Student Perceptions of Plagiarism Avoidance Competencies: An Action Research Case Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract: Student plagiarism in higher education is widespread and presents a growing concern for faculty and administrators who are intent on upholding academic integrity. However, a myopic view of plagiarism as a purely ethical issue is misguided. It is not always simply a deliberate attempt to deceive. Through the involvement of students in an introductory MBA course, this case study uses an action research approach to explore student perceptions of the challenges of avoiding plagiarism in academic writing, the appropriateness of plagiarism penalties, and the value of corrective feedback on penalty-free writing assignments. It also offers a practical example of how discipline-based faculty can incorporate plagiarism education into their curriculum.
Downloads
Article Details
- Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL) right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC-BY) 4.0 International, allowing others to share the work with proper acknowledgement and citation of the work's authorship and initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
- Authors are able to enter separate, additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
- In pursuit of manuscripts of the highest quality, multiple opportunities for mentoring, and greater reach and citation of JoSoTL publications, JoSoTL encourages authors to share their drafts to seek feedback from relevant communities unless the manuscript is already under review or in the publication queue after being accepted. In other words, to be eligible for publication in JoSoTL, manuscripts should not be shared publicly (e.g., online), while under review (after being initially submitted, or after being revised and resubmitted for reconsideration), or upon notice of acceptance and before publication. Once published, authors are strongly encouraged to share the published version widely, with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
References
Abram, S. (2015). Instructors' top strategies for identifying plagiarism. Retrieved from: http://stephenslighthouse.com/2015/10/18/instructors-top-strategies-for-identifyingplagiarism-2/
Ashworth, P. (1997). The variety of qualitative research. Part one: Introduction to the problem. Nurse Education Today, 17, 215-218.
Baleghizadeh, S., & Gordani, Y. (2012). Academic writing and grammatical accuracy: The Role of corrective feedback. GIST Education and Learning Research Journal, (6), 159-176. https://doi.org/10.26817/issn.1692-5777
Bennington, A. & Singh, H. (2013). Faculty expectations of administration: Predictors of intention to report plagiarism. Academy of Leadership Journal, 17(4), 63-76.
Blum, S. D. (2009). Academic Integrity and Student Plagiarism: a Question of Education, Not Ethics. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(24), A35.
Brown, C., Dickson, R., Humphreys, A., McQuillan, V., & Smears, E. (2008). Promoting academic writing/referencing skills: Outcome of an undergraduate e-learning pilot project. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(1), 140-156.
DaCosta, J. (2010). Is there an information literacy skills gap to be bridged? An examination of faculty perceptions and activities relating to information literacy in the United States and England. College and Research Libraries, 71(3), 203-221. https://doi.org/10.5860/0710203
Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (2008). Strategies of qualitative inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Eret, E., & Ok, A. (2014). Internet plagiarism in higher education: tendencies, triggering factors and reasons among teacher candidates. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 39(8), 1002-1016. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.880776
Fallahi, C. R., Wood, R. M., Austad, C. S., & Fallahi, H. (2006). A program for improving undergraduate psychology students' basic writing skills. Teaching Of Psychology, 33(3), 171-175. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top3303_3
Fish, R. & Hura, G. (2013). Students' perceptions of plagiarism. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(5), 33-45. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1017029.pdf
Feng, H., Meizi, L., Di, Y., Mingyu, L., & Doss, D. A. (2016). Necessary evil: Assessing full-time vs. part-time student perceptions of plagiarism. Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings of The Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict (AOCCC), 21(1), 23-27.
Gulley, B. (2012). Feedback on developmental writing students' First Drafts. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(1), 16-18. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1035676.pdf
Heckler, N. C., Forde, D. R., & Bryan, C. H. (2013). Using writing assignment designs to mitigate plagiarism. Teaching Sociology, 41(1), 94-105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X12461471
Holt, E. A. (2012). Education improves plagiarism detection by biology undergraduates. Bioscience, 62(6), 585-592. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.6.9
Hurlbert, J., Savidge, C., Laudenslager, G. (2003). Process-based assignments: how promoting information literacy prevents plagiarism. College and Undergraduate Libraries, 10(1), 39-51.
Icy, L. (2014). Teachers' reflection on implementation of innovative feedback approaches in EFL writing. English Teaching, 69(1), 23-40. Retrieved from: http://journal.kate.or.kr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/kate_69_1_2.pdf
International Center for Academic Integrity (2015). Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/integrity-3.php
Iyer-O'Sullivan, R. (2013). "I can't say it any better": Critical reading as a threshold concept in helping postgraduate Arab students become critical and original writers. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 9(2), 3-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v9i2.888
Kirkwood, A., & Price, L. (2013). Examining assumptions and limitations of research on the effects of emerging technologies for teaching and learning in higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(4), 536-543. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12049
Lampert, L. (2004). Integrating discipline-based anti-plagiarism instruction into the information literacy curriculum. Reference Services Review, 32(4), 347-355.
McGuiness, C. (2006). What faculty think–exploring the barriers to information literacy development in undergraduate Education. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32 (6). pp. 573-582. ISSN 00991333. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-2044-0
Newton, F., Wright, J., & Newton, J. (2014). Skills training to avoid inadvertent plagiarism: Results from a randomized control study. Higher Education Research and Development, 33(6), 1180-1193.
Plagiarism.org (2014). Academic integrity in college and graduate school. Retrieved from http://www.plagiarism.org/resources/facts-and-stats
Saana, S. M., Ablordeppey, E., Mensah, N. J., & Karikari, T. K. (2016). Academic dishonesty in higher education: students' perceptions and involvement in an African institution. BMC Research Notes, 91-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-0162044-0
Sentleng, M. P., & King, L. (2012). Plagiarism among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Applied Science at a South African Higher Education Institution. South African Journal Of Libraries & Information Science, 78(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-2044-0
Singh, H. & Bennington, A. (2012). Faculty on the frontline: Predicting faculty intentions to address college student plagiarism. Academy of Leadership Journal, 16(4), 115-128.
Voelker, T., Love, L., & Pentina, I. (2012). Plagiarism: What they don't know? Journal of Education for Business, 87, 36-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2011.552536
Walker, C. & White, M. (2014). Police, design and manage: Developing a framework for integrating staff roles and institutional policies into a plagiarism prevention strategy. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 36(6), 674-687. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2014.957895
Weiner, S. (2014). Who teaches information literacy competencies? A report of a study of faculty. College Teaching, 62. pp 5-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2013.803949
Youmans, R. (2011). Does the adoption of plagiarism-detection software in higher education reduce plagiarism? Studies in Higher Education, 36(7), 749-761. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.880776
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1993). Improving learning and teaching through action learning and action research. Higher Education Research and Development, 12(1), 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436930120105
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992). Professional development in higher education: A theoretical framework for action research. London: Kogan Page.