Plagiarism - Causes, Effects and Avoidance - Research Paper Example

Introduction: In today’s world where every person is trying to seek something new and explore new ways to attract people and be famous, it has become difficult to recognize who has developed his own results and who has merely rewritten the information of the other. This confusion is not limited to the literature, arts, scientific research but also involves music. How can people then save their work from being stolen? This is the question that makes it difficult for people to continue the legitimacy of their work. Many researchers are seeking to know a single response to this question but the arguments and disagreements persist. Plagiarism is increasingly becoming popular and has created many problems in the recent years. Students, writers and other people are no longer motivated to come up with their own ideas as it is difficult to recognize the plagiarized part for the readers. This paper aims to define plagiarism and provides examples to give a clear understanding. The paper also aims to explain problems that arise because of it. Definition of plagiarism  It has been observed that unlike other concepts plagiarism lacks a universal definition to incorporate all possible ways that need to be addressed. The definition of plagiarism varies from country to country, region to region and even from one organization to the other. The most common definitions to explain this term state that it is an act to “take and use (the thoughts, writings, inventions etc.) of another person as one’s own” (Concise Oxford Dictionary). Another definition to define it in a better way defines it as an act to “steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: use another’s production without crediting the course; to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (Webster’s Online Dictionary). Plagiarism is defined by different authors in different ways. However, the easiest definition can be “the act of using the words of another without giving the originator credit” (Anderson 1998, p.201). Understanding why students cheat  Plagiarism is a problem which is difficult to be handled because unlike other frauds and thefts (e.g. Property, money, jewellery etc.) it is difficult to recognize the frauds of intangible objects. The problem is so intense and difficult to handle because almost all matters are now being discussed by people and it becomes very difficult to come up with something that has never been published anywhere. Hence we may say that sometimes plagiarism is unplanned. However, people plagiarize deliberately too, sometimes to save their time, sometimes to be famous on others ideas and sometimes to avoid the struggles of creating original stuff. It is more prevailing and increasingly becoming a problem for the new generation as they have easy access to the materials via internet and online libraries and they are no more encouraged to carry out the research of their own. Plagiarism is a problem which is difficult to be handled because unlike other frauds and thefts (e.g. Property, money, jewellery etc.) it is difficult to recognize the frauds of intangible objects. The problem is so intense and difficult to handle because almost all matters are now being discussed by people and it becomes very difficult to come up with something that has never been published anywhere. Hence we may say that sometimes plagiarism is unplanned. However, people plagiarize deliberately too, sometimes to save their time, sometimes to be famous on others ideas and sometimes to avoid the struggles of creating original stuff. It is more prevailing and increasingly becoming a problem for the new generation as they have easy access to the materials via internet and online libraries and they are no more encouraged to carry out the research of their own. Young (2001), Taylor (2003) and Neumann and Scanlon (2002) conclude that lack of information about referencing and acknowledgement requirements lead to unwanted behaviors. In today’s changing world and technologically advancing society it has become easier for the students to plagiarize than creating their own creations. The decision however, lies on people how they want to use the resources; either as a copying tool or as a tool for modification and improvement in the relevant area (Baruchson-Arbib and Yaari, 2004). Examples of plagiarism: Plagiarism refers to copying someone else’s idea and words without any prior acknowledgement to the original owner of the material. Moreover, using someone else’s work without indicating that it belongs to them is also plagiarism. For example, if a person makes the following text: “While the absence of one universally accepted definition of diversity management may have an attraction to employers in that it can be molded to suit the prevailing organizational priorities, a lack of clarity about what ‘managing diversity’ means can lead to inconsistencies and the dominance of expediency among those required to put the concept into practice” as a part of their assignment or paper without referring to the original writer (i.e. Carley Foster and Lynette Harris) or text (i.e. Easy to say, difficult to do: diversity management in retail) this part of text is plagiarized. However, if someone wants to use others work or research he can use it and provide a reference within the text and/or at the end of the paper on a separate page to confirm that it is not their own efforts to find out certain facts but they have just used others knowledge. Detecting and Avoiding Plagiarism: There are a number of ways to avoid plagiarism or to deter the risks of plagiarism involvement in the students’ work. The first and foremost measure can be the amendments and changes in the module. The regular and consistent changes in the assessments may help reducing the risks of increased plagiarism. Many students alter the works of previous students by changing the digits, names or a few words and call it ‘common sense’ rather than plagiarism (Franklyn-Stokes and Newstead, 1995). The motive of changing the module assessments is to motivate them on providing original work using their own intellect. Being creative in designing assessments is another way of reducing plagiarism. More creative questions and assignments like the comparison of two works, the current affairs or the methods and procedures that students followed while writing a certain paper along with the paper on any topic may help the cause (Carroll & Appleton, 2001). Since the problem of plagiarism is grave and needs attention, it must be considered that all the staff that could help in deterring and eliminating this problem should be involved in making policies and recommendations to improve the problem situation. It is an obvious factor that libraries are one of the major resources for the students to collect data for their researches in the universities. Hence, it is not a logical decision to overlook the importance of librarians in determining the instances of plagiarism in papers and seeking their help to reduce its risks. Auer and Kruper (2001) emphasize on the responsibility that lies on the librarians and other staff of the universities to provide information about how students use the books, their perceptions and knowledge about plagiarism and the recommendations to use online software and web-based plagiarism detectors. McCabe (2001) reveals that internet and its easy access to all have worsened the situation of academic originality in writing papers and assessments. The results of McCabe’s study reveal that 16% of the students turned in a paper they purchased from online essay writing companies and 62% of students affirmed using exact words and phrases from the websites or online resources without mentioning or acknowledging the actual writer. The internet has worsened the situations and the same technology can be used to curb this issue. Websites like turnitin and other software available may be helpful in determining the cheating instances in a paper. The librarians may help the teachers in detecting the problematic papers by using such websites and software. The librarians may act as a helping hand to teach students about the ways to carry out researches or using the existing data available without crossing the boundaries of legitimacy and originality of the paper. Educating Students on plagiarism  Librarians may teach students about the ways in which they can use others’ information without being convicted for plagiarism. The knowledge of two different concepts i.e. plagiarism and sampling may help students in finding such a way. Plagiarism’ and ‘sampling’ are the two concepts which are often confused by people but both of them have different meanings and underlying theory. Sampling on the other hand provides more time to the researcher, composer or writer to use the existing compositions, writings or findings and concentrate on the new issues that may be helpful. For instance, it is quite useless to waste time on an already existing work composed by someone just to ensure that it is not copied. It is infringement even to follow others’ ideas or compositions intentionally without their consent. Sampling also involves using your own previously developed ideas by certain changes or modifications (Barnet & Burriss, 2001 p. 78). The use of others’ work with their consent or acknowledgement or at least by referring it to be the original owner’s property is not plagiarism but sampling. Sampling is usually not considered as offensive since it does not disenfranchise or deceive people. The most prominent line between these two concepts is the acknowledgement. Plagiarism constitutes an offensive and ethically and culturally unacceptable way of presenting work and efforts of other people. An emerging problem and risk associated with these two concepts is the perception of people that everything they mix in their own creation is sampling. This concept however is flawed since there are a number of principles, rules and laws created to save the rights of ownership of the original creators (Barnet & Burriss, 2001 pp. 78-80). What are the factors that involve people in plagiarism rather than using the positively attributed phenomenon of sampling? The answer to this question is of immense importance as many people especially the younger generation are facing difficulties for violating copyright laws. The lack of information and guidelines about sampling are leading to such difficult situations (Negativeland, 1995). Conclusion: In conclusion, we can say that the laws related to plagiarism and unfair sampling is required to be stricter and must be implemented to save such violation of intellectual property rights. Librarians may help students learn the important concepts like sampling, citations and adding bibliography to avoid plagiarism. Librarians may also help the teachers by using online helpful tools available to curb the issue. In addition, the teaching about plagiarism by the librarian and his help for the students to cite sources and related information may help in eliminating the plagiarism risks completely if proper principles are set out in this regard. More rules, guidelines and laws are needed to stop the issues related to it and to pressurize the educational institutes on developing awareness about these concepts for better future outcomes. Bibliography: Anderson, Judy. Plagiarism, Copyright Violation, and Other Thefts of Intellectual Property: An Annotated Bibliography with a Lengthy Introduction. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 1998. Print. Harris, L, and C Foster. "Easy to Say, Difficult to Do: Diversity Management in Retail." Human Resource Management Journal. 15.3 (2005): 4-17. Print. Krupar, Ellen, and Nicole Auer. "Mouse Click Plagiarism: the Role of Technology in Plagiarism and the Librarian's Role in Combating It." Library Trends. 49.3 (2001): 415. Print. Baruchson-Arbib, S. & Yaari, E. (2004). Printed versus Internet plagiarism: a study of students’ perception. International Journal of Information Ethics. 1, 1-7. Newstead, Stephen E, and Arlene Franklyn-Stokes. "Undergraduate Cheating: Who Does What and Why?" Studies in Higher Education. 20.2 (1995): 159. Print. Taylor, Kelley R. ( 2003, April). Cheater, Cheater…Principal Leadership 3 (8), 74-77. Young, Jeffrey R. "The Cat-and-Mouse Game of Plagiarism Detection." Chronicle of Higher Education. 47.43 (2001). Print. Neumann, David R, and Patrick M. Scanlon. "Internet Plagiarism Among College Students - Six Hundred Ninety-Eight Undergraduates (85.9% between the Ages of 17 and 23; 87.5% in the First Through Fourth Year) from Nine Colleges and Universities Completed a Survey on Internet Plagiarism. a Substantial Minority of Students Reported They Use the Internet to Copy and Paste Text into Their Papers Without Citation." Journal of College Student Development. 43.3 (2002): 374. Print. McCabe, Donald. "Cheating: Why Students Do It and How We Can Help Them Stop." American Educator. 25.4 (2002): 38-43. Print. Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2. Concord, Calif: Seeland, 1996. Print. Burriss, Larry L, and Richard D. Barnet. Controversies of the Music Industry. Contemporary controversies. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2001. Print. Appleton, J, and J Carroll. Plagiarism: A Good Practice Guide. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University, 2001. Print. Read More