Teaching Students About Plagiarism: What It Looks Like and How It Is Measured
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2013 Teaching Students About Plagiarism: What it Looks Like and How It Is Measured Diana Stout Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Higher Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Stout, Diana, "Teaching Students About Plagiarism: What it Looks Like and How It Is Measured" (2013). Dissertations. 172. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/172 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT PLAGIARISM: WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT IS MEASURED by Diana Stout A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy English Western Michigan University June 2013 Doctoral Committee: Jonathan Bush, Ph.D., Chair Ellen Brinkley, Ph.D. Karen Vocke, Ph.D. Cheryl Almeda, Ph.D TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT PLAGIARISM: WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT IS MEASURED Diana Stout, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2013 This case study examines how full-time faculty, adjunct instructors, and graduate teaching assistants teach students how to avoid plagiarism. Additionally, this case study includes a cross-section of teachers who encounter plagiarism in writing assignments across the curriculum. While many studies in the past have focused on students, this study places the spotlight on teachers. For this study, participants have been asked how they can be sure whether their instruction is correct or not, what it means to paraphrase and rewrite correctly, and how do they assess their students to determine if correct learning has taken place. Additionally, these instructors were asked how they would feel if they were to learn that their knowledge of using sources was not totally correct. On that foundation, the goal of this study is to learn how instructors teach students to avoid plagiarism, what methodology and activities are used, how they ensure students learned what was taught, what happens when they encounter plagiarism, and what is their attitude toward their students’ plagiarism when it occurs. This study attempts to reveal instructional knowledge regarding plagiarism, how that knowledge is taught to students, and how to determine whether that knowledge was properly learned. Overall, this study makes an attempt to understand why plagiarism continues to be an academic problem. Copyright by Diana Stout 2013 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a school, department, a family, and lots of friends to help a graduate student obtain a doctoral degree, particularly when it comes to writing the dissertation. Due to the assistance of many, I have been successful in achieving one of the biggest goals of my life. I was in my twenties when I first considered this degree, and now, many lifetime twists and turns later, I have successfully achieved that goal. To my Davenport University family – There were exhaustive times I wondered if I could do it, but there were always several of you at any one time who would say, “We have no doubt that you can.” Thank you for your loyal support and unflagging enthusiasm. I appreciate all the celebrations along the way, and I am still in awe of your heartfelt support when my sister died in the middle of the writing of this dissertation. I could not have kept my major deadlines had it not been for you. To my Western Michigan University family – I have gotten to know so many of you and am thankful for your friendship and support through all my degrees. As a department, you have been a wonderful role model. As individuals, I enjoyed and still enjoy all moments spent with you, because I continue to learn and be entertained. I always feel I am coming home when walking toward Sprau Tower. Thank you for your support and your friendship, To my two daughters, Carrie and Kelly – Thank you for your understanding as I moved from having prepared you for the world into preparing myself for a new career. I know I have not always been as available as you would have preferred, but now that is about to change. I promise you, though: this is my last degree. ii Acknowledgments—Continued To my grandchildren – Hopefully, I will be a role model for you, in that you can see that age, gender, or even economic status does not matter when you have a dream. Anyone can dream, but the single difference between those who succeed and those who fail is that those who failed gave up and quit. Whatever the dream, it can be yours. To my brother, Bill, and sister, Monica – Toward the end of this academic journey, a critical time for me, we lost our sister, Eileen. The experience was not easy, but as a result, we became closer. As we continued to deal with family issues, you enabled me to keep going, to finish what I had started. Your help and support means more than you know. To my friends – There are so many and you know who you are. Thank you for your support and your cheerleading. You have been there for more than just this one successful achievement; you have been there from the beginning when I first said I wanted to write, or you joined me somewhere along the path. All of you had some part—whether big or small—in my journey. To my dissertation committee members: Ellen Brinkley, Karen Vocke, and Cheryl Almeda – Thank you for your support and the pearls of wisdom you gave me along the way. And a special thank you to my chair: Jonathan Bush – You are a special kind of leader—definitely a cheerleader!—who shared my enthusiasm, and who always pointed me in the right direction. You have been a wonderful role model for me. Thank you all. Diana Stout iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ ii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... vii I. AN UNINTENTIONAL JOURNEY TURNS INTENTIONAL..............................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................20 Early History ................................................................................................... 22 Twentieth Century and Modern History: The Headlines ............................... 25 Studies – Why and How Students Plagiarize .................................................. 30 Ethical Perspective .......................................................................................... 39 Teacher- and Teaching-Based Literature ........................................................ 45 When Confronting Plagiarism ........................................................................ 53 Institutional-Directed Literature ..................................................................... 55 Current Important Literature ........................................................................... 59 Student-Based Literature ................................................................................ 61 III. METHODOLOGY: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE STUDY ........................64 Goal and Purpose ............................................................................................ 64 Guiding Question ...................................................................................... 65 Sub Questions ........................................................................................... 65 The Case Study Methodology ......................................................................... 67 Subject Recruitment .................................................................................. 68 Survey Instrumentation ............................................................................. 70 iv Table of Contents - continued CHAPTER Terminology – Analysis Frame ...................................................................... 81 Tier 1 ......................................................................................................... 82 Tier 2 ......................................................................................................... 82 Tier 3 ......................................................................................................... 83 IV. WHAT THE STUDY REVEALS .........................................................................87 The Participants .............................................................................................. 90 The Major Participants .................................................................................... 91 Ann – The Reluctant Proactive Adjunct ................................................... 91 Betty – The Tough, Self-Contained Graduate Teaching Assistant ........... 93 Conway – The Conscientious, Online Business Adjunct Instructor ......... 95 Fran – The Frustrated, Hindered but Intentional Full-Time Professor ..... 97 Hannah – The Direct-Approach Coach Full-Time Professor ................... 99 The Other Participants .................................................................................. 100 Dakota – The Passive Proactive Online Adjunct .................................... 101 Elliott – The Concerned-for-Self,