Preventing Online Plagiarism

WMRLS Continuing Education Workshop

Friday, January 21, 2005

Workshop Leader: Janet Eckert, WMRLS

Background Information

Who Plagiarizes?

Profile Of A Cheater: Person who is “lazy, last minute,

not interested in the subject, … over achievers who don’t want to risk failure”Hamilton, Denise

Kids who are over scheduled – too much homework, too many afterschool activities and no free time Chaker, Anne Marie

Who Plagiarizes? Everyone at one time or another!

Famous Plagiarists

Enablers … Parents, Teachers, School

Administration

Why Plagiarize? Don’t like the teacher Santa Lucia, Lynn

Afraid to ask questions of the teacher Santa Lucia, Lynn

Easier to copy than to think and reflect Santa Lucia, Lynn

Role Models?

Dave Barry “Dave Barry always scrupulously

attributes the source of any true fact that wanders into his column. … When Dave Barry comments on, for example, an exploding commode, he not only names the newspaper that published the incident, but also the reporter who wrote the article – and even the “alert reader” who passed it along.” Fitzgerald, Mark

What Can Librarians Do?

6 Strategies To Fight Plagiarism Show Your

Knowledge Teach Faculty Involve Tutors

Provide Help Redesign

Coursework Use Software

Smith, C. Brian

Show Your Knowledge

Teach Faculty

Involve Tutors

Provide Help

Talk About Plagiarism “You forget entirely about a report that is

due on Monday, and there is no way you can complete it over the weekend. No way. Your teacher is unforgiving about being late on assignments. Do you go to the library or the Internet and copy a few bits and pieces from different sources and call it your own to avoid failing? What are the arguments for and against doing this?” Schwartau and Busch

Redesign Coursework

Use Software

Use Software? Ethical Issues

Questions & Answers

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