Plagiarism as the Unintentional or Intentional Use of Someone Else Works - Case Study Example

Penalties for plagiarism in US and UK academic s Plagiarism is the unintentionalor intentional use of someone’s idea in the form of an original work. Many people represent such direct copy of information as their works. In the academic field it mainly occurs when students, in the process of writing their academic work, use other peoples’ works such as sentences, phrases and other innovative terminologies. Plagiarism can be done intentionally by students when they deliberately decide to use a piece of academic work written by the author or renowned researcher. These can also be done unintentionally by students due to ignorance and poor note making strategies. Plagiarism is unintentional or intentional use of someone else work without giving credit and this breach the ethics of academics. This is because it involves some form of dishonesty. According to a recent survey, Plagiarism hurt students by giving them a false reflection of their true potential. A continuation of this act may in future ruin students’ career by making them unfit or incompetent in their areas of duty. Students with credible works are denied the opportunity to receive honest feedback on their true ability and where they need improvement. Individuals who are addicted to plagiarizing materials remain stagnant in their academic performances and also unproductive in the job market. It is morally wrong to steal someone’s piece of work. Plagiarizing an author’s piece of writing would be morally unacceptable because it entails dishonesty, a vice not tolerated in the community (Clabaugh et.al 81). It would also be wrong because it denies the original owner or author of such articles of piece writing from receiving the credit they deserve from creation and innovation of their work. It is useless to do something for which you do not see its value. The act is not allowed under the law of copyright, and the victim of such an act is subjected to heavy penalties and fines. Plagiarism undermines the students who do their own research and present a true reflection of the ideas they have learned from receiving the credit they deserve (Clabaugh et.al 81). Those who plagiarized materials and present it as their own are the ones credited more due ignorance from their lecturers. In the long run, students who did credible work throughout their academic life may a times end up struggling in their future. This is because the results reflected on the paperwork may not be true. Plagiarism can also undermine the standards and reputations of an institution where gossips have it that those students are commonly known to use plagiarism to attain their academic papers. This tantamount to denying innocent students from that institution the deserved credit in the outside world. Plagiarism is a poor academic technique and also a breach of the integrity of academic ethics (Gilmore 102). Therefore, the academic institutions in the US and UK have come up with an anti-plagiarism policy to help counter this academic vice. It requires that all academic works be properly referenced, and this helps to acknowledge the real owners of such ideas, quotes and sentences. Quotation marks must be used to cite the words of others whether written or spoken just to help acknowledge them in one’s piece of work. It must be followed by a footnote or a reference to show where such ideas, quotes and maybe data were derived (Gilmore 102). If someone else data is used in the graph, it must be acknowledged, and all the information obtained from the web should also be acknowledged (Stepchyshyn et.al 67). According to the ethics of academic institutions, students should be familiar with the procedure or guidelines of proper referencing and good academic practices then forward a declaration on the same. Such policies must be adhered to at all times in any academic work that require submission. The lecturers and tutors are required to put more emphasis on such guidelines during their assessment of student’s work. Rating of such work should also be in line the student’s level of keenness in application of such guidelines. (Gilmore 102). Academic institutions in the US and UK have come up with a software where all works submitted are screened through to help in the detection of any form of plagiarism. The commonly used soft ware’s are the Copy Catch for detecting collusion especially where multiple markers are used and Turnitin, UK software (Stepchyshyn et.al 67). The institutions where Turnitin (UK software) is applied, students are reminded whether they have read and applied the guidelines to proper referencing. They are also required to give a declaration on the same before their work can be subjected to such systems. The software makes no judgment on whether the students have plagiarized. It only provides a percentage to which the submission matches other sources and provides an originality report to show the extent to which text matches other pieces of work online. Using the tool for detection without adopting proper measures to in ensuring holistic and supportive framework is inappropriate. This is because it may threaten the student relation with learning and the institution itself. Proper measures should therefore, be put in place to ensure that the students are well informed in what is expected of them. Students should also be forced to accept the rules or policies governing the system before it can be imposed on them to make sure that the system succeeds in the institutions. In many cases, the software highlights the correctly cited references or matches and therefore the originality report can be examined to detect whether the work has not been plagiarized. If one student work is found to match the work of another student’s work, the institution can contact such a student and apply appropriate measures without disclosing such to a third party. All the academic dishonesty violates the existence of an academic community. The resultant penalties are imposed after consideration of various factors. Did the accused cooperate during the investigations and proceedings? Was it a first offence or is it common with the student? The penalties includes, a) No penalty imposed to little or no evidence to warrant sanction. In some cases, a student is likely to escape punishment where the accused is a first timer of minor plagiarism and have shown much cooperation during the investigation. The panel concerned with such duties may decide to warn such students without any form of punishment. b) Marks deduction Most academic institutions impose this penalty. In such cases, the students are awarded fail in such units by their respective faculties. It is done to scare other victims and to shape the image of the academic institution. c) Expulsion from the institution Expulsion penalties are imposed to students who are culprits of the vice. It is applicable when it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are guilty. According to the information given about plagiarism in various books and publications, proper measures should be established to curb the fast growing violation and spread of such act. Though many academic institutions have software detection tools, many cases of violation are still reported, and this proves the existence of loopholes in the current policy. Academic institutions should come up with more advanced measures and punishments to help stop common breach of the plagiarism act. In the US and UK, plagiarism is treated as a serious academic offense. Many students have been dismissed from various academic institutions over the last five years due to plagiarism. Software has been developed to help scan and detect plagiarism in any academic document submitted by a student. The software scans millions and billions of websites including various academic databases. This is an initiative that can help curb plagiarism in academic institutions. Work Cited Stepchyshyn, Vera, and Robert S. Nelson. Library Plagiarism Policies. Chicago: American Library Association, 2007. Print. Clabaugh, Gary K, and Edward G. Rozycki. The Plagiarism Book: A Students Manual. Oreland, PA: NewFoundations Press, 2001. Print. Gilmore, Barry. Plagiarism: Why It Happens, How to Prevent It. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print. Read More