not teaching him is part of today's "Nanny State" where the state rather than the individual is held responsible for the individual's errors. Are people who eat poor food, e.g., at MacDonald's (see above post about Olympics and MacDonald's ad) able to sue MacDonald's if they blow up and become obese? Personal responsibility is what brings fulfillment, advances the group, provides leadership, and creates new opportunities from which many others can learn and benefit. If you are really, really mad at someone who has wronged you, it is understandable to blow up and even to hurt that person - but is this the noblest reaction?
ReplyDeleteMT, if I may, I'd like to throw a curve ball:
ReplyDelete"Another study found that: 'those who scored high on measures of integrity and responsibility were significantly more likely to plagiarize than those who did not.'"