All cases in point, John.
I was talking about actually learning how to quote and cite correctly... assuming the student WANTS to learn this. If people WANT to plagiarise, there's always a way. I have known students (and even once, a Visiting Fellow) who plagiarised by translating something from another language. How would we know, for instance, what a Macedonian judge wrote in a decision? Add in a few citations of books in a language the pro doesn't read, and Bob's your uncle. (The Fellow made a major error -- he translated a book by P. Freire that I had recently re-read, and which I happened to have in my office.) Things like Turnitin would not catch that.
On 10 May 2010, at 15:50, John Harbord wrote:
> In addition to the point Linda raises with how to distinguish between encyclopedia-type knowledge and original work, I have had a few cases recently (one today) where students plagiarise from encyclopediae and other such common-knowledge sources. The assumption, it seems is that if it is in an encyclopedia it must be common knowledge so you don't need to mention the source. In addition, some professors see red when students cite Wikipedia. The student solution is to drop the citation. Problem solved! Common knowledge, after all.
>
> Interesting, one of the most common sources for the hardened plagiarist is book reviews on Amazon.com. Your professor asks you to write a paper using at least 5 sources in the literature review? Easy: don't waste time reading and summarising - use the summary from Amazon. It's common knowledge, isn't it? After all, one student argued, Bourdieu has been summarised so many times that it is impossible to summarise Bourdieu anew without inadvertently using the phrases of others.
>
> John
>
>>>> Linda McPhee <[log in to unmask]> 10/5/10 12:11 >>>
>>
>> Paula noted,
>>
>> "but I would have hoped that academic integrity is globally held in
>> somewhat higher esteem",
>>
>> to which Russ responded,
>>
>> "This is really culturally bound. What may be deemed plagiarism in one
>> culture, could well be deemed acceptable practice in another."
>>
> It's not just national culture, but there's a difference in attitude between academia and, say, public service or banking or other industries. The memo/report/projection/proposal/bid etc. stays the same, but the person sending it (the nominal author) can change.
>
> Meanwhile, in academia, it's difficult to teach the cut-off between:
>
> Clearly Encyclopedia-type
> the work general
> of a single author knowledge
> (cite/quote)............................................(no need to cite/quote)
>
> and it's difficult for students to find this cut-off, because as they advance in their field, and as the field also progresses, the cut-off point moves. Rather than a set of unrealistic 'hard rules', they need to learn to see this as a judgement call, and to have a strategy that will help them make that judgement.
|