Plagiarism as a Form of Academic Dishonesty - Research Paper Example

PLAGIAR Abstract The current research looks into plagiarism in the educational setting. Plagiarism is known to be fraudulent behavior, but many students still choose to take the risk. As everyone knows, plagiarism is taking the work of another, and claiming it as one’s own. The current research looks into the attitudes and beliefs of a group of students regarding plagiarism behaviors. Results show that students tend to value extrinsic over intrinsic factors when assessing the advisability of plagiarism, once they have accepted it as a common practice. Introduction Plagiarism is to use someone else's words or ideas without permission. Plagiarism is dangerous, because it is basically a fraud. People who plagiarize are essentially false. They are going to have confidence in themselves, and what they do, because they had no real idea on their own, and they are going to think of their fraud as soon as they hit the real world and discover that they are in reality than they should be learning. And it becomes dangerous, because if all is plagiarism, nothing is known, and even your own conclusions become suspect. “Of the studies that assess trends in plagiarism alone, most utilize self-reporting of plagiarism… students have such a confused notion of what actually constitutes plagiarism that such self-reporting cannot be taken as entirely reliable” (Power, 2009). Some journalists and writers have been guilty of plagiarism in recent years, and explanations are given to justify this behavior. Some say the problem is poor note-taking, as when transcribing material from other sources, the writer can not appropriately differentiate between what is written on the page and what is their own words on the subject. Literature Review The base line of the problem, many scholars state, is that teachers are at fault. “Increasingly, it seems that our free-enterprise society has warped our scruples beyond the grasp of good parenting—to the point of encouraging unethical behavior. Look no further than the newsworthy mischief of corporate America… in which self-preservation is the name of the game” (Barbian, 2002, p. 92). Teachers can do things to create this atmosphere to the extent that the tasks which naturally take too unrealistic use of time schedules by their students and therefore attract students to plagiarize documents to complete the task. But the baseline of the problem, according to the status of many researchers, is that teachers who find many students have plagiarized material, do not teach their subject effectively enough so that students are actually interested in it and can use it in connection to their real lives. Students today have more access to the internet than students in the past used to, so there are more opportunities for cheating. There are also studies that have been done on why certain demographics of students may be more likely to cheat than others. “Students who engage in plagiarism present a problem for all educators, especially those at the secondary and post-secondary levels. To those teaching at the university level, the ever-increasing availability of electronic material must certainly be making plagiarism easier for students and may also be contributing to its prevalence” (Power, 2009). These studies are mainly based on a curiosity not to know why plagiarism occurs, but the way it goes. Other studies claim that plagiarism may be the result of a changing social context of the educational process in general. Today, people will not be judged by standards of academic excellence, but the potential gains of their paycheck. This shift may explain why plagiarism is prevalent on many campuses today, and apparently encouraged throughout the educational system. “A large body of research has been conducted on cheating behaviors across all disciplines. There has been a significant amount of inquiry at the college level, particularly in the fields of English, Business Management, and Psychology” (Power, 2009). Method Methods involve initial research with qualitative or quantitative methods. Population Research wants to draw any conclusions that can be fairly stated about a standard population, income, etc., but first basic demographic information is required. After the data collection, the ethical problems appear to be limited. However, the initial research often leads to limitations and procedures. The work is organized around the concepts of exploration. Reports and reliability of the method of evaluation should be valid and reliable, but there are obstacles characteristic of scientific publications. The method provides a representative sample of the parties to the generalization of the scale depending on size. The sample size for research may be relatively small and not longitudinal in nature. Preliminary studies are typically done to satisfy the curiosity of the researcher. Revision of the document occurs in a kind of meta-analysis, which is not an empirical approach to its subject. The survey collects from other sources, which may have an empirical value, and represents the actual experimentation. The original study, on the other hand, uses a design which includes empirical evidence for testing and provides the statistical results in a scientific way. This tool employs about 10-20 people, which is a parameter and is specified for use in investigations. In other words, the study does not attempt to interview the entire city, or the whole school. Rather, the study seeks to obtain a random or section of this group, which represents the whole. In terms of how this sampling plan can be modified to meet face to face with the aim of the questionnaire in the form of the above, it is important to ask relevant survey questions (see appendix). Investigators have chosen each student, mobile or stationary, on the school campus or in town, and approached them, asking if they would be interested in participating. The interviewer was asked to accept the rejection of the nominal value of participating, and not rate unethically for/through trying to force them to participate. The interviewer was aware that this is contrary to ethics and to reduce the validity of the interview, and also increases the likelihood that respondents give false results determined to distort the research. This is always a danger, however, interviews and surveys. The respondent set was chosen and analyzed through probability sampling, because “probability sampling avoids conscious or unconscious biases in element selection on the part of the researcher… (and) permits estimates of sampling error. Although no probability sample will be perfectly representative in all respects” (Babbie, 1995). The respondents all understood the length and requirements of the survey they were taking. Analysis and Discussion Some stated that cheating is isolated. Others stated that the problem of cheating and plagiarism at the school level has led to larger problems in the society that school is supposed to be preparing these individuals for. Teachers might do things to set up this atmosphere such as to give unrealistic assignments that naturally take up too much time out of their students’ schedules and therefore entice students to plagiarize documents to complete the assignment. It must be kept in mind that fabrication occurs when research is not empirically grounded, and the research writer or writers tamper with evidence, procedures, or results in a way that either proves or disproves their hypothesis artificially. Fabricated results, for example, may exaggerate or change certain variables, just to support the end result as a form of researcher bias which is predetermined prior to application and submission. Responses Results #1 7 males 10 females #2 14 over 50 3 under 50 #3 13 more than 10 years 4 over 10 years #4 3 “agree” 14 “disagree” #5 10 “no” 7 “yes” #6 Varied, but those who voted “no” above tended to highlight that it was “against the rules/code.” Varied, but those who voted “yes” above tended to highlight that it was a “harmless” or “honest” ethics violation Conclusion Plagiarism has always been a serious problem for educational institutions worldwide, but as many have noted, plagiarism is a more serious problem in modern times, because too many students take what they need from Internet resources easily and pass it along as though it is theirs. Students seem to even be using their own school library as a place where the sources of the Internet can be cut and pasted into documents and then submit these documents without citing their sources in an appropriate manner. Many people think that students cheat and plagiarize mainly to save time and effort and get better quality, but some researchers think of plagiarism on a cultural level, that some cultures, that information is everywhere, free and should not be purchased; it is too vast to be presented. But most agree that plagiarism continues to be a growing problem throughout middle-schools, high-schools, and colleges across the nation. “The ways in which universities and academics attempt to respond to and deter student plagiarism may be based on untested assumptions about reasons for this behavior” (Devlin and Gray, 2007). Recommendations Some people think plagiarism is something that teachers can cope with in this situation, but it is true that many teachers are reluctant to change their methods. In my opinion, students, if made to reflect on the process of plagiarism without despair or self-justification, they will inevitably conclude that it is a behavior that goes against their morality and what conscience tells them. Such an exercise could take the form of a supervised test or class discussion on plagiarism to open the issue in a public forum. Students may be asked to appoint and to openly discuss stressors that can lead them to cheat on an exam, as nervousness about the continuation of known or maintaining an athletic scholarship in the context of this moral has often been the case, and instead the rules can learn to be bypassed by the activity of plagiarism; this is unethical and disgraceful, and these stressors can be resolved more productively. Appendix: Survey #1 Are you male or female? #2 Based on a scale of 100 being possible and 0 being impossible, how possible are cheating and plagiarism at your school (mark with an X)? 0 ------------------------------------------50-------------------------------------------100 #3 How long do you think cheating/plagiarism have been going on at your school (please choose one)? A Over 10 years B Less than 10 years #4 Let’s say that a person is a brilliant doctor in their home country, but they don’t speak English very well. When writing an application essay, unfamiliar with Western concepts but wanting to impress a school, they take a paragraph from another student’s application posted on the web, and include it in their essay without quoting it. They are later thrown out of school for plagiarism, and cannot become a doctor. This is fair. Agree or Disagree? ________ #5 Is dishonesty ever acceptable? Y N #6 Please provide examples, comments, etc. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BIBLIOGRAPHY Ambrose, Stephen, Kea, Doris, and Hannah Crafts (2002). Plagiarism high and low. Commentary, Vol. 114, p. 54. Babbie, Earl (1995). The Practice of Social Research. New York: Wadsworth- Thompson Publishing. Barbian, Jeff (2002). A cheater’s paradise. Training, Vol. 39, p. 92 Devlin, M, K Gray (2007). In their own words. Higher Education R&D. Power, L (2009). University students' perceptions of plagiarism Journal of Higher Education List of illustrations Chart—pg. 6 Copy Cats—pg. 8 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the school, my mentors, my teachers, my tutors, and my parents, for all of their integral help and support. Read More