#AcademicIntegrity: No to Plagiarism
by Almira Jallores
“If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many, it's research.”
- Wilson Mizner, American writer and actor (1876 – 1933)
Plagiarism and the Internet
The internet did not bring about plagiarism. Students have been plagiarizing long before; the internet has only made the act so much easier to carry out. Gadgets and the plethora of online applications and tools certainly present a temptation to try and cheat – again and again. And this presents a challenge to schools and teachers to keep cheating and plagiarizing from becoming a guilt-free, fool-proof and convenient way to pass the course.
Why do students plagiarize?
Laziness and the lack of values have frequently been cited as reasons for the rampant commission of plagiarism by students. There are, however, others like James Lang, who in his book Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (Harvard University Press, 2013) points out that “new research indicates that students often cheat because their learning environments give them ample incentives to try.” The book also mentions that “courses that set the stakes of performance very high; that rely on single assessment mechanisms like multiple-choice tests; and that have arbitrary grading criteria” breed cheating.
What is plagiarism?
But what exactly is plagiarism? The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website defined plagiarism 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.”
According to the website Plagiarism.org, the following would constitute plagiarism:
- Turning in someone else's work as your own
- Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
- Failing to put a quotation within quotation marks
- Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
- Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
- Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
What is NOT plagiarism?
Stating an idea in almost the same way somebody has said it or has written it, whether deliberately or accidentally, would most likely constitute plagiarism, unless the idea falls under what is known as common knowledge. What is common knowledge? It is anything that most people know about such as Asia is a continent and that Christmas is celebrated on December 25. Famous sayings such as “Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo” or “Health is wealth” are also considered common knowledge.
In doing academic work, the following criteria can be used to check if something is common knowledge:
1. Can the information or idea be found in more than three different sources?
2. Is the information or idea known to most people or at least to the members of the specific group for whom the material is written?
3. Can the information or idea be found in general references such as dictionaries and encyclopedia?
Citing the source for an idea or information is the best thing to do when one is unsure if it is common knowledge.
How to avoid plagiarism
The following can help curb the students’ commission of plagiarism:
1. Teach values. Emphasize the importance of honesty and respect.
2. Explain well why going through the “long route” of reading, researching, and attribution when working on academic requirements is better than the “short-cut” process of simply copying and pasting.
3. Teach good research and study skills and provide ample opportunities for practice. The skills of summarizing, quoting, and paraphrasing are not easy to teach or learn but are certainly necessary for school and for life.
4. Teach how to evaluate sources. Make students understand that not everything they find online is verified information, so they have to check it using reliable sources.
5. Introduce students to Writing Style Manuals such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). Emphasize the use of these guides for attribution.
Checking for plagiarism
As much as the Internet makes cheating and copying easy, it also makes checking for it easy. Below are some plagiarism detection tools available online teachers and students can use for free:
5. Plagium.com
The key to preventing plagiarism is really simple – practice attribution. Always give credit where credit is due.
The advent of the internet is both a boon and a bane for students and teachers alike. Caution should be taken then not to make it appear as though it is the enemy. It is NOT. Irrelevant, un-engaging and poorly planned lessons ARE. Perhaps, teachers can turn to the Internet for help on how to make learning so fun and meaningful that students will see no need to plagiarize. After all, great learning is always creative and original.
For further reading:
Challenges in Addressing Plagiarism in Education - NCBI
Plagiarism in the Internet Age – ASCD
Top 8 Plagiarism Detector Tools for Teachers
"Do you think copying school work directly from the internet is a form of cheating? Why or why not?"
STUDENTS
Yes. It is a form of cheating, because we don't just steal other’s property, we also prevent ourselves from learning things and improving the morals we have learned in school. Just imagine other people using your compositions and properties. It is not just a form of cheating in school; it is also a form of cheating on myself.
- Denise, 16, Malate Catholic School, Grade 11
I'm in between. I can say that it's cheating when you don't give credit to the source of your information, and if you don't really add any of your own ideas to your work. But when credit is given and the information has incorporated ideas from the student, it is not considered cheating. It will even help the student understand the topic in the long run.
- Chloe, 14, Immaculate Heart of Mary College, Grade 9
I do believe that copying school work directly from the internet is not a form of cheating as school/class rules only apply on the school grounds; unless there is a specific rule not to research about the homework.
- Julius, 13, Marella Christianne Institute, Grade 8
Copying schoolwork directly from the Internet is not cheating, as long as the work copied is properly cited and not claimed as your own idea. It is neither plagiarism nor laziness. The Internet should be treated as a large learning resource or reference that is open to everyone, and like other references, it should be used wisely and given proper credit.
- Shanda, 16, Integrated Montessori Center, Grade 11
Internet, as we all know, has all the information we need, but copying everything from the internet is a form of cheating. It corrupts our learning and our skills in critical thinking, which are the actual logic as to why we go to school. On the other hand, internet can be used as a reference but it is never the answer itself. Copying without acknowledgement is a form of plagiarism. Be keen.
- Jai, 17, Holy Cross of Davao College—Basic Ed, Grade 11
TEACHERS
Plagiarism is plagiarism. No amount of defense can ever lift a person's grave intent of getting other people's idea and passing it as your own. It's a clear form of cheating at its finest. If we allow this in schools, we corrupt students' minds, making them believe that it's fine to steal intellectual properties. In the long run this can be a practice that they can carry to their future workplace. It's universal knowledge that whenever you lift something from the net you should not take credit for it. Properly cite references and always paraphrase.
- Ma’am Sara, 26, St. Paul College Pasig
For me, it can't be a form of cheating if the source is properly acknowledged. It's the intention of the person who’s copying directly from the Internet that sometimes leads to cheating. Rephrasing or summarizing the information is a good thing to do.
- Sir Jawo, 26, Liceo de Calamba
It is counted as plagiarism or cheating if the student did not cite the author or source. If he or she claimed that the idea came from him or her. It is not cheating if the student cited the author or source, or if he or she paraphrased.
- Ma'am Vita, 23, First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities
Yes, it is indeed a form of cheating because the copier did not use his or her own thinking skills, but just relied on what the internet modified. Students now are so indolent. They lack effort and reward themselves for finding easy ways to complete documents needed in school. It is subject to the crime of plagiarism, especially if you copy and claim that the whole work is yours.
- Ma’am Nadz , 51, Taal National High School
The internet is an open book. Everything in it is for everybody's use. However, the cheating depends on our self-control and proper discipline. You don't copy book reviews from the internet for the sake of having to submit a book report to your English teacher and earning an excellent grade. You did not even really sweat for. You don't present a PowerPoint in class without citing the original author, and you just literally read what your PowerPoint says during the reporting. You don't post quotes and ideas on your personal social media accounts without even mentioning the real people who said them. Self-control. Proper discipline. Really, they are such big words for everybody.
- Sir Jep, 24, Integrated Montessori Center
