Another, all too common, cause
of academic dishonesty is taking careless notes when working from texts
or adopting passive note-taking habits.
Cause: Careless Note-taking
Students often get into the
habit of not using quotation marks or to write down citations when they
are taking notes from a book. They think that they will remember that
something is a quote or remember its origin when they come back to it
at a later date. This can result in unintentional plagiarism when students
use the quote or a close paraphrase of it when they are writing a paper.
This problem can also arise when normally careful students work from borrowed
notes.
Solution: Discuss Careful
Note-taking
Give students a handout explaining
how and when to cite, how and when to use quotations, and what
constitutes an acceptable paraphrase. Discuss the handout with them
to be sure that it is clear and explain why academic dishonesty is unacceptable.
Most students are very understanding if you explain to them that it is
both detrimental to their own education and unfair to other students.
Be a role model. Do not photocopy illegally or post copyrighted materials
on a class website without permission. Always cite sources in class and
on handouts. Make a note of sources on the board (this not only sets a
good model, it discourages intentional plagiarism by making students aware
that you are familiar with the literature).
Cause: Passive Note-taking
Students who take notes passively
just write down the author's words, or a close paraphrase, rather than
thinking them through to recast them in different ways. Active note-takers
think an idea through, record their own ideas, ask questions, make connections
with other ideas and materials they have come across, and generally assimilate
the author's ideas in a way that provides a firm basis for developing
their own ideast. Active note-takers are less prone to unintentional plagiarism
because they record fewer quotations and recall which ideas belong to
the author and which are their own.
Solution: Discuss Active Note-taking
Explain the difference between
active and passive note-taking, and the importance of including quotation
marks and citations in notes (aside from anything else, it's difficult
to go back and look them up again afterwards). Explain how active note
taking can improve ideas and save time, since they won't have to do the
same work twice.
Ignorance About What Constitutes
Academic Dishonesty
Finally, an increasingly common
cause of academic dishonesty is ignorance about what it is, or a failure
to understand why such practices are unacceptable. Because these issues
may not have been addressed in high school, students arrive at the university
without a clear understanding of what constitutes academic dishonesty
or why the consequences may be so severe.
Certain types of academic
dishonesty are prone to occur as a result of ignorance:
Handing in another student's
paper as one's own work. (Students may feel that this practice, while
not acceptable, is not "really bad" because the paper has
never been published and/or the other student has agreed to let them
hand it in as their own work.)
Splitting an assignment
with or working too closely with another student in a way that results
in both handing in the same piece of work (usually to different GSIs,
which suggests that the students are not entirely ignorant that this
is illegitimate, but consider it another "not-very-bad" form
of dishonesty).
Submitting the same paper
to different courses. (Students often do not know this practice is dishonest
because they are the original authors of the paper in question, and
aren't aware there is a university policy against it.)
Plagiarizing from electronic
resources. (The emphasis on the free availability of information on
the World Wide Web has led to the common belief that if something is
on the Web it must be free. This is exacerbated by the fact that information
is easy to find on the Web and can be cut and pasted into a document
with only the minimum of work.)
Solution: Discuss Different
Types of Academic Dishonesty with Students
Discuss some of the different
forms of academic dishonesty listed at the beginning of this section.
Students are often aware that it is unacceptable to take verbatim quotations
from another writer without acknowledging the source, but are unclear
about the ethics of paraphrasing, collaborating on an assignment, or handing
in the same paper in different classes. Give the students a handout on
how to cite sources, or recommend a style guide
to be used in the class. Make sure the handout includes a section on how
to cite Internet as well as traditional sources. The Library has a
very useful handout(link opens in a new window) on this.
In addition, talk to the students
about your own experiences as an undergraduate and discuss some of the
causes of this sort of academic dishonesty in first-person terms. It often
helps to know that someone else had the same sorts of problems, or knew
others who did. It's also important to share any consequences that were
suffered by you, colleagues, or former students, since some students may
believe that the threats of repercussions are empty ones.
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