Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

 As an instructor who teaches both face-to-face and online courses, one key factor that I must consider every semester is cheating and plagiarism. Nowadays, students can easily find tools that can help them plagiarize or cheat on papers, exams, and discussion forums, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard (Claybourn, 20024). Due to this, several plagiarism detection tools are available to online instructors. These tools and others can help instructors identify potential cases of plagiarism. Some common tools are Turnitin, EVE (Essay Verification Engine), and Grammarly (Jocoy & DiBiase, 2006). Turnitin is a well-known plagiarism detection software that can check a student’s work against an extensive database of sources. It can also prove the instructor's feedback on citation and referencing issues (Baker et al., 2008). These tools help instructors identify potential cases of plagiarism and should be used in conjunction with clear polices to prevent cheating in the first place. These policies can be written in a course syllabus (Haynie, 2014).

In addition, there are other tools for online teaching to help detect or prevent cheating. For instance, I have used both Proctor U and lockdown browser as a way to prevent students from cheating on online exams. These tools have provided some peace of mind as an instructor when I have taught online courses.

Also, the design of assessments can play a role in preventing academic dishonesty. For instance, peer review and project-based assignments can be implemented into the course. Likewise, instead of assigning one final exam paper or project, the instructor could break that paper or project into smaller assessments that build.

As an instructor, one of my focuses should be creating a culture of academic honesty by setting clear expectations at the start of the course, regardless of whether it is face-to-face or online learning. In addition, offering regular feedback and ensuring that students feel connected to the course, I can minimize opportunities for dishonest behaviors like plagiarism. Utilizing technology tools when necessary to support academic honesty can help students understand the consequences of cheating and may help them as they process through the course (Haynie, 2014).      

References

Baker, R. K., Thornton, B., & Adams, M. (2008). An evaluation of the effectiveness of Turnitin. Com as a tool for reducing plagiarism in graduate student term papers. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal, 4(9), 1–4.

Claybourn, C. (2004). How cheating in college hurts students. How Cheating in College Hurts Students. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-cheating-in-college-hurts-students

 

Haynie, D. (2014). Think twice before cheating in online courses. Links to an external site. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved on June 16, 2016 from: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2014/06/17/think-twice-before-cheating-in-online-courses

 

Jocoy, C. L., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 7(1), 1–18.

McCracken, M. (2015). My love-hate relationship with Turnitin.Links to an external site. Retrieved on June 16, 2016 from: http://chronicle.com/article/My-Love-Hate-Relationship-With/232887

 

 

Comments

  1. WUEDUC6145ChristopherStangFebruary 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM

    Hello Heather, Dr. Harrison and Class,

    Heather wrote “For instance, I have used both ProctorU and lockdown browser as a way to prevent students from cheating on online exams.”  I used ProctoerU during Covid to take final exams for 4 courses. There was a mixup at ProcterU about me getting a break between two essay tests that upon taking the test no break occurred even though ProctruU stated a break would be given. The other 3 exams had breaks because those courses had one essay test and one multiple choice question test. A break was automatic between the two given the difference in test type. I was under incredible stress taking the second essay test without a break because of lost time talking to the monitor via microphone in another state or country. I had 2 hours to complete both tests no more. If there's one thing I wished they changed about ProctorU to prevent cheating is to have a video of what is on the screen the student sees and types not just the video of what the monitor sees the student doing. There were issues as to whether the school uploaded the correct test and without screenshots of the screen during the test I never knew if what was on screen was different from what the school sent to me later as a copy of the test.

    Question: When you upload a test to ProctorU such as a essay test do you hand type in the text or copy paste the text of the test in or use a template provided by ProctorU online to type words into to create the test?  (An amount of money in a story problem in my test was lower in my test than in the answer key for the test and the school would not provide me the test provided to ProctorU or explain the difference. ProictorU would not provide me the test ProctorU gave me but required I go through the school instead.)  

    Christopher

    References

    Milone, A. S., Cortese, A. M., Balestrieri, R. L., & Pittenger, A. L. (2017). The impact of proctored

    online exams on the educational experience. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning,

    9(1), 108–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2016.08.037 

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WUEDUC6145ChristopherStangFebruary 16, 2025 at 5:47 PM

      [Errata. Dear Dr. Harrison, The original post by me to the Blog of Heather was missing the in-text citation for the Milone article. In this post I include the in-text citation. Sincerely. Christopher]

      Hello Heather, Dr. Harrison and Class,

      Heather wrote “For instance, I have used both ProctorU and lockdown browser as a way to prevent students from cheating on online exams.” I used ProctoerU during Covid to take final exams for 4 courses. There was a mixup at ProcterU about me getting a break between two essay tests that upon taking the test no break occurred even though ProctruU stated a break would be given. The other 3 exams had breaks because those courses had one essay test and one multiple choice question test. A break was automatic between the two given the difference in test type. I was under incredible stress taking the second essay test without a break because of lost time talking to the monitor via microphone in another state or country. I had 2 hours to complete both tests no more. If there's one thing I wished they changed about ProctorU to prevent cheating is to have a video of what is on the screen the student sees and types not just the video of what the monitor sees the student doing (Milone et al, 2017, p. 1). There were issues as to whether the school uploaded the correct test and without screenshots of the screen during the test I never knew if what was on screen was different from what the school sent to me later as a copy of the test.

      Question: When you upload a test to ProctorU such as a essay test do you hand type in the text or copy paste the text of the test in or use a template provided by ProctorU online to type words into to create the test? (An amount of money in a story problem in my test was lower in my test than in the answer key for the test and the school would not provide me the test provided to ProctorU or explain the difference. ProictorU would not provide me the test ProctorU gave me but required I go through the school instead.)

      Christopher

      References

      Milone, A. S., Cortese, A. M., Balestrieri, R. L., & Pittenger, A. L. (2017). The impact of proctored

      online exams on the educational experience. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning,

      9(1), 108–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2016.08.037

      Delete
    2. Ashley GiddensFebruary 17, 2025 at 10:07 AM

      Hello Heather,
      I enjoyed reading your week 6 blog. I am thankful for the insight that you gave me. I was unaware that ChatGPT and Google Bard were easy ways to plagiarize materials. I had never heard of either until you pointed them out. With your insight into online teaching, you are providing us with extensive knowledge on how to prepare ourselves for when we enter into our online teaching positions. Thank you so much, Heather, for all of your hard work and help to your colleagues.

      Delete

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