Hi All
Derek's account is exactly part of my fear. I'm not against viva exams
per se (I use them myself). But as a method of detecting plagiarism?
When there are just so many other factors that could cause a bad viva?
Using a viva to detect plagiarism in an assignment can only be justified
if you are 100% sure that the viva is an accurate measure of the
student's knowledge at the time that the assignment was written. (And
let's face it, most examination results are not a measure of knowledge -
at best, they measure only how well the student performed on the day).
There simply isn't that surety (in any exam). And worse, you're not
talking about a viva where a bad viva means a low mark or (worst case) a
fail. In this instance, a bad viva means a student is branded a cheat,
and this goes on his/her record. If the student is studying in one of
the professions (e.g. medical), those things stay around for an awfully
long time. At some institutions, cheating like this can result in
suspension or rustication.
For branding a student a cheat, you HAVE to be 100% sure. And that
means solid proof. Anything else is suspicion only, no matter how
strong. To use only strong suspicion would be (at the risk of being
OTP) simply immoral. When in doubt, take the guideline of letting 99
guilty get off rather that brand 1 innocent a cheat. The potential
damage otherwise is simply too great to contemplate.
In this case, please consider the worst case scenario:
- if you let the student off, and s/he had cheated.
- if you branded him / her a cheat, and s/he were innocent.
And if you can't have that 100% surety from the viva, then there is no
good reason to put yourself or the student through the process.
So, I return to my original comment - be extremely careful if
contemplating anything like this.
Regards
Ken
----
Dr. Ken Masters
Asst. Professor: Medical Informatics
Medical Education Unit
College of Medicine & Health Sciences
Sultan Qaboos University
Sultanate of Oman
E-i-C: The Internet Journal of Medical Education
____/\/********\/\____
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Checking an Essay for Plagiarism
> From: Derek J Ord <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, June 03, 2010 12:38 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> A couple of years ago, we had a student who was suspected of submitting an essay that was not written by him. The main evidence was that it was "too good" for that student. There was no other evidence.
>
>
>
> A viva was held. Unfortunately, as it took so long to get to that stage, the student had forgotten a lot of what had been written and did not do very well in the viva. Students do tend to move on and concentrate on their next module once the assessment for the last has finished.
>
>
>
> The student was found guilty, but I still worry about it. In essence, the student was penalised for being "too good".
>
>
>
> I guess the moral of that story is to act quickly, so as to ensure that if you do use a viva, it is a fair one.
>
>
>
>
>
> (we learned a lot of lessons from this and I'm sure it couldn't happen like this again)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Derek.
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
>
> Derek Ord
>
> Head of Student Administrative Services
>
> University of Hull
>
> Hull, HU6 7RX
>
>
>
> www.hull.ac.uk
>
>
>
> 01482 46 5980
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Plagiarism [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Whyley
>
> Sent: 03 June 2010 09:25
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Subject: Re: Checking an Essay for Plagiarism
>
>
>
> In my opinion the only sensible thing to do is viva the student.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
> Catherine Ogilvie wrote:
>
> > Dear All
>
> >
>
> > One of our lecturers has an essay which is suspected of being plagiarised. The essay has been submitted via TurnitinUK and the report was okay, with no obvious duplication being highlighted. The suspicion is that the essay is a 'purchased' essay, with the request to ensure it exhibits no duplication when submitted via TurnitinUK. Unfortunately a claim of plagiarism cannot be made unless there is specfic evidence, such as grammatical changes, collusion with another student, a high percentage level of duplication on the originality report using TurnitinUK, etc. I had a look at the original Word document, but this does not provide much insight (via the File, Properties menu; Tools, View, Hidden text and Track Changes options)
>
> >
>
> > Has anyone any other suggestions for trying to find out any other sources of evidence prior to initiating a meeting with the student?
>
> >
>
> > Thanks
>
> >
>
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