Avoiding and detecting plagiarism
Why does someone plagiarize?
There are various reasons why someone plagiarizes by mistake, or consciously seeks refuge in plagiarism, for instance:
- Lack of knowledge and/or research skills
- Careless use of source material
- Lack of time (whether or not accompanied by lack of interest)
- One suspects a lack of interest in the paper
- The risk of detection of plagiarism is considered low
- Ignorance concerning what plagiarism is or because another interpretation is given than that used in the Western academic culture
- Laziness: The slightest possible effort for the greatest possible result and still to earn a degree
- Ambition: In the conviction that one can obtain a better score
How does someone plagiarize?
Those who consciously plagiarize use various sources and strategies:
- Downloading entire papers from Internet sources or databases;
- Cut-and-paste from various sources;
- Use of local sources: papers from higher years, papers circulating among students, etc. …;
- Citing references wrongly on purpose to mislead the reader
- Translating texts (into Dutch, or from Dutch into another language)
Avoiding plagiarism
As instructor, you can avoid plagiarism by:
Being a role model (in course material, etc.)
Informing students about plagiarism
- Informing them precisely what plagiarism is: what are the rules, the risks, their responsibilities
- Teaching students to cite correctly and to paraphrase, how to refer correctly, etc.
- Informing students about the academic ethos
Paying attention to formulating and giving assignments
- Making it clear what precisely is expected of students, what is and is not permitted
- Giving specific or original assignments: these limit the possibility of plagiarism
- Changing your assignments throughout the years.
- Formulating specific expectations concerning the various phases of the execution of assignments (for example progress report, extra information such as location and/or relevance on reference lists, etc.)
Guiding the process
- Discussing the interim progress of the assignment with the student(s)
- Paying attention to the origin of the ideas and the reference and citation style
- Asking students to retain their preparatory notes and interim versions
- Discussing every doubt concerning the authenticity of the text with the student
- Discussing the interim results or the final result with the student
Detecting plagiarism
Plagiarism can be recognized in:
- The emergence of stylistic differences in the text (smooth vs. uneven, academic vs. popular language)
- Unexpected language use (too scientific or too sophisticated)
- Variations in the format of a text
- Variations in reference style
- Mistakes in or absence of references
- Deviation from actual topic
- Absence of recent references
Plagiarism can be detected electronically by entering a part of a suspect sentence or more into a search engine (for example, Google).
Plagiarism can be detected through the use of specific software. The K.U.Leuven Association uses the TurnItIn software, which is integrated in the online learning environment Toledo.
