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PLAGIARISM: QUESTIONS THAT MATTER

A PLAGIARISM ASK SYSTEM PROTOTYPE

PLAGIARISM ASK SYSTEM BACKGROUND & PURPOSE

                                                                                                  

 

The Plagiarism ASK System was originally developed for the Procedural Analysis assignment in Module 7 of a class taken online. It contains questions that help users "conduct processes" (Jonassen, 2011).

 

This libguide was created for the Plagiarism  ASK System assignment, but it will be maintained past this assignment to ask Ottawa University faculty and adjunct users the questions that really matter about plagiarism. In asking these questions, answers may be suggested but they are by no means always going to be the right answers. The answers to questions in the plagiarism ask system should be used as a starting point, from which faculty, adjuncts and students can start to problem-solve and think about how plagiarism can best be combated. They can also attempt to find their own solutions to difficult, systemic problems associated with or resulting from plagiarism that might have long-term repercussions for the student on their academic and professional journey. 

STUDENT & FACULTY LEARNING OUTCOMES

The student outcomes described below are the outcomes for the Plagiarism Course created in Blackboard for students to take, but these outcomes may also serve as outcomes for the faculty who would like to gain a better understanding of the plagiarism topic and determine how to help their students in the process.

Students will learn

  • what plagiarism is and what it is not
  • the various forms of plagiarism
  • why some students plagiarize
  • how to avoid accidental and patchwork plagiarism
  • how plagiarism is detected
  • why it is important to avoid plagiarism
  • about Ottawa University's academic integrity and dishonesty policies
  • how to integrate research into their academic writing
  • how to integrate a writing style into their academic writing
  • how to construct citations and give credit to authors you cite

Students will reflect on their learning process and their experiences with plagiarism

TWO QUESTIONS TO ASK

A primary and a subsidiary question is being asked as this Plagiarism Ask System Prototype is created:

WHAT ARE THE DIRECT CAUSES OF PLAGIARISM?

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT STUDENT PLAGIARISM?

ADDITIONAL FACULTY & ADJUNCT LEARNING OUTCOMES

                                                              

 

The faculty and adjuncts will

  • gain a better understanding of plagiarism at the topic level
  • gain a better understanding of anti-plagiarism techniques that can be used in the classroom
  • gain a better understanding of how to  teach their students to avoid plagiarism by using anti-plagiarism tools
  • gain knowledge about the connection between academic writing, the development of basic information literacy concepts and plagiarism
  • gain Ottawa University specific academic policy knowledge

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

 

Jonassen (2011) suggests that TWO best types of questions to ask in order to create an Ask Plagiarism System would be:

1. Causal Reasoning Questions   (determining the cause of the phenomenon) and

2. Problem-Solving Questions (that may then be asked after determining the cause of the phenomenon that might lead to solving problems in relation to the phenomenon).

Since this is a Plagiarism Ask System that will be added to faculty/adjunct resources about plagiarism, and since this Libguide has been built for faculty/adjunct use, it was decided to focus on Causal Reasoning Questions for this specific Ask System to answer the first of two questions that was asked---then also include problem-solving questions alongside those to answer the second question. The two sets of questions complement each other.

References

Jonassen, D. H. (2011, February). Ask systems: interrogative access to multiple ways of thinking. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(1), p. 159-175.

 

EXPLORING CAUSAL & PROBLEM-SOLVING QUESTIONS

Causal Reasoning Questions

  • Why do students plagiarize?
  • How can student plagiarism have been prevented?
  • What are the implications of these acts of plagiarism for the faculty/student/administration?
  • What will most likely happen if a student is caught plagiarizing?
  • How will the faculty to tighten up on and implement plagiarism policies?
  • Is the creation of a plagiarism course that only students who have plagiarized have to take, a sound decision? Why or Why not?
  • How should the plagiarism course be implemented for students at the university?

Problem-Solving Questions

  • Have we seen a problem like this before?
  • What kind of problem is this?
  • What are the factors/elements in this problem?
  • Are they all related to one another?
  • What strategy can we use to solve this problem?
  • How is this problem different or similar to problems we have solved before?
  • What perspectives should be considered before thinking about a solution for this problem?
  • Are there stories of people solving similar problems?

It is possible then to combine similar  or related Causal  Reasoning and Problem-Solving questions in order to obtain answers.

Director of Library Services

AUDIENCES

                                                                           

The audiences this Ask System has been constructed for are: Faculty and Adjuncts. The reason for this audience choice, is because a Plagiarism Course has been developed and is currently available in Blackboard. Faculty still needs to decide how the plagiarism course will be used. Until then, it will be a good idea for faculty and adjuncts to explore the Plagiarism Ask System, and consider other questions that they have that may not be answered by the system directly, but that may be of import to them.

If faculty and staff understand the causes of plagiarism, then they might better understand how the Plagiarism Course has been developed and help to make any needed changes to it that may be necessary, before it is released to students. Policy decisions should also be made regarding the course and how it will be used with students and these are also addressed. The Plagiarism Ask System might help faculty thinking as well  in this regard.

COMBINING CAUSAL REASONING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING QUESTIONS

The Causal Reasoning and Problem-Solving Questions can be organized into 5 topical areas related to plagiarism. As a result, 5 pages will be created associated with each topical area:

1.  CAUSES OF PLAGIARISM

2.  CONSEQUENCES OF PLAGIARIZING

3   PLAGIARISM POLICY

4.  HOW TO USE THE PLAGIARISM TUTORIAL?

5. PLAGIARISM PREVENTION

and are appended above.