International student and tutor perceptions of plagiarism policy and practice

International student and tutor perceptions of plagiarism policy and practice Mary Davis Oxford Brookes University

Plagiarism definition • Plagiarism - taking or using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions as your own (Undergraduate Modular Programme Guide) http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/asd/registry/sas/student_guide/c10.html

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:this means we can’t use other person’s thoughts, but we have to! • S1: it didn’t mention how to, what exactly is the plagiarism but it said it’s using another’s thoughts, actually we do it, in our study, we always using people’s knowledge, so maybe we should write the, you should always reference the authors when you using their words • S8: So every single report or you know, dissertation or essay, must be based on the other people’s writing or thoughts so if you, if someone says like this, this one, taking or using, taking or using another person’s thoughts, we can’t, this means we can’t use other person’s thoughts, but we have to use it

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:(IT NEEDS TO SAY)‘WITHOUT CITATION’! • S2: maybe it should add something more, it’s like without citation and mention where is the source from • S3: this is not really a good definition because when you writing something, you should take or use another’s sorts of information or writings, but you have to mention who have written this and er put the full reference • S5: Taking or using other person’s thoughts, writings or ideas, to, as your own and doesn’t give any citation • S6: They should just mention that you don’t acknowledge the authors

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:(IT NEEDS TO SAY)‘WITHOUT CITATION’! • S7: no matter if you directly copy the others’ writing or not, but once you have used or paraphrased something but you didn’t use citation, it’s also regarded as plagiarism. • S9: I don’t think it’s clear because if I make clear citation or reference, so it’s not taking or using another person’s ideas, just like the definition, the statement of this definition is not plagiarism, if I give clear citation and reference, so I think it’s not a clear definition • S10: It provides the simple meaning that plagiarism means that taking – or using- another person’s thoughts or writings as your own. The thing is plagiarism, you will be plagiarising if you don’t write that person’s name

STUDENT PERCEPTIONSInventions? • S7: Inventions? Not as clear as ‘thoughts and writings’ • S5 er what’s the meaning about inventions?

Tutor perceptions:nice and simple • T3: I have never really thought about it, I think it’s, I quite like it, it is a nice simple one, that covers the range of things that people may think about as plagiarism • T4: That seems right to me • T5: It’s quite simple and it gets through the issue that it’s actually perceivable as your own view… I guess it helps to pick up those people who have just cut and pasted and put it in as their own work.

Tutor perceptionsGood starting point and useful • T1: it’s a good starting point… • T2: I think it’s quite a basic, rudimentary and useful definition, • T8: It’s fairly useful

Tutor perceptions:it isn’t that clear…need examples • T6: No it isn’t really that clear, taking a definition like that is, er I mean you could use that definition to give zero fails to practically everyone who does a dissertation, couldn’t you? And you could say that it doesn’t apply to you commissioning somebody to write something for you, couldn’t you? I mean it probably does cover that, but it’s not immediately clear. • T7: There would need to be examples given to follow on from that.

Tutor perceptions:group’s? • T8: do you know what, something that stands out for me, and it’s never ever made me realise it, that it’s got another person’s, as if taking from a group’s thoughts, writings and inventions isn’t so much of an issue

Tutor perceptions:it doesn’t help a student • T9: it doesn’t help a student, because if you think about it, certainly in academic work, how much is new? So I take some stuff from one of my core texts or these articles and put them together, and maybe I rewrite them, but actually I have taken the other person’s thoughts.

Tutor perceptions:(Needs to include) intention • T2: I think there needs to be a distinguishing between deliberate and non-deliberate, accidental plagiarism. • T10: I don’t think it entirely captures everything, because I think when you think about what is happening on there, I think there is a suggestion that something is morally wrong, which is often what lies behind everybody’s tension about the whole idea of plagiarism is that there is an intention to do something, this is a sanitized version of plagiarism, because plagiarism, as I would understand, a dictionary definition of it would be something where there was a conscious intent or conscious knowledge of what one was doing

TUTOR PERCEPTIONSINVENTIONS? • T1:the use of the word ‘inventions’ is obviously difficult as well, because we are not in an environment where we are using inventions • T2 International students may question ‘inventions’. ‘Thoughts and writings – they may have problems with writings • T5: they (international students) might find inventions a little bit, what does inventions mean? • T7: I think for students they are working in sciences or technology, they would understand inventions, but would a business school student understand inventions?

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT AND TUTOR VIEWS OF PLAGIARISM DEFINITION • Student highlighted the problem for them that they seemed to be being told not to use sources, but they knew they had to, so they found this confusing • Students did not seem to understand ‘as your own’ • Some did not know inventions • Students thought the definition needed to include ‘without citation’ • Students looked at whole definition and saw plagiarism as black and white (using citation or not using citation) • Several tutors liked the definition (right, simple, useful) • Some tutors said the definition was missing some elements – (group authors, intent, commissioning a paper) • Tutors tended to break down the definition and consider the meaning of different words (thoughts, writings, inventions, another person’s) • Tutors focused on a wide variety of understandings of plagiarism

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:I still confused…I’m quite worry…I’m afraid of it • S2:I try to make all my sources which I arrange more logistic but sometimes I still confused about where I can say my idea and where I should just use other people’s words. I try to contact with my supervisor and want to have some support from him • S5:About Master’s dissertation - I’m quite worry about it because most of the source is from the internet and I’m not sure if it’s the right opinion, if it’s the academic opinion or not • S8: I think I should read more articles, but actually I’m trying to read articles and I want to know how to write, you know, better literature review, but you know sometimes articles are written by for example Japanese person or Chinese person, and their English is not so perfect, and sometimes it’s affects me, so it’s not good, and I’m afraid of it sometimes. I want the (reporting) verbs and (structure of sentences) writing more flexible like I think my writing is a bit boring for readers

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:I’m worried…i’m lost • S3: I’ve got a question, is it really so strict, in the uni, this problem about plagiarism? I mean not the very obvious plagiarism, just copy or just take another dissertation, another work from, as your own, I mean like if you just copied something, a paragraph, then you didn’t give the citation or something, how, that’s the question I’ve got, if really so strict, if you did that, then you will fail, is the question I’ve got, and I am doing it so… I’m worried about that, that’s why I’m asking myself, and I think like is it like on this problem, different tutors, they have different opinionsso maybe this tutor, he will say that’s fine if you do it, and another tutor say, you can’t do that. I want to (ask for feedback) but it doesn’t seem like necessary because I feel like, the first year, I mean, I was studying here, I was very cautious about this problem, but now this year, nobody mention about this problem in all my assignments, so that’s why, I ask myself that question, if they don’t mind, or they just didn’t mention, or they didn’t find I’ve got some problem, I don’t know, ….I want some feedback so that would make me know I shouldn’t do that, or I can’t do it, but now, I’m lost, like..

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:NOBODY TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT PLAGIARISM • S4:To be honest, everything I’ve learnt was in my pre-Master’s. When you start your Master’s degree, nobody tell you anything about plagiarism. Well we’ve got one session about this, but it’s in the main theatre, and nobody really care about this, so some people are sleeping .. I mean, they’re gonna tell you about plagiarism and referencing once or twice but that’s it, they’re gonna move on

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:you are supposed to know • S6: In the first semester they gave us like a guideline about the issues about paraphrasing, especially about the issues about how to cite and how to write your bibliography, especially this one, they emphasise a lot on this one, just how it needs to be…We had a kind of workshop on that, maybe once, twice. The second semester, we are expected to do these things more properly, to use the guidelines much more properly, they are not going to tell you how again, basically I mean, you are supposed to know

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS:they like citation • S7: Once you do the citation, it’s more helpful for you, for your article. It’s not once you copy, or just read something you thought, but it’s more powerful for your article. I think citation, it’s not a bad thing, it’s good, it’s better to use citation than plagiarism because the tutor, the supervisor, they like citation

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:I WILL SAY ‘WHERE’S YOUR SOURCE?’ • T1: There are some examples of wilful plagiarism. In 99% of the cases, I think it’s not that, and to deal with it, I think it’s first of all as much exposure as possible and saying things like ‘you’ve copied this’ and saying things like ‘this is from a source, it’s not what you think’, saying things like ‘who said this?’ a lot, and in fact, challenging them in a non-confrontational way • T2: I ask questions, you know ‘has this been paraphrased?’ ‘where is your reference, your source?’ OK? I am very pernickety about finding exactly where students have actually got their information from, OK, so I will say ‘where’s your source?’

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:please come and talk to us • T3: We say, if you’ve got any doubts about what you are doing and how you do it, please come and talk to us as the research methods module leaders, and people do • T5: They are able to be advised, you know, you have over-extended this quotation to a paragraph and it should never be that long, or supported , or what you’ve done is put together an assignment here of different people’s comments but it should never be, there’s no narrative here whatsoever

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:ready to support them • T6: You have to be really ready to support them. And they won’t come to you for support either, so you have to be on the ball and aware and trying to diagnose what problems…there are cultural issues at stake here, going to the tutor, there’s a kind of admission of failure. Also in some cultures, you know, the tutor next to god and your parents, that’s where your tutor sits so it’s kind of a bit scary to do that for them • T10: I’ve had somebody in, and I have said this basically isn’t OK, you need to go away and sort it out.

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:THAT IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, THIS IS WHAT YOU MUST DO • T4: They do that in semester 1 and in that they are taught all of those sorts of things, you know, they are taught how to cite, how to quote and so on, and actually how to find literature and sources. So I simply say right that is what you have been taught, this is what you must do…

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:WIKIPEDIA • T4:I tend to actually almost fail someone if they don’t cite Wikipedia because I know damn well that they have used it • T7: I say a blanket ban on Wikipedia

Tutor perceptions:WE JUST DON’T HAVE THAT TIME • T8: This won’t be a surprise to any academic, but we just don’t have that time to sit and have that time with students, and when you do, a) it’s so great for you because you see that kind of excitement and understanding, and things all slotting into place, but their studies start to make sense and that is so important, but the time, I mean, I think you can only do that, to me formative feedback is the most important thing but it’s also the hardest thing to do because you just don’t have the time to do it, it isn’t scheduled

TUTOR PERCEPTIONS:we’ve got stuff to teach • T9: It is not part, if you like, of the normal module leader’s role to say we are now going to tell you about sourcing and referencing, you know, because we’ve got stuff to teach.

Analysis of student and tutor perceptions of plagiarism practice • Some students consulted tutors, some thought they could not • Several students were worried, one was lost • Some highlighted there was little instruction • One student felt that tutors treated plagiarism differently • Some tutors highlight that they want students to consult them • Some tutors say there is a lack of time to support students • One tutor says they are taught at the beginning, another says not their role • Tutors had different views egabout Wikipedia/support

Conclusion – questions to consider • What should be done about plagiarism definitions? • What may be the consequences of student perceptions of plagiarism being very definite (no citation), while tutor perceptions are more varied? • How can tutors give continuous support and guidance about plagiarism? Whose role is it? • Can all tutors give the same guidance about plagiarism?

International student and tutor perceptions of plagiarism policy and practice