The field of nursing and plagiarism

Plagiarism is an act by an individual of using another author’s ideas as one’s own without consent and acknowledgment. With the advancement and increase in internet usage, this intellectual vice has been on the rise in recent times. A recent study by the Psychological Record revealed that at least 36% of undergraduate students globally confessed to having plagiarized some form of literature (Angelil-Carter). College of Dupage has not been an exception to this trend despite the increased campaign by the student affairs to encourage academic honesty. This research paper focusses on the view of plagiarism, forms, causes, detection, and prevention measures against this type of piracy at the College of Dupage.

Plagiarism has been deemed a breach of intellectual and academic honesty not only at Dupage but worldwide (Evering and Moorman). Stealing one’s work is considered taking their identity. Although it is not classified as either a civil or a criminal offense from the legal perspective, it has been described as a violation of the principle of moral rights. It is a dishonest offense against the audience that the writer is addressing. It denies the perpetrators an opportunity to acquire appropriate skills required for their future careers. The vice is not only considered an offense by the plagiarist but also by the publisher, institution, teacher or employer who provides a platform for the plagiarist to perform the act (White). Some schools have gone to the extent of expelling students who present plagiarized work. It is for these reasons that the College of Dupage, through the student affairs offices and the library department, has stepped up policies to detect, prevent and discourage students against plagiarizing their work.

Students engage in different forms of plagiarism at the College of Dupage. Global plagiarism occurs when students or authors duplicates or copies someone else’s work of literature word by word and presents it as his or her work (VanderMey, Meyer and Van Rys ). For instance, if a student takes someone else’s essay or article, changes the identification details or just copies it in its entirety and then submits it as their own. It is inevitably the most readily noticeable form of plagiarism.

The second form of plagiarism is patchwork plagiarism. It occurs when the author transfers sections of material from several different sources, organizes them so that they have logic and then presents them as their own without acknowledging the original author (VanderMey, Meyer and Van Rys ). In this case, the final paper is a “patchwork” of ideas from other authors. For example, a student may copy sections of different textbooks and fit them together so that they make sense without adding any opinion of their own.

Self-plagiarism is when someone all or part of their previous work and fail to acknowledge the original paper (VanderMey, Meyer and Van Rys ). It is a form of “recycling fraud” and research misconduct. Although it may not be a form of stealing someone else’s idea, it is considered immoral because by writing a new paper, the writer asserts that they have new material or new ideas. It is, therefore, an act of dishonesty towards the audience that is duped by the writer.

The fourth form of plagiarism that is common at the institution is Cyber-Plagiarism. Cyber-Plagiarism happens when students use internet technology to search, trace and copy another author’s work and then publish or present it without citing or acknowledging the source (VanderMey, Meyer and Van Rys ). With the advancement of technology and easy access to the internet within the college, this form of plagiarism is increasing. More so, the simplicity of access material online without much struggle makes students more vulnerable to this type of plagiarism.

Students at the College of Dupage plagiarize for diverse reasons, ranging from genuine lack of knowledge about the subject assignment or topic of discussion to intentional outright discreditable intentions (College of DuPage). Poor time management and procrastination are the most often reasons for plagiarism among students. Pressure and desire for excellent grade by students is another reason why some students plagiarize, especially if they do not feel confident and comfortable with their knowledge. Some students also plagiarize just because they are lazy to do their research and lack desire to produce their work. However, many students plagiarize their work unintentionally and without knowledge of their actions.

To manage this vice, the college of Dupage has instituted several mechanisms to enable teachers and even students to detect plagiarism. Through the College library website, employment of online services to detect plagiarism in written papers is encouraged. These include SurfWax Scholar, Turnitin.com, and PlagScan (College of DuPage). However, at the moment, the college as an institution has not yet subscribed to any specific online plagiarism checking service. Some of these sites need a personal subscription. Use of internet search engines to detect plagiarized phrases and Boolean searches has been encouraged. Detection of unusual formatting and outdated bibliographies has also been suggested as a means of uncovering plagiarism.

Through the library department and the student affairs office, the college advises and encouraged students to avoid plagiarism. Students are encouraged to think critically about the topic of discussion and the research they do so that they understand them and use their wording to express the ideas therein (College of DuPage). Acknowledgement of the original work and use of quotation marks and references has been encouraged when content from another source is used. Proper citation is essential since it enables the reader to make a follow-up of the work cited and validated the writer’s interpretation to rule out plagiarism (White). Proper use of the internet and avoidance of direct “copy-pasting” of information from the internet is promoted. Since some students may not be aware they have plagiarized their work, use of plagiarism detecting online services to detect plagiarism is encouraged. Furthermore, students are made informed of the risks and consequences associated with plagiarism.

In conclusion, integrity, honesty, respect, and responsibility are the core values of the College of Dupage. Plagiarism, being an act of dishonesty, disrespect and a show of lack of responsibility is therefore discouraged. In spite of academic plagiarism taking an increasing trend globally, it is possible for the institution to curb it through adequate education to students with regards to its forms, causes, detection, and prevention measures.

Works Cited

Angelil-Carter, Shelley. Stolen language?: Plagiarism in writing. Routledge, 2014.

College of DuPage Library website. ""http://www.cod.edu/library/services/faculty/plagiarism.htm."" Retrieved: September 9th, 2017.

Evering, Lea Calvert, and Gary Moorman. ""Rethinking plagiarism in the digital age."" Journal of Adolescent \& Adult Literacy (2012): 35-44.

VanderMey, Randall, et al. The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching, Brief. Cengage Learning, 2014.

White, Harold Ogden. Plagiarism and Imitation Duri Cb: A Study in Critical Distinctions. Routledge, 2013.