Copyright and Fair Use: An Issue of Ethics in a Changing Learning Environment
Plagiarism in the Learning Environment
What is plagiarism? According to the American Psychological Association (APA), plagiarism is presenting someone else's work (ideas or written words) as if it were their own work (American Psychological Association, 1995). Spigelman (1998) found that students were observed to have conflicting ethical views regarding authorship in general. She found that students approached the writing/publishing process with different opinions about the value and use of input from other students in peer writing groups. While some students had no problems modifying their work on the basis of input from other members of the group or adding changes created by other students, some students had a very strong sense of individual ownership and struggled with the ethical question of original authorship. Obviously, the dilemma over what constitutes plagiarism does exist and each individual has a different perspective on exactly which behaviors are academically dishonest.
With the advent of the Internet and accessibility of electronic publications, students in schools and universities worldwide have information as fast as a click of the mouse. Consequently, plagiarism has become harder to detect and easier for students to do. Ryan (1998), while teaching an information security concepts course, caught 7 out of 42 students in one semester plagiarizing most or all of their research papers from the Internet. During the next semester she found one out of every six students plagiarized their entire papers.
According to Gajadhar (1998), Internet plagiarism (cyber cheating, cyber shoplifting) is on the rise. In the educational environment, Internet plagiarism includes changing the context of the information, skipping footnotes, and "citing nonexistent books or journal articles or referring to sources unrelated to the subject matter" (Ryan, 1998, p. 3). Walker (as cited in Gajadhar, 1998) reports that this is not just a problem in the United States and it is not limited to higher educational institutions. Wilhoit (1994, p. 162) states "few students enter college fully understanding the relationship between plagiarism and the rules about quoting, paraphrasing and documenting material." In addition, if an educator uses the same test over and over, students quickly learn that they may obtain copies of the test via their local Internet connection.
Students are being prepared to fulfill the push for teams in the business world by being assigned group projects. This causes potential problems for the student. If the instructions call for each team member to submit a paper on the team's activity, plagiarism naturally comes into play. If the team produces only one document then the temptation disappears. Donohue (as cited in Gajadhar, 1998, p. 7) suggests that "the best way to eliminate even the temptation to plagiarize if for professors to be more creative, assigning papers and essays that call on a student to relay personal experiences or that draw from classroom discussions."
One structured method employed to fight plagiarism is an Honor Code. The university-wide Honor Code used by Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas requires, on any exam or homework produced and submitted for assessment, students to write the phrase: " I have neither given nor received aid on this examination, nor have I seen anyone else do so" (Babcock, personal communication, October 6, 2000). If a student is caught cheating either by another student or his/her professor, s/he is turned into the Judiciary Council for a hearing. According to the Advisor to the Judiciary Council and Dean of Students, Sherry Babcock, in the 1999-2000 school year, only one hearing occurred for any plagiarism case proving the Honor Code as an effective method (personal communication, October 6, 2000). Monash University provides a clear set of guidelines for students and faculty titled "Guidelines for Assessment in Undergraduate Subjects and Responsibilities of Examiners" (2001, section 6.1). The guideline includes advice for students and states the "appropriate action in the case of collusion, cheating or plagiarism." Other tactics to combat plagiarism include checking commonly used search sites, search help sites, category search sites, online bookstores, and people search sites (Ryan, 1998).
Wilhoit (as cited in Gajadhar, 1998) outlines several steps that classroom instructors can use to educate students and prevent plagiarism. He noted all instructors should begin the learning process with an open and thorough discussion of plagiarism that includes concrete guidelines for avoiding plagiarism. Initial instruction should be followed with reinforcement as actual learning occurs in structured settings (e.g., multi-drafts of papers, structured proofreading exercises, collaboration guidelines, etc.). Finally, instructors should address violations individually and design appropriate consequences. The focus should not be on punishment, but rather be on identifying ways students can avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Resisting the temptation to practice academic/professional dishonesty can be very difficult. Whether one person gives proper credit for an item created by another person is a ethical issue. A person's ethical code reflects their personal ethics.