The problem of plagiarism in academic culture

Abstract

For those new to Australian academic culture, particularly international students, the emphasis on the importance of avoiding plagiarism can herald a new concept and a new way of using source material and constructing text, while for those familiar with academic culture the concepts of plagiarism may seem to need no explanation. In this paper I explore the idea that concepts of plagiarism are embedded in Australian academic culture, which explains why university lecturers as members of this academic culture can ‘know’ what plagiarism is, while new students by contrast can be concerned and confused. I argue that students new to university in Australia are entering ‘a high context culture’, which means that they are trying to learn from those within this culture whose understandings of some of the complexities of academic culture and academic writing are often implicit and taken for granted. In this paper, attitudes to text in the culture of the English speaking university are reviewed. I also review perspectives from scholars and lecturers working in the area of university learning and teaching. Finally, I suggest some critical ways of teaching about the problem of plagiarism.

Victorian Aboriginal life and customs through early European eyes

“…What is appropriate does not necessarily go without saying (East, 2006). Having good model answers available is helpful, because all of us enrich our language by reading (McGowan, 2005); however, it is not used optimally if it results in slavish (and meaningless) copying, as observed in a study of the use of template reports in physics (Jones & Freeman, 2003).…”

“…The tutor probably wants to alert Billi to the need to take advantage of learning opportunities, and of what is needed in terms of skills going forward. If Billi explains about time pressure and not being sure about differences between previous and current expectations -two common reasons for students to take shortcuts (Ashworth et al, 1997;East, 2006) -the tutor will be able to point Billi to some resources or student services that could help. Mutually respectful relationships with teaching staff lead to lower incidences of student misconduct (Bretag et al, 2018).…”

“…in reality, the interactions between human beings are often imprecise and subject to interpretation, which is exactly why the scenarios given here may leave you unsure of whether there is a 'right' answer (as those who trialled the scenarios found). East (2006) had a similar experience with the scenarios she used in her practice. Realising that one's actions and motives may be construed differently by another, or that what is clear to one person may be obscure to someone else, will be helpful as students and their assessors grapple together with the difficult problem of academic misconduct.…”

“…So, given that academic misconduct is harmful, and under-examined in the maths context, what should we do about it? East (2006) found that abstract instruction, given ahead of any tasks and given only once, is not an effective way to learn about academic integrity. Students need reiterated advice, within the specific context of the types of tasks they actually have to do (Riedesel et al, 2012).…”

“…Where does discussion end and collusion take over? East (2006) argues that the conventions of Australian academic culture may have been learned implicitly, or may be taken for granted by its members; East advocates for discussion between students and lecturers, rather than a simple list of blanket instructions or rules, so that questions can be explored and concerns raised. Riedesel et al (2012) noted that a lack of intentional thought can result in a failure to act with academic integrity; indeed, stimulating intentional thought is precisely what this book is intended to do.…”