At 01:55 PM 11/28/99 -0600, you wrote:
> Anyway, I've got one paper where 80% of
>the sentences can be mapped back to a sentence in the original article (the
>assignment is to write a 2-3 page summary of a journal article). The
>student changed a few words in each sentence so none of them are exact
>matches.
Erica, what an interesting case. Has this student committed plagiarism? I
would say yes, of course he has. He has clearly resorted to changing a _few_
words around which, in my view, violates (at least in spirit) the definition of
plagiarism that you have provided to them. Technically speaking, he has also
plagiarized because he appears to have preserved the sentence structure from
the original source which allowed you to easily map his sentences to the
original.
>I guess I'm concerned about explaining this type of plagiarism to the
>student. Since it isn't simply copying entire sentences, and since this is
>not a very bright student, how do you explain the parameters of acceptable
>paraphrasing?
I think that your explanations below are sufficiently clear. If you are
interested in instructing this student further in proper paraphrasing, pick a
short paper or long paragraph with a low readability index (easy to read text)
and give him feedback. I've found that most students can correctly paraphrase
easy-to-read, familiar material with minimal effort.
>Here is a quote from the assignment handout:
>"The entire paper must be in your own words. No quoting allowed. Do not
>copy sentences or even large phrases. This can be a serious offense so be
>careful! Even if you copy sentences accidentally, it still counts as
>plagiarism. You might try not looking at the article as you write; this
>may force you to put things into your own words. Moving the words around
>in a sentence or changing a couple of words in a sentence is still
>plagiarism - even if you give credit to the source of the words. Figure
>out the idea of what you are trying to say, then figure out a way to state
>that idea in your own way."
Next time, you might want to provide some examples of proper and inproper
paraphrased sentences. Ask that particular student's permission to use his own
plagiarized material or make up your own.
>Here are a couple of examples - I typed up a document of the article text
>compared to his text. The first sentence is from the original, the second
>is the student's:
>
>To identify the potential moderators of perceived discrimination, we
>reviewed streams of research on acculturation, social support, and careers.
>However, the moderators are summarized based on research on acculturation,
>social support, and careers.
Hmmm. This is a close one!!!
>Research on acculturation suggests that familiarity with a host culture may
>protect an individual from the effects of perceived discrimination
>(LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993; Mendoza, 1989; Phinney, 1990;
>Sanchez & Fernandez, 1993).
>Studies on acculturation says experience with a similar culture can defend
>a person from the likes of perceived discrimination.
>Indeed, acculturation reduces feelings of inadequacy caused by perceived
>discrimination because acculturated individuals perceive themselves as
>members of both their ethnic group and the mainstream (LaFromboise et al.,
>1993).
>However, acculturation reduces feelings of ineffectiveness due to beheld
>discrimination because acculturated people think of themselves as mentors
>of their ethnic and cultural groups where by they learned (coped) from.
>----------------------------------------------------------------
As you stated above, some of the 'paraphrased' sentences are unclear or do not
make much sense. The paper can probably be penalized as much for plagiarism as
for not being clear! But, in addition to having plagiarized and to not have
come up with a very clear paper, it seems also that your student did not appear
to follow your instructions on summarizing the article. The process of
summarizing entails little, if any, paraphrasing. Your last sentence in your
guidelines captures the process of summarizing pretty effectively, I think.
>I would appreciate some input on this - would you agree that this is
>unacceptable? Almost every sentence in this paper can be mapped to a
>sentence in the source - to me that is a big clue that the line has been
>crossed. My partner disagrees, he thinks this is not over the line.
>Reality testing with you-all.
Based on the examples that you have provided (though the first one is iffy), I
agree with you that the line has been crossed. That your partner disagrees
that the student has plagiarized does not surprise me at all. I have found
that college professors often disagree on what constitutes plagiarism.
A question that bothers me, however, is whether we should be more flexible in
plagiarism criteria for students (foreign or domestic) with a poor command of
the English language. Perhaps after the holidays we can take this up in a
discussion.
>By the way, I tried something new with the few cases of plagiarism I had on
>the first paper. If the student is contrite (or at least not
>argumentative, and they have all been contrite or at least sullen) I assign
>them to write a summary of one of Miguel Roig's journal articles about
>undergraduates and plagiarism. I give them up to 2/3 credit. This has
>worked out really well for me and the students have reacted very
>positively. Highly recommended.
Thank you. I am glad that you and others have found my work useful.
>With my current problem student I am certain I will have bigger problems.
>His first paper was lost between my mailbox and me (no other papers were
>lost). I gave him unlimited time to get the paper to me - benefit of the
>doubt that it was somehow lost - finally I got it 4 weeks later. This is
>the paper I am grading now. His second paper has not yet shown up and is
>over a week late. He was unable to get a copy of the first paper
>(something about a friend's computer, lots of mumbling) and requested that
>I assign him the mean grade that everyone else received on the paper! He
>hasn't made that connection that he has to work really hard at school. He
>has been polite but opaque - just doesn't seem to get that he has to learn
>and work.
Nah. Based on your description of events, this guy appears to me to be faking
it. There are just too many excuses. Guilty.
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Miguel Roig, Ph.D. Voice: (718) 390-4513
Assoc. Prof. of Psychology Fax: (718) 442-3612
Dept. of Psychology [EMAIL PROTECTED]
St. John's University [EMAIL PROTECTED]
300 Howard Avenue http://area51.stjohns.edu/~roig����
Staten Island, NY 10301����������
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
