An investigation into the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism of HE students

This paper investigates the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism by higher education students in the United Kingdom (UK), examining how they define Internet plagiarism, their perceived role in combating this phenomenon, and the skills and techniques they have or will adopt to achieve this. A Delphi study was undertaken using a sample of 10 respondents. The responses demonstrated that plagiarism is a multifaceted term and not easily definable, however respondents were unanimous in their opinion that the Internet has made it easier to plagiarise. The potential for active collaboration between librarians and academics to jointly address Internet plagiarism was seen as vital by all respondents, although opinion was divided on the role of librarians and academics. A blended approach is recommended, which involves policing and prevention; in addition to ensuring that students are achieving information literacy well before they reach the gates of the University

Computers, the internet, and cheating among secondary school students: Some implications for educators

This article investigates in greater depth one particular aspect of cheating within secondary education and some implications for measuring academic achievement. More specifically, it examines how secondary students exploit the Internet for plagiarizing schoolwork, and looks at how a traditional method of educational assessment, namely paper-based report and essay writing, has been impacted by the growth of Internet usage and the proliferation of computer skills among secondary school students. One of the conclusions is that students’ technology fluency is forcing educators to revisit conventional assessment methods. Different options for combating Internet plagiarism are presented, and some software tools as well as non-technology solutions are evaluated in light of the problems brought about by “cyberplagiarism.

Dealing with the Plague of Plagiarism in Nigeria

Growing incidents of plagiarism seem to plague tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the world in general especially with the advent of the Internet. The aim of this paper, therefore, was to draw on existing literature to offer steps that could be taken in dealing with the plague of plagiarism. The study concludes with a summary of findings from literature and outlines various measures that can be taken by governing bodies, lecturers and students to maintain an environment of academic integrity free from the menace of plagiarism. Keywords: Academic Integrity; Plagiarism; Tertiary Institutions

A consideration of academic misconduct in the creative disciplines: From inspiration to imitation and acceptable incorporation

When the issue of students obtaining unfair academic advantage is discussed, the focus is, virtually always on text based material concerning inadequate attribution or more blatant, but possibly inadvertent, passing off. A 2008 conference concerning plagiarism held had only two, from over thirty, sessions, keynotes and workshops, focused specifically on issues of plagiarism from within the creative, visual, art and design disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to outline many of the issues of misrepresentation with particular reference to vocational education in creative disciplines and to propose a route that may be followed to clarify matters for specific subject grouping and institutions. It is asserted that this approach, if formalised, can, lead to the establishment of agreed verifiable standards and thus improve the quality of the student work created (Porter 2009). This paper does not focus upon text based misconduct but upon issues of academic misconduct specifically associated with images, ideas and intellectual property within the creative disciplines of art and design

Cyberplagiarism and the Library: Issues and Solutions

Plagiarism by students in academic institutions is an old but continuing problem facing teachers and librarians. Although studies disagree on the Internet’s effect on student plagiarism, the easy availability of electronic information creates a challenge for librarians, who must be ready not only to detect and deter plagiarism, but also to educate their patrons about it. The purpose of this contribution is to summarize briefly the nature, extent and causes of plagiarism in its academic aspect, especially as it has been influenced by electronic information sources, and to review measures of its detection and deterrence