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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) - In its relatively short lifespan, the Internet has changed the way we do almost everything, from banking to shopping, reading to vacationing and much more. An unprecedented amount of information is now available to anyone with online access, and education has been changed as much as any other field as a result.
Today’s generation of students has used the Internet for their entire schooling experience. Whereas academic research at one time conjured up images of viewing microfiche and spending hours sifting through the library’s card catalogue, it now denotes a student sitting at a computer and accessing thousands of potential sources with the click of a mouse.
The potential for wide-ranging scholarly work has never been greater, but the risk of plagiarism has increased with it. More than ever before, educators have to stress the rules of proper academic honesty to a new generation of students who may not understand what is at stake when they research.
Duke University’s Center for Academic Integrity has funded numerous studies to gauge the ease of Internet plagiarism and the frequency with which it occurs among students. In 2004, they stated that “the overwhelming accessibility of written work … has propelled plagiarism to the top of the list of academic integrity infractions.”
The problem, however, does not seem related to a slippage in student ethics. A concurrent study by Josephson Institute of Ethics found that 94 percent of high school students feel “trust and honesty are essential” in the workplace, while only 33 percent of students had used the Internet to cheat in the previous 12 months. Rather than revealing a new generation of students who feel inclined to cheat, these studies show that the real problem is the ease with which Internet “research” can become plagiarism without students knowing the difference.
Parents and educators can help children navigate this problem by clearly explaining the definition of plagiarism and the importance of citing someone else’s ideas. The Calvert School, a renowned home education provider for over 100 years, recommends five tips for parents to help prevent their children from intentional or unintentional plagiarism.
1. Make it clear to your child that quotation marks should be placed around any phrase or sentence that they take from another person’s book or Web site.
2. Remind your children to state ideas and concepts in their own words rather than copying someone else’s statements. They should be as careful about copying from Web sites as they would be about copying from books.
3. Stress the importance of the writing process. If your child follows the proper steps of writing a composition -- especially brainstorming and organizing -- the risk of plagiarism is greatly reduced.
4. Work with your child to evaluate the quality of a source and stress good note-taking habits.
5. Encourage your child to keep a careful list of sources while researching, as well.
For older generations, the above points may seem like common sense. Contemporary students may even recognize the importance of following these guidelines for book research, as well. But the ease with which students come upon online information, as well as the fact that the Internet is used for so many other social and professional functions, make it harder for students to differentiate between research and simply surfing the Web.
“Academic research is easier for today’s students than ever before, so we need to explain the meaning of plagiarism and, therefore, when and how to credit the sources of their information,” says Dr. Gloria D. Julias, Calvert School’s chief learning officer.
“Research projects must begin with instruction on the selection of reference material, whether textbook or computer-based, with clear examples as to what information has to be cited,” she says. “The Internet is a powerful and helpful research tool. It is our shared obligation as teachers and parents to make sure our students and children know how to use it responsibly.”
The following Web sites may help you instill good research and writing habits in your child:
* http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
* http://www.kyvl.org/html/kids/p3_notes/notes.html
* http://www.aresearchguide.com/12biblio.html
Dr. Gloria Julius and others from Calvert School are available for interviews about Calvert Homeschool and Distance Learning Programs. Contact Michelle Winner at (410) 785-3400, ext. 3332 or at mwinner@calvertservices.org. To learn more about Calvert School’s home education and distance learning programs, visit www.calvertschool.org.
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