Tech | October 31, 2008 | 28 comments

Universities review plagiarism policies to catch Facebook cheats

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/oct/31/facebook-cheating-plagiarism-cambridge-varsi...

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Universities are reviewing their plagiarism policies to clamp down on students who use Facebook to cheat.

Plagiarism experts have warned universities and colleges to be aware of students copying from each other when discussing coursework on social networking sites.

Gill Rowell, from the consultancy Plagiarism Advice, said universities needed to rework their plagiarism policies with "internet working in mind" but insisted institutions were taking cheating seriously enough.

The warning comes after almost one in two Cambridge University students in a poll of 1,000 admitted to cheating in their studies.

Student newspaper, Varsity, found 49% of undergraduates who anonymously took part in their poll confessed to passing off other people's work as their own.

Law students were the most likely to plagiarise, with 62% saying they had broken university rules.

Some 82% of those who admitted to plagiarising said they had taken sentences from online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

One anonymous student said: "Sometimes, when I am really fed up, I Google the essay title, copy and throw everything on to a blank word document and jiggle the order a bit. They usually end up being the best essays."

Just 5% of the students admitted they had been caught.

"It is a depressing set of statistics," Robert Foley, a professor in Biological Anthropology at King's College, Cambridge, said.

University plagiarism experts will discuss cheating with Universities UK, the umbrella group for vice-chancellors, on November 19.
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28 comments // Universities review plagiarism policies to catch Facebook cheats

  • ClareW
    • 0
      ClareW  

    • If you were really serious on plagiarizing something at uni, Facebook's the last place you'd go. And many unis now use a computer program to check for plagiarizing, so it's not easy to get away with.

    • 3 years ago
  • UWAZell
    • 0
      UWAZell  

    • Unfortunately at some universities, like mine, you cannot discuss an assignment with another student from the faculty because it amounts to collusion.. which I believe what the fb issue is about. It is truly a ridiculous rule, but there is nothing we can do to change that ignorant, engraved in stone policy.

    • 3 years ago
  • frodo640
  • SDLN
    • 0
      SDLN  
    • frodo640:

      Owwmykneecap makes an excellent point. On the top right corner of your screen, you'll see a "submit something" link. Click it and submit something "good to post about".

      Seriously. You'll be surprised how many other people have common interests as you.

    • 3 years ago
  • CalgarC
  • staces
    • 0
      staces  

    • my post is plagiarized ..
      see; get it? even if the plagiarism is obvious, it is what it is.

      cite your sources, people!!

    • 3 years ago
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • staces
    • 0
      staces  

    • How can you possibly cheat using Facebook? "Discussing coursework on social networking sites" is not plagiarism.

      Copying other posts that were not written by u is plagiarism.

      plagiarize: to present the ideas or words of another as ones own

      cite your sources people!!!

    • 3 years ago
  • diode
  • deadpool
    • 0
      deadpool  

    • People will cheat no matter what preventional means are installed, sorry, thats just a fact.

      Though I can say that I have never cheated on homework, essays things like that.

      Even if I know nothing of the subject, I still take pride in what I write. For instance, I do poorly in Anatomy and Physiology, but I write damn good essays and I ride on my ability to organize facts on a sheet of paper.

    • 3 years ago
  • outtheinside
    • 0
      outtheinside  

    • it really goes back to morals. coming from a family of west point grads, i was taught at a very young age to remember this:

      "I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do."

      i don't blame facebook for this behavior, i blame the people. also, one side point is that maybe the higher percentage of law students reportedly breaking the school code for cheating is because as law students they are more aware of what actually breaking the school code means. just a thought.

    • 3 years ago
  • niksparks
  • Swiyyah
    • 0
      Swiyyah  

    • On facebook? How do you do that? How is it any different than cheating by emailing, mailing, giving your stuff to someone else?

    • 3 years ago
  • Bill_Robison
    • 0
      Bill_Robison  

    • "cheating is just another method of success"

      I totally agree. I care about results. I look at the bottom line. I don't care how we get there, just get that number to where it has to be.

      And as for the attorneys not submitting original work, how many original crimes or case facts do we actually see each year in the judicial system? Not many. Most of the cases are argued based on past cases or precedents. Give me the attn who can go to the law library and find an example of why I'm not guilty!

      I find it ironic for school administrators to cry foul. Most of the course work in college is a waste of time and efforts anyway! (Why does a nurse need to take Algebra or History? Or why does a IT major need Biology/Science credits?) Colleges have been making a ton of money off such BS requirements for too long.

    • 3 years ago
  • flyingkick
    • 0
      flyingkick  
    • Bill_Robison:

      Those subjects aren't a waste of time. An undergraduate degree is a survey of human knowledge. If you don't have a college level education of art, science, math, and humanities, than you don't deserve a Bachelors degree.

      If someone just wants job skills, they should go to a vocational school.

    • 3 years ago
  • Bill_Robison
    • 0
      Bill_Robison  
    • Bill_Robison:

      Oh my gosh. Learning the philosophies of ancient Roman politicians doesn't make you a better nurse (why I'm using a nurse as an example, I don't know).

      If there were options for those of us who wanted to learn a specific discipline (like nursing) without paying to take all the other "stuff" I would say you make a great point. But the difference in training of an RN and an LPN is substantial. Why not have 2 year degrees for such fields, to offer an in depth study of a certain field, without the other "stuff"?

      I agree, there are those in our society who would want to get a full degree in the field, but they are out numbered by those who are looking to go to work as quickly as possible.

      I believe it's in the best interest of the individual and society to offer an option that would insist a student spend thousands of dollars on classes which do not have a practical application to one's vocation.

    • 3 years ago
  • SDLN
    • 0
      SDLN  
    • Bill_Robison:

      Algebra, and other mathematics, develops one's ability to find rational solutions to complex problems. It all serves a purpose whether you're aware of it or not.

    • 3 years ago
  • classic124
    • 0
      classic124  
    • Bill_Robison:

      A Liberal Arts education is important. People should have some knowledge in basic fields like math, history, literature, and science. The reasons? We learn. We learn how to enrich our own lives. I hate math, but there are so many instances that I wish I understood it better so I could figure out the answers to problems. I think it's more integrated into life than many people think. History teaches us what has happened in the past so we can try to avoid it in the future. Literature gives us different points of views into societies of present and past, and helps us understand those societies a little more. Lastly, science teaches us how the world works.

      While it might be labeled as a "waste of time" if you have terrible professors, when you get a professor that is truly knowledgeable, can teach, and cares about you as the student, that is where the real learning happens.

      I'm an art student, but I don't go to an Art Institute. A liberal arts education is far too important to give up. While it's important to be specialized in your field, it is important to be a well rounded member of society.

    • 3 years ago
  • samonster34
  • Stevox
    • 0
      Stevox  

    • I guess this discovery was from a facebook poll, but I don't see how facebook was used as a tool to cheat. This is a poorly titled article.

    • 3 years ago
  • jahbini
    • 0
      jahbini  

    • "Law students were the most likely to plagiarise, with 62% saying they had broken university rules. "

      So the question comes to my mind: "Do you want a lawyer who cheated through law school or not?"

      It seems mastering the law is not the same as following the law.

    • 3 years ago
  • justright
  • purplefox
    • 0
      purplefox  

    • how does one cheat on facebook? surely discussing work together, whether electronically or in real life wouldn't count as cheating and should in fact be encouraged? people get way too paranoid about facebook.

    • 3 years ago
  • flyingkick
    • 0
      flyingkick  
    • purplefox:

      Well, some students post their essays and projects on Facebook to be peer reviewed. Someone else can copy parts from or the entire paper to pass off as their own. Even using someone else's idea without citation is plagiarizing.

    • 3 years ago
  • Reddi
    • 0
      Reddi  
    • purplefox:

      Another reason to use copyleft material [available to be used en masse with simple citations] ... or better yet use public domain material [something you can copy word for word and not cite anyone]

    • 3 years ago
  • dirtyemowords
    • 0
      dirtyemowords  

    • Exactly, talking about work isn't cheating...plus, as a student, I have no inclination of passing off somebody elses work as my own. I have enough GENIUS of my own.

      Unless the other dude's work is really, REALLY good...

    • 3 years ago
  • saverio
  • realfran
    • 0
      realfran  
    • saverio:

      i totally agree
      we cant discussed anything work related anymore?
      as long as you elaborate an idea, thinking for yourself is NOT cheating, if the thinking was alone or discussed with others doesnt matter, right?

    • 3 years ago
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