Problems with Internet research include intentional plagiarism when students copy papers from the Web or knowingly cut and paste without citing the source. Most professors at Presbyterian College have seen unintentional plagiarism when students use others' ideas without quotation marks or proper citation.

Plagiarism Web Sites for Faculty    Copyright and Fair Use   Plagiarism Web Sites for Students

Why do students plagiarize?

• Some may lack time management skills.
• Others may be looking for the "shortest route possible through a course," according to Robert Harris on his helpful Web page.
• Or they may be ignorant of or careless with documentation standards.

How can faculty try to detect plagiarism from online sources?

• Type or paste a passage from a student paper into a full-text search engine such as Google Advanced Search.
• Commercial sites are available as well, such as the popular Turnitin.com .
• Our goal is to help students become active learners, and our efforts should go into preventing rather than detecting plagiarism.

How can faculty work to prevent plagiarism?

• Make the assignment unique.
• Use a process approach.
• Try alternatives to the traditional research paper.
• Educate students about plagiarism.

Make the assignment unique: At the May 17, 2001 Russell Program Faculty Workshop, Presbyterian College faculty members shared ways they make assignments unique so that students cannot turn to paper mills (such as Junglepage.com) in desperation.

• require specific topics
• require particular formats or text models
• focus on current issues
• require current sources
• ask students to write on local issues
• have students include personal interviews
• ask for some personal reflection
• require team reports
• ask for oral reports along with the written papers

Use a process approach: Rather than following the traditional term paper timeline--assigned first day, due last day--help students with the process. John C. Bean in Engaging Ideas (87-89) suggests the following ideas for guiding students in finding the question or problem to research.

• ask students to follow an organizational structure that requires a problem-thesis pattern
• present a thesis that students defend or refute
• give students a problem or question that demands a thesis answer
• provide models

Use sequenced assignments or assignments with various stages to put process into the paper. Use short assignments to introduce research skills, include a library and Internet search demonstration, and collect parts of the paper at intervals during the semester. Have students hand in a paper trail as they research and write.

Possibilities for sequenced assignments:

• guided-journal entries or Blackboard discussion to explore possible areas of interest and to define a research question
• submissions from library and Internet searches such as annotated bibilographies
• evaluative summaries of journal articles or Web sites related to the research question
• prospectus: What is your research problem? Why is your question significant? What is your progress in your research and thinking? What do you expect to discover? Do you have a working thesis? (Bean 207-208)
• personal reflection: an exploratory essay graded and due three or four weeks before the paper is due or an essay describing the research written in class the day the paper is due.
• feedback: include peer review such as a workshop on rough drafts two weeks before the paper is due, collect drafts for written comments or conferences, and/or encourage writing center conferences
• two hundred word abstract of argument
• final research paper

Try alternatives to term papers such as short essays that support or refute a thesis on a controversial question or short arguments that require the use of research data for support (Bean 74).

Educate students about plagiarism.

• Put your definition of plagiarism in the assignment sheet.
• Talk about plagiarism when you introduce the assignment.
• Share your reasons for using and citing sources: to join a disciplinary conversation, to support your own ideas and to refute opposing ideas, to allow a reader to find the source document, and to give give credit for others' ideas.

Educate students in the research and documentation process. Take them to the library and demonstrate an Internet search. Have them compile an annotated bibliography or keep a research log. Discuss the concept of "'middle ground'" (Walvoord) or managing their information before they integrate it into their papers. Give them practice with summary and paraphrase.

Educate students about citation. Put your preferred citation style on the assignment sheet and refer students to a manual in the Writing Center or to a Web site such as one listed on the Writing Center's Citing Sources page. Advise students to include citations on first drafts and let them know what information they will need to cite Web pages: title, author, organization, title of broader work, date created or modified, date of student access, full URL (except from internal search engines such as databases or newspapers).

Help students evaluate sources on the Internet by presenting guidelines in your field and by considering the type of research and writing you are assigning. Does the research assignment allow for nonexpert experience or should all sources be experts in your field?

Final thoughts on guiding student research using the Internet:

• Create assignments carefully.
• Put process into assignments.
• Coach and guide students through the process, educating them about plagiarism and how to prevent it.
  
  Works Cited

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1996.

Walvoord, Barbara E. Fassler. 2nd ed. Helping Students Write Well: A Guide for Teachers in All Disciplines. NY: MLA, 1986.

Harris, Robert. Antiplagiarism Strategies for Research Papers. 2 Oct. 2000. Virtual Salt. 4 Apr. 2001 <http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm>

Bedford/St. Martins Workshop on Plagiarism includes handouts for instructors and students
Plagiarism and Antiplagiarism Strategies for faculty: from Rutgers University
Electronic Plagiarism Seminar for faculty: Lemoyne College

Ten Big Myths About Copyright by Brad Templeton

What Is it and How to Avoid It from Indiana University
How Not to Plagiarize University of Toronto
Plagiarism in the Visual Arts: Encouraging Creativity     New Book on Internet Era Plagiarism and Cheating

How the Writing Center Can Help Faculty	Writing Resources
Writing Centered Newsletter	Guides to Writing at Presbyterian College
Communication Across the Curriculum Ideas at Presbyterian College  Ideas Online   Books	Presbyterian College Writing Center