What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism can be a deliberate action, in cases of downloading or purchasing pre-written essays; or accidental, when a student paraphrases incorrectly or assumes that because the information is online it needs no attribution. Presenting the same paper in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the instructors involved is also considered a form of academic misconduct. Recycling papers addresses various ethical issues, including "self-plagiarism, " providing individuals with an unfair academic advantage, and undermining the objectives associated with a particular assignment.
Why do students plagiarize?
Preventing plagiarism in the classroom
Instructors are advised by the Dean of Students Office (DOA) to " take all reasonable steps to prevent academic misconduct. "
Detecting plagiarism
Reporting plagiarism
Detailed policies and procedures are available on the UConn Community Standards web page. Please refer to Appendix A: Academic Integrity in Undergraduate Education and Research. The following information is excerpted from the Appendix:
"When an instructor believes there is sufficient information to demonstrate a case of academic misconduct, s/he shall notify the student in writing of the allegation of misconduct and the academic consequences that the instructor will impose. The appropriate academic consequence for serious offenses is generally considered to be failure in the course. For offenses regarding small portions of the course work, failure for that portion is suggested with the requirement that the student repeat the work for no credit. The written notification shall also inform the student whether the case has been referred to the Academic Integrity Hearing Board (Board) for consideration of additional sanctions. The instructor shall send the written notification to the student with a copy to the Office of Community Standards (Community Standards) within five business days of having discovered the alleged misconduct. At the Regional Campuses, a copy shall be sent to the Office of Student Affairs (Regional Campus Student Affairs). Cases that are purely technical in nature, without any perceived intent to achieve academic advantage, may be reported at the discretion of the instructor."
Google and other search engines can detect phrases that you suspect are plagiarized. Select up to ten words (32 words when using Google) from a suspect paper or choose a phrase and place quotes around it.
Library Databases such as Academic Search Premier provide full text access to many articles in various disciplines. For help in searching, ask your library liaison who is familiar with general subject-specific databases.
SafeAssign is available through HuskyCT and can serve as a strong deterrent to plagiarism if students are aware of it. The software has limitations in searching for materials from numerous subscription-based databases and print resources. Refer to Blackboard Help for information on the use of SafeAssign. For questions about using SafeAssign with HuskyCT, contact CETL.
Plagiarism Tutorials & Tests
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