Plagiarism is a grave offense that occurs when an individual borrows ideas without acknowledging the author. Plagiarism applies in both academic and professional environments. Essentially, penalties that arise from plagiarism range from suspension to jail term for the individuals concerned. Such is the seriousness of plagiarism that students are advised to take precautions whenever they borrow ideas from other writers. Also, students are advised to be creative enough to produce original work. According to UNSW (2013), avoiding plagiarism can be achieved by citing all borrowed ideas. This paper will conduct a self-assessment on the pre-test and post-test scores to examine my knowledge of plagiarism. It will also explore ways of improving my knowledge of plagiarism (USM, 2013).
Self-assessment
After taking a pre-test on plagiarism, the outcome showed that I scored 8 out of 10. That is, I answered eight questions correctly but failed in two questions. Among the questions, I answered correctly included those that touched on copying and pasting from the internet, use of quotation marks when quoting an author’s idea and citation of a block of text. The others touched on the citation of a conversation, citation of a borrowed idea, use of parts of an article, citation of songs and lyrics, and citation of phrases. However, I failed to answer questions concerning the citation of proverbs and citation of prominent personalities’ birthdays correctly.
Nonetheless, after reading about plagiarism, I took a post-test in which I scored nine out of ten. In this case, I failed in one of the questions I had answered correctly in the previous test. This question touched on phrases since post-test questions were similar to pre-test questions (USM, 2013).
Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores
The scores showed a slight improvement from my initial pre-test scores. However, it was quite obvious that I had failed in one of the questions I had answered correctly in pre-test scores. Nonetheless, it was also important that I managed to answer all the questions I had failed in the pre-test stage correctly in the post-test stage. Additionally, I managed to complete post-test questions faster than pre-test questions. Again, going through the post-test questions in my second attempt was much easier than during my first attempt at the pre-test stage.
Moreover, I learned a lot during my second attempt than in my first. For instance, I could now understand why I had failed to answer the two questions in the first instance correctly. In comparison, the two scores showed that I had a good idea of plagiarism, as well as on how it could be avoided. My final scores were quite impressive than the first scores since they were based on increased knowledge (USM, 2013).
Discussions
In the pre-test quiz, it is important to note that I was quite tense since I was facing the questions before covering the issues concerned. This also contributed to my failure in the two questions since I had taken sometime before going through specific requirements in plagiarism such as those on important personalities like the birth of George Bush and those on proverbs. This happened because I thought proverbs were to be credited to their respective authors, such as the famous King Solomon of the bible. Moreover, I thought that even though famous personalities’ birthdays were common, it would still amount to plagiarism. The ideas mentioned above led to wrong answers in both cases. However, I managed to rectify them in the second quiz. Notably, I failed in one question of the second quiz. However, this happened because I was excited after going through the text (Purdue University, 2013).
How to improve my knowledge of plagiarism
By going through my score in both tests, I gained valuable information on the reasons for failure in two and one questions, respectively. However, it is essential to note that by reading the article on plagiarism after the pre-test quiz, I gained critical information on plagiarism. The key among the information gained was on the citation of phrases and important personalities. I, therefore, learned that my knowledge could improve if I kept revising content on plagiarism regularly.
Moreover, practicing to avoid plagiarism through the use of plagiarism software would also help improve my knowledge of plagiarism.
Moreover, going through the ways of applying plagiarism concepts in papers on a regular basing would assist in improving my knowledge of plagiarism. Similarly, I would improve my knowledge of plagiarism by acknowledging any idea which is borrowed from others. Also, I would improve my knowledge of plagiarism by attempting to be creative to produce original work (UCU, 2013).
Conclusion
Plagiarism involves the use of ideas without giving credit to their authors. My pre-test quiz was characterized with apprehensiveness since I had not looked into the content on plagiarism. However, I still managed a score of eight out of ten. However, due to over-excitement, I failed in one of the questions which I had answered correctly during my first attempt. Nonetheless, I learned new ideas on improving my knowledge of plagiarism. I also learned to be creative in my next assignments to avoid plagiarism.
References
Purdue University (2013). Avoiding plagiarism: Overview and Contradictions. Web.
UCU (2013). What is plagiarism? Web.
UNSW (2013). Avoiding Plagiarizing: Following the Path to Good Academic Practice. Web.
USM (2013). Welcome to the Plagiarism Tutorial. Web.
Nowadays, many students are challenged by the necessity to create their pieces of work and prove the originality of their ideas. The question of plagiarism is frequently discussed in different academic facilities. As a rule, teachers ask their students to follow the Code of Ethics while writing their academic projects, as well as using and referencing different sources to avoid cases of plagiarism. However, today, even borrowing ideas from the Internet may be compared to borrowing from published sources (Spatt, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary to be very careful with every idea introduced in a paper. Regarding a number of writing requirements and the possibility to be blamed for plagiarism, it is hard for many students to start writing their papers without any fears and doubts about the quality and originality of their work. In this paper, several simple but effective strategies for avoiding accidental plagiarism will be developed and discussed to help students succeed in writing and using multiple sources.
Writing and Plagiarism in Modern World
Students have access to numerous sources from which it is easy to take some ideas for writing. On the one hand, such an ability facilitates a writing process and deprives students of the necessity to spend days and nights at libraries searching for a required source. It does not take much time to turn on a computer and surf the web. On the other hand, the Internet contains billions of informative sources with data that has to be properly referenced. Such access challenges students a lot because there are more reasons for being blamed for plagiarism.
According to the Code of Ethics, writers have to be transparent each time they use ideas from different sources and be sure to change the construction of every paragraph (Academy of Management, 2011). In addition, there are many credible online programs like Turnitin, which may be used by tutors to check the level of plagiarism in each work. Angelil-Carter (2014) suggests connecting the frequency of plagiarism and its increasingly problematic nature with the development of “new understandings of discourses and texts” (p. 15). In other words, not to spoil individual writing with plagiarism, students have to get a clear idea of what they allow to use as examples of common knowledge in their papers and when it is time to put quotation marks and cite a source.
Personal Past Experience in Writing
During this course, I have already created several works and passed them successfully, meaning that no cases of plagiarism were discovered. Every paper was based on certain requirements and a definite number of sources that should be used. For example, in the essay about the importance of education and its price, I used one definite article written by Caldwell for The New York Times Magazine. It was introduced at the beginning of the paper so that the reader could understand why the article had been chosen and what I was going to discuss.
Though there were no direct quotes that required the provision of page numbers, the essay was supported by a number of paraphrases and appropriate references being made at the end of the sentence or after the author’s name. I found it necessary to cite the source when I stated that about $180,000 had to be spent on a college education for one child (Caldwell, 2007). However, such general thoughts that many Americans wanted to know the price of education or that education was defined as an integral part of human life could be introduced without references because it was a kind of general or common knowledge that many people had to be aware of.
My work on this essay was not easy because I wanted to combine the ideas of one particular author with my own thoughts and not be blamed for plagiarism. It was necessary not to cross the line but concentrated on what I had already known on the chosen topic and what contributions Caldwell’s article could make to my understanding of the American system of education. This kind of work helped me develop several important strategies in terms of which it was possible to avoid plagiarism and create a good piece of work that demonstrated my level of knowledge, my writing skills, and my researching abilities.
Important Strategies for Plagiarism Avoidance
My writing practice shows that today, students can easily find many credible sources with the necessary information for their papers. However, not all students know how to add the chosen information to their papers and avoid plagiarism. In some cases, students may follow the already offered outlines and topics without reference to the sources where they find this information. Even if a writer does not use a single word from the source but pays attention to the ideas developed there, there is a chance to be accused of plagiarism.
Importance of Referencing
A writer has to be ready to work with different sources, make necessary references, and never forget that each piece of writing aims at presenting personal ideas and understandings. Writers should not be afraid to develop their ideas, pose questions, and give answers. At the same time, they have to work with sources and prove their abilities to investigate different aspects of one issue, consider the thoughts of other people, and make conclusions regarding personal knowledge and the material found. The main strategy that has to be followed in a writing process to avoid plagiarism is to never forget about referencing. This requirement is an obligation, and students are welcome to develop their own approaches to meet this criterion.
Reference List Creation
One of the possible steps in writing without plagiarism is a creation of a reference list according to the guidelines of an association chosen. In many cases, tutors or other readers pay certain attention to this list in order to understand if a writer relies on someone’s ideas or if it is an original work that is based on someone’s personal ideas. When a reference list is created, the sources mentioned there should be used throughout the paper. Each association has its reference rules. If it is an APA paper, in-text citations should include the author’s name and the year of publication (Spatt, 2011). In case it is a direct quote with a phrase or a sentence used in quotation marks, it is necessary to add a page number after the year of publication. In MLA papers, students have to give a page number right after the author’s name without mentioning the year of publication (Spatt, 2011). However, a variety of sources that may be used by students is impressive, and it is obligatory to follow the rules defined by a facility or its department.
Citation, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
The use of sources may have different forms, including direct citation, paraphrasing, idea exchange, or quoting. Blockquotes may be required for long papers. In addition to the fact that this part of the work has to be properly cited, it should also have an appropriate appearance. Paraphrasing is a process when a writer does not use more than two similar words in a paper from a source (Angelil-Carter, 2014). Complete and correct information has to be introduced while paraphrasing (Academy of Management, 2011). Though such a combination of words is hard to achieve, a good writer has to develop numerous ideas and introduce the same thought in different ways.
Self-Plagiarism Cases
Finally, some writers like to cite their own material or use the same ideas they have already used in previous projects. In order to reduce the level of possibility of being accused of plagiarism, writers have to cite themselves in a proper way. In some papers, it is enough to mention that this thought has already been introduced in another project. In some works, a reference to a previous paper is required to avoid self-plagiarism. In fact, many academic writers refer to their past projects, make appropriate citations, and add their past projects to a reference list.
Conclusion
In general, students may create papers that are plagiarism-free in case they are aware of how to work with sources, how to make a reference list, and when a piece of information should be quoted. To avoid plagiarism, students should not be afraid to develop new ideas, share their approaches, and investigate new areas. Writing without plagiarism is possible in case the strategies of this paper are taken into consideration and followed.
In the process of learning and creating new ideas in the institutions of learning, knowledge is founded on previous ideas and experiences drawn from other people. When the new ideas we create are written down, people want to differentiate which are your ideas and the building blocks from which they are based. This is done by citing the sources of your building blocks. When this is not done and the student present ideas of others as their own, it is called plagiarism.
Plagiarism is defined by the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance section II.B.1. as “the deliberate or reckless representation of another’s words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise.” (Plagiarism Par 1). This cheating can result to punishment by the school authorities, course failure or suspension.
Policies on plagiarism
Plagiarism in all its forms is a serious offence in institutions of learning and students should take initiative to educate themselves about it. Any work presented for marking in the institutions is supposed to be checked for plagiarism by the professors and reported if such instances are found and an investigation is launched.
A plagiarism policy in the University of Sydney states that “Where an Examiner detects or is made aware of alleged Plagiarism or Academic Dishonesty by a student; the Examiner must report the alleged Plagiarism or Academic Dishonesty to a Nominated Academic” (University of Sydney p. 8).
Once found guilty, a record is made in student’s record and the situation may even lead to expulsion. Another rule on plagiarism is that students copying or using another students work. In this case, both students are guilty since no one should make his/her work available to another student unless under instructions to do so by the instructor (Department of Sociology Para 4).
Violations
Plagiarism occurs in many ways some deliberate and others negligent (University of Sydney p. 4). Plagiarism covers the act of presenting ideas that have been used in previous works regardless of how they are expressed without citing.
Failure to cite properly any work copied word to word from works of others whether a few words or segments or paragraphs can result to plagiarism. Nonetheless, extensive copying is unlawful even if cited.
In addition, plagiarism results when everything that is not common knowledge is written without acknowledging the author or the original source. Finally, it is a plagiarism crime to copy word to word works obtained from the World Wide Web or even presenting a whole paper from the internet as one’s work.
Consequences of Plagiarism
There are many consequences of plagiarism depending with the parties involved. For students, plagiarism may result to expulsion from school or temporal suspension. Different colleges and universities have different rules to deal with plagiarism. In some instances the grade of the person is lowered which in other instances, the person is awarded no marks.
Whichever the case, the effect of plagiarism on the life of a student cannot be underestimated. It may mean the end of a persons’ career or even cause a delay that may end up having a great effect on someone’s life.
In a real life situation, plagiarism may carry different charges. According to INFORMS Guidelines for Copyright & Plagiarism Para 12) an author can be banned from publishing his publication for some time if he is caught with plagiarized material. Similarly, if some a person happens to be an employee in an editorial firm, plagiary can result to a dismissal. However, it is important to note that the ad hoc plagiarism committee has the right to impose any type of sanction depending with the level of plagiarism and the prevailing circumstances.
Conclusion
Plagiarism is a serious offence and should be taken seriously by every person in the society. It is a real phenomenon and students are affected once they violate the policies as stated “Every year, students are expelled from Rutgers University for committing plagiarism” (Department of Sociology par 1).
It is however easy to avoid plagiarism as one only requires to avoid using someone’s ideas as his own. Citing is one perfect example of avoiding the same. Several learning institutions have established policies to help deal with the issue of plagiarism which is a major step because students are taught how to avoid it while in school and in future.
Works Cited
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice. Plagiarism Policy. 2007. Web..
Academic plagiarism is at an all-time high amid graduate students across the globe. Plagiarism is regarded as a serious academic dishonesty since it dents the principle that academic research will augment an existing research. Research shows that students are increasingly practicing academic dishonesty via the internet. Most lecturers admit that the majority students submit plagiarized research papers and essays.
The professors blame the increase in the cases of plagiarism to the growth in technology. A majority of the graduate students advertently engage in academic dishonesty. Having been in school for over fifteen years, the students have adequate knowledge on the imperativeness of academic integrity. Moreover, some students know how to avoid plagiarism as well as its impacts. Unfortunately, most graduate students “are ill-prepared for the challenges of graduate study” (Born, 2013, p. 223).
According to Born (2013), at least 40% of the applied research papers that engineering, science, mathematics and technology students submit are plagiarized. Indeed, the challenge of plagiarism is not only prevalent among graduate level students but also master’s students. The following section of this article discusses the problem, objective, research questions and methodology followed to answer the research questions.
The problem addressed in this study is the methods of dealing with the issue of plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate students, which threatens to weaken the quality of academic research. One study evaluated the varied strategies that can help to reduce cheating and inculcate good writing and referencing skills amid students pursuing a degree in psychology. The study focused on the effectiveness of plagiarism checker in curbing plagiarism (Bretag, 2013). Additionally, it assessed the students’ capacity to reference the academic sources that they use to compile their applied research papers. The study found that the use of plagiarism checker helps to reduce cases of academic dishonesty among graduate students.
Statement of the Problem
This paragraph demonstrates the significance of the problem since in the contemporary academic world institutions are grappling to eradicate plagiarism, which is affecting the quality of the graduate students that universities release into the market as well as the quality of scholarly research. A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using online academic candor software to curb plagiarism in applied research assignments amid learners.
The study carried out a pre-intervention assessment, which showed that over 25% of the assignments were plagiarized. After the use of the software, it was found that only 6.5% of the research papers were copied (Born, 2013). The students who plagiarized performed poorly compared with those who did not engage in academic dishonesty. The study demonstrated that involvement in academic dishonesty affects the quality of scholarly work and students’ performance. A majority of the students who do poorly in their education are likely to plagiarize in an attempt to improve their grade. Bretag (2013) holds that many students cheat due to lack of experience in how to credit the sources they use to compile their research papers. The following section of the study addresses the gaps in the research.
The first gap in the research is that a majority of the studies that discuss how to reduce plagiarism in applied research papers focus on the cases of cheating that arise from the use of the internet. Even though mostly plagiarism results due to the use of academic materials that are readily available on the web, students also copy the assignments of their colleagues, which amount to cheating. It would be hard to determine how to curb this form of cheating using previous studies.
The second gap in the research is that previous studies did not focus on how to reduce plagiarism that might arise as a result of the students using books from the library. Not all books are accessible online. Thus, it might be hard to detect plagiarism among the graduate students who do their research in the university libraries. This study seeks to come up with ways to reduce all forms of plagiarisms. Many lecturers claim that the cases of graduate students copying from each other are common.
Besides, some students lift the information they obtain from books without crediting the authors (Bretag, 2013). Thus, there is the need to come up with measures to encourage academic honesty amid the graduate students. Some studies suggest the use of measures like curriculum rotation to avoid cases of learners copying from their predecessors. The next paragraph exemplifies the significance of this research and the audiences that will benefit from the study.
The reduction of plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate level students helps different stakeholders. First, it helps the students. The learners become self-reliant enabling them to make an informed judgment. Additionally, it saves the students from being suspended or even expelled from school due to academic dishonesty. The objective of every learner is to join a tertiary institution, go through the learning course, and come out with a good grade.
No student would like to be suspended for violating academic regulations. Second, reduction of plagiarism in applied research papers among graduate level students helps to boost the quality of existing and future research. Foster (2002) holds that academic cheating affects the students’ capacity to contribute to current research. It promotes laziness among the graduate level students. Consequently, the students cannot take the initiative to scrutinize existing research papers and attempt to build on what is already known. A study conducted on 3,600 graduate students who worked as researchers found that over 33% of the scientists were involved in dubious research practices (Foster, 2002).
Engaging in academic dishonesty like plagiarism may lead to a person losing his/her career. Numerous renowned personalities have been forced to quit their jobs because of engaging in academic irregularities. For instance, a German Minister of Defense was forced to resign for plagiarizing his dissertation. Thus, coming up with ways to reduce plagiarism would benefit not only the graduate students and researchers but also individuals in the working class who would like to advance their academic qualifications in the future. The next paragraph will outline the primary objective of this study.
Purpose of Research
The primary objective of this study is to identify the measures that can help to reduce plagiarism in applied research papers among the graduate students. The reduction of cheating has a direct impact on students’ performance, quality of education, and future research.
Research Question
What strategies can tertiary institutions use to minimize plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate level students?
Limitation of the Study
The primary limitation of this research is that the data used for the survey focuses on fighting academic cheating that occurs as a result of the use of World Wide Web. The future studies should consider the modes of plagiarism that do not entail the utilization of the internet.
Definition of Terms
Plagiarism- It can be defined as taking another party’s scholarly work and using it as your own without acknowledging the author.
Summary
This research offers valuable insights for lecturers and leaders of the tertiary institutions on how to minimize plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate level students. The research is aimed at curbing academic dishonesty in tertiary institutions by leveraging proved methods of reducing cheating. The study uses a survey methodology, and the data was gathered from universities in the Missouri State of USA.
Review of Related Literature
Introduction
The primary objective of this study is to help tertiary institutions to come up with strategies to reduce plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate level students in the United States. Foster (2002) claims that cheating has transformed a majority of graduate students into academic consumers. Many students are unable to make good use of the learning materials they get from the academic institutions.
The students buy papers from online sources to make sure that they get good grades. Many studies discuss the various ways that learning institutions can minimize plagiarism among the graduate level students. Foster (2002) claims that organizational leaders cannot reduce cheating if they do not understand it and how it arises. Hence, this section will start by discussing the issue of plagiarism as a form of academic dishonesty. The paper will then discuss the various approaches that can be used to minimize plagiarism in applied research papers among graduate level students.
Plagiarism
Hollinger and Lanza-Kaduce (1996) defined plagiarism as “the wrongful stealing and publication of another author’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions and representation of them as one’s original work” (p. 298). According to Hollinger and Lanza-Kaduce (1996), the issue of plagiarism remains contentious with ambiguous regulations and delineations. Plagiarism is regarded a serious form of academic treachery and an infringement on journalistic principles.
The vice is subject to severe punishments that include, and not limited to deferral, penalties, and dismissal from a tertiary institution. Hollinger and Lanza-Kaduce (1996) argued, “Plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but can constitute copyright infringement” (p. 303).
In journalism and academic circles, plagiarism is regarded as a grave ethical misdemeanor. There is a significant correlation between copyright violation and plagiarism. Nevertheless, the two offenses are not alike. Most instances of plagiarism do not amount to copyright infringement. Statutory guidelines govern copyright infringement while educational institutions regulate plagiarism.
According to Lasarenko (2006), plagiarism is a major impediment to the realization of academic integrity. Plagiarism functions in an undesirable scholarly space. No grounds can justify cheating. Most graduate level students plagiarize due to time constraint, the desire to achieve a good grade and poor writing skills. These factors do not stand as justifying conditions. Nevertheless, the factors are helpful to the faculty leaders in the fight against plagiarism.
The rise of the Internet and World Wide Web has exacerbated the problem of cheating in applied research papers amid graduate level students. Besides, many tertiary institutions do not have severe penalties to reprimand those who plagiarize. Lasarenko (2006) warns that without proper retribution, steadiness and palpable and visible repercussions, schools are less likely to end plagiarism.
Minimizing Plagiarism
No single approach has been proven as effective in minimizing cheating in applied research papers amid graduate level students. Therefore, to reduce dishonesty, the lecturers need to come up with measures that discourage students from engaging in the academic deceit rather than focusing on how the students plagiarize or what motivates them to participate in this transgression (Lasarenko, 2006). The instructors need to come up with a proactive approach to fighting plagiarism.
Lasarenko (2006) identifies three approaches to reducing deceit in applied research papers amid graduate level students. The approaches are awareness, discovery and deterrence. Even though there is the need for the establishment of an institutional structure to minimize plagiarism, the individual lecturer has the responsibility to assist his/her learners to avoid plagiarizing. The professors ought to come up with deliberate prevention mechanisms.
First, the teacher should ensure that students know what plagiarism is and its impacts. Students come from diverse backgrounds. As a result, they have distinct definitions and understanding of plagiarism. It underscores the reason some students submit their previous assignments without knowing that it also amounts to self-plagiarism. The instructors require organizing for remedial instructions to ensure that students have adequate knowledge of plagiarism and how it arises. Loutzenhiser, Pita and Reed (2006) claim that remediation facilitates the reduction of cheating in applied research papers amid newcomers and undereducated learners.
Second, once the lecture is confident that students understand the concept of plagiarism, he/she can structure research papers in a manner that does not leave room for plagiarism. According to Loutzenhiser et al. (2006), a lecturer can minimize cheating amid graduate level students by integrating research limiters into the structure of the assignment. Limiters prevent the students from copying other people’s research papers. They make it difficult for a student to find a similar research paper in the Internet or World Wide Web. An example of a research limiter is one that requires students to include recent case studies in their writings.
The use of limiters may significantly minimize the learner’s capacity to plagiarize. Nevertheless, the limiters may not deter a student who is determined to copy. Some students go to an extent of hiring people to write for them or purchasing research papers from paper mills. Currently, there are multiple paper mills, which can deliver research papers that are tailored to the needs of individual students. Therefore, for the instructors to deter students from procuring jobs from online paper mills, they need to use limiters jointly with process methodology. The third approach that instructors can apply to reduce plagiarism is to “integrate all or part of the process method into the written applied research paper” (Loutzenhiser et al., 2006, p. 57).
Integration of process methodology into a research paper entails structuring the assignment in a way that it constitutes numerous parts that a student needs to complete in succession. The student is supposed to submit each part of the research paper after completion. Such a measure would discourage the learners from plagiarizing. Asking students to submit their research papers upon completion of the course encourages plagiarism. Instructors should monitor the students to know how they progress with the projects (Moeck, 2002).
Some students do not begin their tasks until the end of the semester draws close. Such students do not have adequate time to complete the projects. Consequently, they look for an easy way of finishing the research papers, which leads to plagiarism. As per Loutzenhiser et al. (2006), instructors need to supervise the students to discourage them from copying.
Martin (2012) maintains that lecturers may reduce plagiarism in applied research papers by assigning group activities. Mostly, students plagiarize or purchase research papers when required to submit projects individually. The lecturer may divide the class into different groups and ask each group to present a single applied research paper. It would discourage the students from plagiarizing due to the fear of being noticed by their colleagues.
Allowing students to organize themselves into groups based on how they know one another may encourage plagiarism. The students would not fear one another, thus engaging in academic dishonesty freely. According to Martin (2012), the lecturer should ensure that each group comprises of students who are not too acquainted with one another. Besides forming groups, the instructors should structure the research papers in the form of discussions.
Assignments that require students to give an account of their experience are difficult to plagiarize. Therefore, the assignments should be structured in the form of personal research papers that are hard to duplicate.
Some students seek assistance from friends who are not members of their class but have experience in certain subjects. Mostly, lectures do not give applied research papers on a regular basis. Besides, they always inform the students in advance whenever they intend to give tasks. Alerting students about a pending research paper gives them an opportunity to organize with their friends. The examination regulations require instructors to notify students about pending tests.
Therefore, the lecturers must come up with ways to ensure that students do not engage in plagiarism by conspiring with friends. The best way to minimize cases of students getting assistance from people who are not registered in class is to give assignments often. It would be hard for the outsiders to be available every time the lecturer issues an applied research paper assignment. Besides, many outsiders would not be willing to spend a lot of their time on tests that cannot benefit them directly. According to Park (2004), issuing research papers on regular basis encourages students to study. The students ensure that they are conversant with what is taught, thus minimizing chances of plagiarism.
Saltmarsh (2004) recommends assigning in-class research papers as an effective method of reducing plagiarism amid graduate level students. According to Talab (2004), many students plagiarize when allowed to do the assignments at home. Indeed, homework contributes to procrastination amid students. The students think that they have adequate time to handle the assignment. Eventually, they end up running out of time forcing them to copy from their colleagues or the internet.
In-class research papers encourage students to prepare in advance. The students do not get a chance to copy from their friends or the web because of the presence of the lecturer. Moreover, the students do not get time to organize with friends to do the assignment on their behalf. Tenner (2005) argues that make up research papers encourage plagiarism. The students get time to get information from friends who compiled the research papers previously. Eventually, the students submit research papers that bear the ideas of their colleagues.
Summary
Instructors can use various measures to reduce cheating in applied research papers amid graduate level students. The lecturers must ensure that students are aware of plagiarism and its impacts. Some strategies that can facilitate reduction of plagiarism include the incorporation of limiters in research papers. Breaking a research paper into successive steps can help the lecturer monitor the student’s progress, thus discouraging cheating. Other measures that can contribute to reducing plagiarism include giving assignments often, assigning in-class research papers, as well as avoiding make up research assignments.
Methodology
Introduction
The issue addressed in this research paper is the measures that tertiary institutions can use to reduce plagiarism in applied research paper among the graduate level students. The method applied in this study seeks to answer the following question:
What strategies can tertiary institutions use to minimize cheating in applied research paper amid graduate students?
This chapter will discuss the research design, participants, instruments, procedures, and data analysis. Each part will be covered separately.
Design
The research study will use quantitative data obtained through a survey. The survey will examine the various approaches that tertiary institutions use to minimize plagiarism in applied research paper amid graduate level students. Besides, it will review the opinions of the lectures regarding the effectiveness of the approaches. The numeric data obtained from the participants will be analyzed to determine the most effective method of curbing plagiarism.
Participants or Subjects
The participants in this research will comprise lecturers from tertiary institutions. The samples for the study will be acquired from different universities in the Missouri State. The samples will be filtered to involve only the instructors that deal with graduate level students. The study will use a stratified sampling technique to select participants. Lecturers from different universities will be divide into subgroups, and participants selected randomly from the different strata. The researcher will contact the management of the chosen schools via phone to seek their approval to go on with the study.
Instruments
The researcher will utilize survey to measure the different variables for the study. Additionally, the researcher will use questionnaires that will comprise three sections. The first part will include questions that require the participants to give their backgrounds as well as that of the institutions. The second section will comprise questions that need the participants to describe the different measures that they use to minimize plagiarism in applied research papers. The third part will consist of questions that assess the opinions of the participants regarding the standards they use to curb cheating in applied research papers.
The researcher will use a Likert scale to gather the views of the members. The scale will range from 1 to 5. The values will correspond to firmly agree and firmly disagree respectively. They will be significant in determining the effectiveness of the different approaches that lecturers use to fight plagiarism.
Procedure
The accuracy of a study depends on the method of data collection and analysis. Researcher ought to select an appropriate method of data collection based on the objectives of the survey and the number of participants. The researcher will follow a sequence of steps to guarantee the precision of data collection and the findings of the study. The following are some of the steps that the researcher will follow.
Seeking the necessary approval from the supervisor to collect data from the human subjects. The supervisor will help in the identification of the right participants for the study.
Seeking approval from the tertiary institutions whose lecturers will be part of the research subjects.
Furnishing the universities and the individual participants with the objectives of the study.
Seeking the consent from the participants
Once the participants confirm their membership, the researcher will send questionnaires via email
The researcher will collect data according to the objective of the study
The members will submit the completed questionnaires via email
The researcher will use appropriate statistical techniques to analyze the received data
After compiling the results, the researcher will draw a conclusion that signifies the correlation between the research variables and their impacts
Data Analysis
The researcher will use inferential and descriptive statistics to examine and compute the gathered information. Descriptive statistics will facilitate the computation of the average, mode, and standard deviation. Conversely, the inferential statistic will be invaluable in deriving the correlation between the variables. The researcher will use charts, graphs, and tables to present the findings of the study. Charts and graphs are easy to understand. Hence, they will help in the interpretation of the results. The conclusion of the study will be assessed based on the charts, graphs, and the tables.
Summary
For this study, the researcher uses a quantitative method to collect and analyze data. The objective of the survey is to determine how lecturers can reduce plagiarism in applied research papers amid graduate level students. The study evaluates the different techniques used to reduce cheating to determine the most effective. The researcher seeks approval from the participating universities. Moreover he sensitizes the participants on the objectives and significance of the study.
The pollster asks permission from the lecturers who are to participate in the study. The study gathers data using questionnaires. The questionnaires are divided into three sections to facilitate the collection of comprehensive data. The researcher will send questionnaires via email and request the participants to submit the completed questionnaires via the same medium. The pollster will use inferential and descriptive statistics to analyze the collected data. The researcher will use graphs, charts and tables to present the findings of the study.
References
Born, A. (2013). Teaching tip: How to reduce plagiarism. Journal of Information Systems Education, 14(3), 223-224.
Bretag, T. (2013). Challenges in addressing plagiarism in education. PLoS Medicine: A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access Journal, 10(12), 114-127.
Foster, A. (2002). Plagiarism-detection tool creates legal quandary. Chronicle of Higher Education, 48(36), 37-39.
Hollinger, R., & Lanza-Kaduce, L. (1996). Academic dishonesty and the perceived effectiveness of countermeasures: An empirical survey of cheating at a major public university. NASPA Journal, 33(4), 292-306.
Lasarenko, J. (2006). Teaching paraphrase, summary, and plagiarism: An integrated approach. Exercise Exchange, 41(2), 10–12.
Loutzenhiser, K., Pita, A., & Reed, J. (2006). Revisiting plagiarism in an Internet Era: How modern technology contributes to the problem and solutions. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 3(8), 55-62.
Martin, B. (2012). Plagiarism: A misplaced emphasis. Journal of Information Ethics, 3(2), 36-47.
Moeck, P. (2002). Academic dishonesty: Cheating among community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 29(1), 470-491.
Park, C. (2004). Rebels with a cause: Towards an institutional framework for dealing with plagiarism by students. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 28(3), 291-306.
Saltmarsh, S. (2004). Graduating tactics: Theorizing plagiarism as consumptive practice. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 28(4), 445-454.
Talab, R. (2004). A student online plagiarism guide: detection and prevention resources. TechTrends, 48(6), 15-18.
Tenner, E. (2005). Rise of plagiosphere. Technology Review, 108(6), 76-83.
Paraphrasing refers to the act of using the content or materials of another writer in your own words (UNSW para. 1). By and large, a paraphrase often tends to be a shorter version of the original text, with additional insights and points of views from the writers, ultimately culminating in a logical piece of writing that has a flow.
Other writers have the tendency to forget the use of quotation marks when they have used the words or ideas or another author in their own work. As a result, they end up committing plagiarism (University of Virginia Honor Committee Supplement 2).
It is important to note that even though a good paraphrase should be ideally your own work, nonetheless, you still need to cite the original work or materials from where you obtained the ideas. A majority of the students fails to realize that they need to give credit to the original author even when they have paraphrased their work. Otherwise, such a piece of work is regarded as plagiarism.
When is it appropriate to paraphrase?
There are instances when paraphrasing may be justified. For example, assume that a student has to complete a term paper on the incidents of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among war veterans. In this case, it is important to note that this is a scientific term paper and as such, there are certain key words or scientific terms that cannot be substituted in their meaning.
For this reason, paraphrasing could be justified. In addition, paraphrasing may be necessary when the writer has been requested by an instructor to summarize a given article (for example, in the case of an annotated bibliography) within a limited number of words.
In this case, the student has little choice of adding their own incites and observation into such a piece of work. In addition, in case a writer feels that they are in a position to represent the contents of a given source in a more coherent manner in their own words, other than those of the author such as in the use of quotation marks, it becomes necessary therefore to paraphrase such a piece of work (University of Virginia Honor Committee Supplement 2).
A proper paraphrase is one in which the writer has successfully managed to bring forth the idea(s) of another author is a more coherent and clear manner, better that the original writer (UNSW para 1). Even so, it is always important for the writer to give credit to the original authors of the ideas.
For example, let us assume that a student has paraphrased the work of another writer using their own words but has failed to cite the original source. If the instructor manages to match some of the writer’s content with the work of the original author whom the writer failed to give credit by proper citing, the instructor would in such a case deem the student to have committed an act of plagiarism, as opposed to paraphrasing.
Conclusion
We need to realize that there is nothing wrong with using the ideas of other writers in our own work. However, when we fail to realize the need to give credit to the paraphrased work from another author, then we are indeed committing an act of plagiarism, and this is unethical. Therefore, discipline and the issue of ethics are important in academia because without these, we would not give credit to the authors attributed to the original ideas of our work.
Academic honesty refers to the reflection of truthfulness and accountability in student’s work. It exemplifies a number of guidelines and policies that help a learner to deliver original and authentic academic tasks (Simpson, 2016). Academic honesty is important because it ensures that students are held liable for their work. It assists them to develop communication, intellectual, social, and self-management skills, which are necessary for both academic and career development (International Baccalaureate, 2014).
The Meaning of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is an improper act that involves putting down the works of other authors, knowingly or unknowingly, without recognizing their efforts (Wager, 2014). In many cases, students fail to acknowledge the source of information that helps them to complete academic tasks.
Plagiarism is defined as passing off someone else’s work, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as your own for your own benefit. The most common form of plagiarism is copying information and using it as part of one’s assignment or essay, without acknowledging the original source of information (Hosny & Fatima, 2014, p. 749.)
Sometimes, students are dumbfounded by the amount of work assigned to them owing to insufficient time and/or preparations for eligibility exams meant for higher levels of education. In academia, putting down information from a source without using in-text citations or supporting references is regarded as plagiarism (Hosny & Fatima, 2014).
How Teachers Detect Plagiarism
Occasionally, teachers are obliged to accomplish bulky tasks such as checking homework assignments or examination papers. In most cases, they find out that students do little to justify the originality of their writing. Shariff (2016) unveils a number of ways that teachers follow to detect plagiarized work amongst students. First, they are keen on the presentation of unfamiliar expressions, duplications, or uneven writing styles. Secondly, teachers check out for wrongly cited styles. In this case, a student may intend to use APA referencing but end up mixing it with the MLA citation style in the course of copy-pasting material from online sources. Students also fail to include references at all prompting the teacher to detect plagiarism. Lastly, plagiarism can be detected where a student fails to use information that corresponds to the subject in question.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Students can avoid plagiarism by practicing ethical writing (Dhammi & Haq, 2016). First, they should get a clear understanding of paraphrasing, which entails writing the original text in own words. In most cases, rephrased work should be followed by in-text citations. In addition, direct quotes should be accompanied by appropriate names, year of publication, and/or page number depending on the choice of referencing style used. Overall, any borrowed ideas or language should be properly cited and reflected in a reference list or bibliography.
Penalties and Consequences of Plagiarism
The most common punishment for completion of copied work is the invalidation of examination results (Higher Colleges of Technology, 2014). The completion of assignments or examinations following unethical means can result in the corresponding annulment of results regardless of the level of study. Another consequence that arises from plagiarism is deferral from school programs for either a part or for the whole semester, which can be a loss for the student. For worse cases, the victim’s education is terminated indefinitely.
Conclusion
The last decade has been characterized by the increased availability of information on the Internet. Students in the digital era have taken this opportunity to copy-paste and/or unethically present information obtained from online sources without acknowledging the owners. Following this state of affairs, educational institutions should devise a universal system to help students avoid academic honesty violations.
References
Higher Colleges of Technology. (2014). Student Handbook 2014-2015. Web.
Hosny, M., & Fatima, S. (2014). The attitude of students towards cheating and plagiarism: University case study. Journal of Applied Sciences, 14(8), 748.
International Baccalaureate. (2014). Academic honesty in the IB educational context. Web.
Shariff, R. (2016). How teachers can detect plagiarism. Web.
Simpson, D. (2016). Academic dishonesty: An international student perspective. Academic Perspectives in Higher Education, 2(1), 5.
Wager, E. (2014). Defining and responding to plagiarism. Learned Publishing, 27(1), 33-42.
One definition of plagiarism as offered by one web article quotes “plagiarize means to steal and pass off either ideas or words of another as one’s own. It is the use of another’s production without crediting the source and the committing of literal theft.” (What Is Plagiarism?).
Many individuals view the topic of plagiarism as basic ‘copying and pasting’, which masks the reality of such a serious and prosecutable offense. Considering the nature of how such an act is committed, it has common occurrences; a vast amount being in schools, the music industry and even the workplace.
There has been a rapid increase in the amount of plagiarism cases reported in schools recently, which is believed to have doubled compared to two years ago. The issue of cheating has caused a majority of schools to start utilizing plagiarism-detection software to catch up with students. (Williams).
Despite having such software, some very tech savvy students still manage to evade detection. The occurrence of plagiarism in schools has significant effects on Education which may include; loss of a degree or job and poor critical thinking skills. Once plagiarized work is passed on as original, the student stands a great chance to lose their degrees and in addition to that, they develop a poor ability to engage in critical thinking which is important in being an individual. (Hall)
Plagiarism in the workplace or professional plagiarism is common mainly in industries like marketing or any other that involves drawing, writing, taking pictures or just creative thinking. An example of such an incident took place at the Researcher’s place of work. The Researcher once explained a method of solution to her boss; her boss then relayed the information to her immediate superior and took credit for it. In other words, this incident adequately defines the topic of plagiarism.
Plagiarism in Music probably has the second highest number of occurrences behind Education. There have been numerous reports of celeb singers who have been accused of and prosecuted for plagiarism in their music. Lady Gaga who is a very popular pop singer was recently accused for plagiarism in her new hit single ‘Judas’ by singer/songwriter Rebecca Francesscatti. Francesscatti claims Gaga copied portions from her music and is now seeking recognition for her creation and an undisclosed amount in damages. (Lund)
Whether intentional or unintentional, ‘Plagiarism’ is a prosecutable crime which occurs often in varying environments. As the saying goes “prevention is better than cure”, it is better to try and prevent committing such an act than to deal with the consequences. There are a number of measures one may take to prevent plagiarism.
For individuals particularly involved in education, it is imperative that you know how to paraphrase, quote and cite sources properly. Once you know how to do that, you have significantly lowered your chances of such occurrences. In addition to that, there is a vast amount of software that helps you to correctly cite your sources and check for plagiarism. Furthermore, the Researcher believes that once an individual understands the concept of plagiarism and how unethical it is, they will try harder to produce an original paper.
The education system is faced with a lot of challenges one of them being cheating on assignments and exams. The main reason behind cheating in colleges is usually to pass in examination and reach the expected grades.
Many students suffer from transition from high school to colleges and the believe that college education is tougher than that in high school makes them panic hence the temptation to cheat in exams. The learning atmosphere in colleges for instance lack of strict rules and much freedom also may make the students relax and forget their studies hence cheating due to lack of adequate time to revise for exams.
All in all the factors that lead to cheating do not in any way justify the wrong act and the students usually face a lot of consequences (Hinrichsen par 6). This paper gives an insight into some of the consequences faced by university students because of cheating in exams with much emphasis on the cheating/ plagiarism policy in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
Should UNLV maintain and apply strict cheating/plagiarism policies?
Most universities and colleges apply very strict cheating policies upon those who are caught cheating in either their assignments or examinations in an effort to correct this bad behavior and uphold integrity of their students and the school organization as a whole. UNLV is not an exception and cheating students have to face numerous consequences for instance lower grades, suspension/probation, and worst still expulsion from the learning institution.
The academic sanction dependent on the seriousness of the cheating, the university’s stipulated rules and regulations in regard to cheating, among other considerations. The internet has contributed to plagiarism to a great extent. “The internet has made it easier for university students to access other people’s work which can then be cut and pasted into their own essays” (Anonymous par 4).
Cheating in schools is an aspect that has been viewed with a lot of controversy with some individuals and groups advocating for strict policies while others stating that ethical measures would work better. I propose that ethics be advocated for in UNLV since even with the application of the strict plagiarism policies, there are still cases of cheating as some students are very good at breaking rules as long as there are some benefits accrued to it.
Some of them also cheat because they are not aware of the long term consequences they may suffer for instance lack of creativity and innovation as well as being irresponsible and unaccountable in their general undertakings.
The students should be made to understand the benefits of originality and hard work as well as the drawbacks associated with plagiarism so that they may make inner decisions to uphold integrity in their academic work as opposed to where they do it under the influence of the strict policies. This could be achieved through the integration of integrity in the university’s values and culture (Smith par 3).
Conclusion
Cheating in exams and assignments (essays) among college and university students is in the rise due to the access of the internet and poor culture where integrity is not a key aspect. Students usually find themselves taking advantage of cheating at the expense of working hard.
It is thereby advisable that the education systems in universities be revised where the importance of ethics should be impacted to the students to ensure that the students are able to be resourceful and responsible even in their professional careers and other general life matters.
While pursuing our studies we often have to consult and refer to the ideas of other people in reading them as texts, or by listening to lectures or during classroom lessons. Subsequently all the learning has to be compiled by way of our own writings and presentations and it becomes imperative to give credit to the sources from where we have taken the given information. If we do not give credit to such sources, it amounts to plagiarism, which is also defined as using the ideas and works of other writers without citing them appropriately. Plagiarism can be avoided by citing in the required format all the sources that have been used in a given piece of work. Such sources could pertain to other people’s ideas, theories and opinions that are available as common knowledge by way of magazines, books and on the worldwide web. All material that comes directly from the text must be put in quotations and appropriate paraphrasing must be done so that the same arrangements of words are not replaced. There should be a checking done of the paraphrasing in one’s work to ensure that the same words and phrases from the text are not used in one’s work.
The adverse consequences of plagiarizing can be very severe in that zero marks can be given in the assignment and the course depending upon the disciplinary authority’s discretion. A permanent notation in this regard is added on to the file of the student. There could be a disciplinary hearing or the student may be reprimanded formally. Sometimes plagiarism can be taken as a very serious offence and the student may be expelled without being given any other hearing opportunity. Sometimes the certificates, diplomas and degrees are withheld or withdrawn by the university and legal action can also be taken against offenders in extreme cases. Hence it is essential that all original concepts and data used in the written assignment have to be referenced appropriately to avoid the charge of plagiarism. If the ideas from other sources are not paraphrased, they can be included as quotations but must be quoted and referenced as required.
I feel that plagiarism is indeed an immoral practice since there is no justification in a learning environment to take credit for work done by others. In essence plagiarism amounts to copying the work of others, which is not fair especially when we are pursuing a course in increasing our knowledge and abilities. The learning schedule requires students to use as many sources as possible in understanding theories and in getting information for the course. The understanding has to be conveyed in the assignment and all reference to other’s work is logically required to be mentioned in the right formats. In such an environment there is no room for stealing information. There is need to refer to other sources while writing assignments, for which there is a provision to cite the sources within the text and as references depending upon the formatting style required by the assignment. The consequences of plagiarism are indeed bad. Firstly it is illegal and several forms of punishment are meted out to all those against whom a case of plagiarism is established. There can be minor punishment by way of warning and reprimands and major ones too by way of dismissals and withholding of degrees and diplomas. When ever I have a question about plagiarism I will refer to the site, which is indeed very exhaustive in giving all the information and details about plagiarism.
The university restriction policy on plagiarism under the academic policy on plagiarism and dishonesty statute stipulates that in the case of students using materials owned by others, they should accurately record sources of materials or notes from documents and research projects. Students can also acknowledge the sources of information and reference these materials according to the required reference procedures.
It further restricts the copying of a person’s written work by using charts, phrases, statistics, mathematical or scientific answers, or illustrations without citing the sources. It also includes either paraphrasing of thoughts, conclusions, or research without acknowledging the copy-written source in the writing and the reference listing. It also covers the act of using part of a literary plot, motion picture, poem, musical presentation, or other forms of art without the consent of the owner of the work. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Discussion
The university restriction policy on plagiarism provides that students in the case that they have to use the materials owned by others should accurately record sources of materials or notes from documents and research projects.
Students can also acknowledge the sources of information and reference these materials according to the required reference procedures. It further restricts the copying of a person’s written work by using charts, phrases, statistics, mathematical or scientific answers, or illustrations without citing the sources. It also includes either paraphrasing of thoughts or research without acknowledging the source in the writing and the reference listing. It also covers the act of using part of a literary plot, motion picture, poem, musical presentation, or other forms of art without the consent of the owner of the work. (Anderson, 2002)
This body argues out plagiarism be the use or presentation of the work of another student present or past and the considerable use of unacknowledged published information and presentation as one’s own. According to the policy, plagiarism constitutes the widespread use of written information without suitable reference and or acknowledging the rights of the owner. These materials can either be journals, magazines, books, or web publications.
Other activities that amount to plagiarism are summarizing the owner’s material by altering some words or changing the organization of the presentation without consent, reference to, or acknowledging the original work. Another case that can amount to plagiarism is the considerable use of the thoughts of another person without authorization of the owner and not acknowledging the source of the original work. Plagiarism also involves the act of replicating the academic materials of another student with or without the other student’s awareness and agreement and the intentional use of custom-built material and presenting it as one’s own. The possession of unacknowledged use of phrases from other people’s work. This body considers plagiarism as a fraudulent act and an offense against university regulations. (Anderson, 2002)
Copyright on the other hand is the policy that gives the original creator of work exclusive rights to the materials for a given period. These rights include that of publication, distribution, use, and edition applying to thoughts, information, trademarks, patents, and intellectual possessions of different types.
Copyright law restricts the use of literary materials of all forms that include books among other forms. It also restricts the use of musical presentations and materials of individuals including dramatic work, musical art, and ideas that are dramatized. It restricts the use of choreographic works of individuals, the pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works of individuals. Copyright law also protects the audiovisual works of individuals, Sound performances, legally copyrighted works, compilations, and other architectural works.
The major comparison is that the intentional or unintentional copying of an individual’s ideas and work as one’s fall under the restrictions on plagiarism in universities policies and the copyright law. The restriction on plagiarism in the university policies is against the use of part or whole of the work of another student with their consent. However, the contrast is that in copyright law it’s legal to use the work of another person after getting consent from the owner. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
The presentation of past students’ education constitutes plagiarism according to the university restriction on plagiarism but under copyright law, copyrighted materials enter the public domain after a given time meaning that the public can use them without restrictions. In both the university policy on plagiarism and in copyright law, the accused is given a chance to argue out their case within a given time to be presented to the relevant course of action. (Harris, 2002)
The university restricts against the work of individuals presented to the university in the course of study, therefore are not allowed to distribute or present it for other purposes but under copyright law, the owner of the work retains the right to publish, distribute or adapt the work for other purposes. Copyright law goes further to cover the areas of patents and trademarks which are not addressed within the university policy against plagiarism.
The major purpose of copyright law is to promote the progress of science, useful arts, and ideas by securing the benefits that the owner gets from the materials. On the other hand, the university policy on plagiarism is majorly meant to maintain the standards of education, academic deceitfulness, and maintain the integrity of education. It also attempts to ensure that the work of students is authentic and reflective of their achievements for example in research works for attainment of certification. (Anderson, 2002)
Copyright law has been standardized in the international domain and on the other hand, the policy on plagiarism in universities is standardized across university organizations and other learning institutions. Copyright law has the economic view of creating fair trade, therefore, contributing to economic development while the university policy on the other hand majors on maintaining academic integrity within the learning institutions. The coverage of both the university policy on plagiarism and the copyright law covers intellectual and scientific works like poems, thesis, plays, and other compilations and restricts the copying of these materials. The two also cover the areas of painting, pictorial, and photographic art. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
In both the university plagiarism policy and copyright law only the form or mode of expressing ideas is covered, rather than the ideas being presented as its exceptional in both cases where two different individuals produce work with similar ideas but different in presentation. (Harris, 2002)
Copyright law makes exceptions to the restrictions in the cases where information is copied for commentary or other related uses but there are no such exceptions in the university policy on plagiarism unless the sources are expressly acknowledged. In both the university policy on plagiarism and copyright law the exclusive rights to the use of materials are based on whether the work is original rather than it being unique. In both policies, the owner needs not to register the work as long as they can prove that the work belongs to them in the case it is copyrighted. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Copyright law takes consideration of ownership of joint work where the joint owners depending on the terms they base their ownership will have legal rights over the work. However, this is not the case in the university plagiarism policy as work once submitted by a party cannot be submitted by another. Copyright law recognizes work done on hired labor basis as belonging to the person hiring another to do the work. This is however not the case under the university policy as it is also against the proxy.
Copyright also restricts and recognizes work done by an employee within the time of employment as belonging to the employer but this is not the case under the university policy on plagiarism. Under a similar situation, copyright recognizes work done by commissioned persons or contracted parties as belonging to the person commissioning the work which is not the case under university plagiarism policy. (Anderson, 2002)
In other cases, copyright law does not forbid an individual from modifying, change, or destroying own lawfully obtained duplicate of the copyrighted material as long as copying is not involved which may not be the case under the university plagiarism policy. The restrictions of copyright authorize some replication and distribution without the permission of the copyright holder or payment for the same in cases of fair use based on the rationale and nature of use, a form of the copywritten work, the substantiality of the copywritten work concerning the original work and the effect of the use on the exchange value of the copywritten work.
However, this is not the case with the restrictions placed by the university plagiarism policy. Another exception to the copyright law is the rather technical temporary reproduction of work into machine readable form for computer use. However, this exception does not apply to the restrictions of the plagiarism policy. Copyright for educational use is often considered fair use which is not the case with university restrictions. (Harris, 2002)
In the current information and digital age, the copyright restrictions allow for duplication and distribution of music through the web at a low cost which is not the case with the university policy on plagiarism concerning the reproduction of the music, and art creations held. Under Australian Law, copyright is only passed in writing which is not the standard held by the plagiarism policy. (Anderson, 2002)
The enforcing agents of the copyright act are entrusted with making arrests then the relevant investigation into the offense is done followed by a verdict for the crime established. On the other hand, the same is done by the university authorities then due action is taken by the university administration which may even involve suspension from the standardized university awarding of certification. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Conclusion
From this work, it is evident that the University policy against plagiarism has restrictions that are much stiff than the restrictions placed on copying other people’s materials by the copyright law. However, the major difference between the limits placed in individual materials is for a given time that is determinable but for the university policies, the time is largely indefinite. It can also be argued that plagiarism is majorly a branch of the larger copyright act as the restrictions of the university act are covered within the copyright act then it goes further to involve others, not within the university policy
List of References
Anderson, R. (2002).Copy advisory network. Web.
Harris, R.A. (2002). Using sources effectively: strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub.