Plagiarism Resource Site

Talk of the Nation: Every writer, student and scholar is supposed to give credit, where credit's due, but it's easier and easier to steal. The Internet gives everyone access to enormous amounts of material, and reproduction is a lot faster than research. Guests on the program discuss the plague of plagiarism. (Guests: Donald McCabe, John Barrie, Michael Williams.)

"To bring together the various strands of scholarship which already exist on the subject, and to create a forum for discussion across disciplinary boundaries, the new scholarly journal Plagiary exists."

The University of New Hamphsire has decided to test Turnitin. "The cost for Turnitin, . . . according to the faculty minutes, is $11,056 for a year and $27,356 for three years."

Michigan Technical University is considering that the punishment for a second offense of academic dishonesty be changed. The director of student judicial affairs, Patricia Gotschalk, has recommended "the minimum punishment to be a grade reduction in the course instead of automatically failing the course. . . . Gotschalk says some professors may be reluctant to report cases of academic dishonesty if they believe the student's punishment will be too harsh."

At U of Oregon "reported violations of academic dishonesty have increased 184 percent in the past two years, rising from 57 to 162 incidents." This increase is attributed to a wider participation in "the Student Judicial Affairs process."

Plagiarism, especially among fee-paying international students, still a problem for Australian universities.

The British government recurited Professor Jean Underwood of Nottingham Trent University "to provide technical advice on how to detect internet cheating."

Professor Underwoord, an authority on "the impact of new technologies on teaching and learning, said less repetitive and more creative questioning would reduce the scope for cheating."

Russell Jacoby considers how the "jargon of choice . . . corrodes academic freedom."

Stephen Moss provides a short and borrowed overview of plagiarism in The Guardian.

Donald McCabe . . . is conducting the third round of his national survey of college students, and Tufts is among the 28 schools participating.