Addressing Plagiarism

Introduction

Plagiarism is a serious concern for educators. Addressing plagiarism involves preventing, detecting, and responding. Strategies for preventing plagiarism can be categorized into four types: educate, inform, and motivate students, and redesign assignments and assessments.

Causes of Plagiarism

According to the Council of Writing Program Administrators, “… understanding why students plagiarize can help teachers to consider how to reduce the opportunities for plagiarism in their classrooms.” Possible reasons they suggest include

  • Students may fear failure or fear taking risks in their work.
  • Students may have poor time-management or planning skills.
  • Students may view the course or the assignment as unimportant.
  • Instructors may present students with assignments so generic that students may believe they are justified in plagiarizing.
  • Instructors may fail to report cheating when it does occur or may not enforce appropriate penalties.

The Northern Illinois University Academic Integrity Tutorials site adds these factors:
Northern Illinois University Academic Integrity Tutorials

  • Students may face peer pressure.
  • Students may experience performance anxiety.
  • Students may that encounter situations that encourage academic dishonesty.
  • Students may be unfamiliarity with what constitutes academic dishonesty.
  • Students may not know about or understand the consequences of academic dishonesty.
  • Students may experience language or cultural misunderstanding about what constitutes plagiarism
  • Students may perceive that course policies as unfair

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning added these factors:

  • Students may not know how to cite sources correctly
  • Students may feel disconnected from the course, subject, instructor, or material
  • Students may be experiencing anxiety, depression, other mental health problems
  • Students may feel family pressure to meet unrealistic expectations

Sources

Council of Writing Program Administrators
Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism

Northern Illinois University Academic Integrity Tutorials
Causes of Academic Dishonesty

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning
Promoting Academic Integrity