Friday, February 22, 2008
Fear and Plagiarism
Howard's article made one thing quite clear; the definition of plagiarism is not clearly defined. It bothers me then that so many educators take the approach of trying to scare their students into not plagiarizing , whatever plagiarizing might mean. I feel educators should explain more what they consider plagiarism (or cite a more subject oriented definition), explain why one does not do it, and explain the consequences if one does plagiarize. At higher institutions, like the one we attend, we are certainly mature enough to agree and follow anything that makes sense if it is logically presented to us. Students should be scared of the consequences, but in order to nip plagiarism in the bud educators should convert their students by reason and fear, not fear exclusively. Let's just hope every educator has an original explanation of plagiarism and if not, they cite their sources. . . .
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5 comments:
I do think it's bogus that each professor can come up with their own plagiarism guidelines. I also think it's bogus that some people do try to scare students so that they don't plagiarize, but I also can kind of understand the reason behind that. I think that some teachers (often rightfully so) scare the students because it is the only way to poke the students and receive a positive corresponding action. There are no other ways for the teacher to be strict about it without trying to scare the students and threaten their academic integrity.
I agree that there is definitely no one clear definition. Which until now, I always thought I knew exactly what plagiarism was. But now, I'm a little lost.
I also agree that professors should include more of the reasons why NOT to plagiarise.
Finally, I love your last sentence! :)
One of the problems with the lack of clarity is the use of the word "plagairism" when they actually mean to say "academic misconduct". The latter is a much more broad term which holds students accountable for more, such as signing another person's name on an attendance sheet. Academic misconduct, as a phrase, might also hold more weight due to the rare usage. As scary as plagairism is, there is a strong possibilty we are becoming numb to the idea.
I think it is somewhat humorous that educators are so highly involved in the punishment for plagiarism when they can’t actually define it properly, mainly because it is something that cannot or has not yet been completely defined. As in your blog you mention educators stating reason alongside fear, and I agree with that. It should incorporate reason, yet the reason has to be stronger than “pointing a finger” and saying you are cheating yourself.
One definition of plagiarism definitely does not exist, and I do not think that it will ever be possible for this to be the case. Each field as different ideas of what is common knowledge and what needs to be cited, and because of this professors must provide reasons behind their scare tactics. If a professor cannot provide a definition for plagiarism it is hard for them to be taken seriously when trying to punish a student for attempting it. If there are going to be multiple definitions throughout different departments, the definition needs to made clear to students and explained, we are here for a reason and will be able to understand if given explanation. Before using scare tactics the professors ideas of plagiarism need to be clearly laid out at the beginning.
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