About+Plagiarism


 * Plagiarism**, also known as cheating or copying, is the passing off of someone's ideas as one's own. It can occur knowingly or unknowingly. A student uses someone else's work without giving credit or including proper citation information.


 * Plagiarism** is not new, but with the advent of the internet, students have found new ways to **plagiarize**. According to a 2005 study completed by McCabe with the Center for Academic Integrity, over 60% of students admitted to **plagiarism** and about half admitted to **plagiarism** using the internet. Of concern to educators and society, this study also found that students do not find **plagiarism** to be of a major concern.

Collaboration is critical to preventing **plagiarism**, and requires the involvement of school administration, the media specialist, the teacher, parents and the student. Together, the above three factors can be instrumental in significantly reducing **plagiarism** amongst students. -BS Understanding students’ attitudes toward **plagiarism** may help educators in creating prevention strategies. Below are the most common responses students give when asked why they plagiarize. In a 2001 study by Donald McCabe, a management professor at Rutgers University, slightly less than half of high school participants claimed that teachers sometimes chose to ignore students who cheated. Students will continue to plagiarize if they think it will be rewarded. In a 1996 focus group, where participants were asked why they plagiarized, the most common reason given was “because others did it.” This can be attributed to two factors, the first being that students may have a hard time distinguishing collaboration from cheating. The other is that peer culture is always a big motivation in student behavior Some students find research tasks overwhelming and consequently choose to plagiarize. They may also be unclear about the practice of citing, and why it’s important. -AD
 * Firstly, clear perceptions and policies regarding **plagiarism** can greatly influence students actions. Creating a school culture of honesty and integrity should directly impact student behaviors. This environment can be facilitated by the leadership of school administration and the media specialist. All teachers can communicate and enforce these policies.
 * Secondly, teachers should inform students of not just their expectations, but also the steps that they might take to detect **plagiarism**. As is discussed in detail in the Detection section of this wiki, there are many methods that a teacher can adopt to detect **plagiarism**.
 * Lastly, students need instruction to develop and learn information literacy and research skills as they progress in their eduction. Teachers must empower their students with the skills, resources and tools to independently do their assignments and projects. Some of these information literacy and research skills are discussed in detail in the Prevention section of this wiki.
 * // Perception that educators will tolerate it/turn a blind eye //
 * // Perception that **plagiarism** is acceptable because so many do it //
 * // Lack of research skills and ignorance of proper citation //