These paper mills trouble me. When I see them charging $20 to $45/page, I can imagine a student paying for a short paper fairly easily.
We can look at mechanical fixes by creating assignments such as those described by Gary that are not amenable to paper mill production. But, as psychologists, we should be able to develop motivational interventions to reduce desire to cheat. I would expect we could affect motivation to cheat by reducing the stakes associated with the assignment and the time available for the assignment compared to length of research and writing required. That is, if the assignment feels more accessible to the student's abilities and fits their interests better, and also make the paper not so important that it is make or break for the course grade, then we should expect the motivation to cheat to be reduced. Paul -- Paul Bernhardt Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD, USA On 3/20/09 10:13 AM, "Ken Steele" <[email protected]> wrote: > > My writing assignments are like Gary's and I haven't had trouble > with plagiarism. My assignments are research reports that are > built from multiple drafts or short very-specific assignments > such as analysis of a problem or response to a question. I would > rather see 2 pages of organized and edited material than 15 pages > of glop. > > On the other hand, I know faculty who do assign 10-page to > 15-page papers and they have a continuing problem with plagiarism. > > There is an instructor/paper-length confound but I am not going > to start assigning long papers to see if I get the problem :-) > > Ken > > Gerald Peterson wrote: >> Interesting stuff. I wonder if people on tips have many of >> these kinds of problems? I have paper requirements that are >> not easily the kinds of things one can purchase: Research >> reports that the students conduct in research classes with a >> number of drafts, specific applications of social psych to >> specific local situations, and narrow reviews of psych >> research journals. All of these can pose problems regarding >> some plagiarism, but not the kind of things that essay mills >> can easily handle. Maybe we should ask, what kinds of papers >> are more appropriate? Does anyone really require the >> old-fashioned global, general term paper these days? Just >> wonderin' Gary >> >> >> >> Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw >> Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 >> 989-964-4491 [email protected] >> >>>>> <[email protected]> 3/19/2009 9:39 pm >>> >> On 19 Mar 2009 at 13:39, [email protected] wrote: >> >>> the latest issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education has >>> published an article titled: "Cheating Goes Global as Essay >>> Mills Multiply" that attempts to provide an in-depth look at >>> how these operations work, who owns them, etc >> >> The article provides an interesting view from the outside. For >> an interesting view from the inside, try: >> >> First Person The Term Paper Artist The lucrative industry >> behind higher ed's failings. By Nick Mamatas The Smart Set >> October 10, 2008 >> >> http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article10100801.aspx >> >> Another, much older but still revealing description from the >> inside is this one, unfortunately not available on the web: >> >> This pen for hire: On grinding out papers for college students >> by "Abigail Witherspoon" [pseudonym], Harper's Magazine, >> June, 1995, p. 49--57 >> >> Stephen >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus >> Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 >> College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada >> >> Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of >> psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
