I have found this discussion very enlightening. I have a question of another nature. We have a faculty member who has given students an assignment to write a paper. In his instructions to the students he tells them that they may plagiarize or use any means necessary to complete the paper. We have a very strict academic integrity policy which explicitly states plagiarism is prohibited. The faculty in question revealed his instructions about the paper and his views toward plagiarism in front of a group of nontenured faculty. I learned of this revelation second-hand. I am wondering how members of the list might handle this situation. Thanks.
RC Intrieri, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology 1 University Circle Western Illinois University Macomb, IL 61455-1390 Office: 309-298-1336 Fax: 309-298-2179 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stuart McKelvie" <[email protected]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 11:57:05 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: RE: [tips] Can you plagiarize your own work? Dear Tipsters, Paul asks: "Would we consider either or both of these examples cheating? Do you explicitly (in your syllabus) disallow such reuse of papers in your classes? Why?" At Bishop's, we specifically outlaw this practice. This is what we say in our academic honesty document: "Guideline 6 DO NOT HAND IN FOR CREDIT A PAPER WHICH IS THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO ONE YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAVE HANDED IN ELSEWHERE. It is dishonest to claim course credit more than once for essentially the same work. In addition, it deprives you of the opportunity of researching and gaining knowledge on different topics, one of the aims of a university education. Note, however, on some occasions, it may be appropriate to follow up or extend previous work when writing a paper. Consult with your instructor here. You may be permitted to continue your work on the same issue and you will probably be asked to hand in the original paper to ensure that overlap is minimal. Of course, you must never submit (wholly, or in part) the work of another student as your own, or purchase papers for submission." Now, if a student tells me that they are interested in pursuing a topic that they have covered elsewhere, we can discuss that. In fact, I think it is a good idea for a student to take a topic further or treat it from a different point of view. When this happens, we may ask the student to submit both papers so that everyone is clear about what is taking place. Sincerely, Stuart --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
