Using someone else’s words, ideas or research without giving the appropriate credit....this is plagiarism! As the increase in the use of technology, along with the fact that more and more academic materials are available on line, there seems to be an increase in plagiarism across the universities. According to the article, Plagiarism, Academic Dishonesty on the Rise Among College Students, there is more cases of plagiarism to investigate these days. Some of the increase in the number of cases reported may be due to the resources being used to check for plagiarism that are available to college professors. It is so easy to copy and paste from internet sites right into the contents of a paper. Such a simple process but consequences ranging from letters of reprimand to permanent expulsion from a university.
How can plagiarism be avoided among college students? First, the students need to be educated about what is plagiarism, how and when to cite others’ work, and how to avoid it altogether. Second, professors can help in avoiding by asking students to compare and contracts particular articles where they have a good understanding of the material being presented or they can ask questions that ask for opinions and reflections. Third, work on the “honor” code within the university setting. Try and influence the students to monitor each other and ask questions when they are not clear on a citation. Forth, the university needs to have strong policies with both explanations of what is considered plagiarism and details of the the consequences. And finally, there needs to be a system of follow through whether this includes rewriting a paper or dismissing the student, it is important for everyone to see the consequences being taken seriously. Each university needs to create a culture of honesty and an environment where credit is given on all levels from staff, students to tenure faculty.
But what happens when plagiarism is happening between university professors? Journal Editors’ Reaction to Word of Plagiarism? Largely Silence is a disturbing article that was posted today in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Lior Shamir, from Lawrence Technical University, is a computer science professor that recently discovered that a paper he presented in a conference in 2006 was “borrowed” some 21 times. Two professors from Iran published a similar paper in 2010 that had some identical wording and continued to utilize his work, his words and ideas in eight different publications with absolutely no credit to Mr. Shamir. As he researched and contacted many authors, journals and editors, he was shocked to receive only a few replies. He was hoping for the editors and the journals to retract such articles and was even hoping for some apologies. None of this happened. One professor acknowledge that portions of Mr. Shamir’s paper was copied but blamed it on the graduate assistant that was the co-author of their paper. But this very professor failed to acknowledge that this same paper had been published for a second time this year still without the proper credit! Another professor responded that “only one page had been copied” with no apology or retraction. If the editors are allowing this practice to go on without any consequences, they are in essence allowing plagiarism to continue.
University professors are supposed to be the role models in the area of plagiarism. What about integrity, honesty and ethics? These characteristics need to start from the top and be expected at all levels. Such dishonest practices can not be tolerated at the professor level and writings should be protected by strict and ethical guidelines.
Plagiarism is not going to go away but it should be an area of focus for universities to produce honest and ethical students and to uphold the same expectations of their professors, as well!
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