Plagiarism Identification - Tips To Ponder While Grading Papers

Internet Term Paper Mill Sites

Plagiarism Identification - Commercial Sites

Plagiarism Prevention

Links to Other Resource Guides on Plagiarism

Plagiarism Sites that are Written for Students UNCW Academic Honor Code - N.C. Law - Sample Cases

UNCW Code of Student Life
Section V - UNCW Academic Honor Code - paper version please refer to page 34. View online at: URL: http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/doso/code/code.pdf - Section V is located on page 39 of 151.

North Carolina General Statute § 14-118.2 (2000)
§ 14-118.2.Assisting, etc., in obtaining academic credit by fraudulent means
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to assist any student, or advertise, offer or attempt to assist any student, in obtaining or in attempting to obtain, by fraudulent means, any academic credit, grade or test score, or any diploma, certificate or other instrument purporting to confer any literary, scientific, professional, technical or other degree in any course of study in any university, college, academy or other educational institution. The activity prohibited by this subsection includes, but is not limited to, preparing or advertising, offering, or attempting to prepare a term paper, thesis, or dissertation for another; impersonating or advertising, offering or attempting to impersonate another in taking or attempting to take an examination; and the giving or changing of a grade or test score or offering to give or change a grade or test score in exchange for an article of value or money.

(b)Any person, firm, corporation or association violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. This section includes the acts of a teacher or other school official; however, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the acts of one student in assisting another student as herein defined if the former is duly registered in an educational institution in North Carolina and is subject to the disciplinary authority thereof.
HISTORY: 1963, c. 781; 1969, c. 1224, s. 7; 1989, c. 144; 1993, c. 539, s. 63; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).

Legal Aspects of Academic Dishonesty: Policies, Perceptions, and Realities - Dennis Bricault of North Park University
[http://campus.northpark.edu/esl/dishnst.html]
Overview of academic dishonesty, paying particular attention to associated legal aspects. note: this site appears to have been last updated in March of 1998, so current information will not be included but this site is an excellent primer.

Plagiarism in Colleges in U.S.A. - Ronald B. Standler
[http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm]
Excellent legal discussion of plagiarism. Notes that plagiarism is not only an academic offense; it is also a legal offense. Lists states, including NC, with statues making unlawful sales of term papers, etc. to students. Discusses specific cases that have been tried in court, plus offers links to other sites.

The tempting sales pitch for www.cheathouse.com:
"By becoming a Super User, you not only get a total of over 7,000 rated and commented essays, you also get access to a fast search engine, and great customer support. The essays are mainly college and university level as most of our users are college students. $14.95 a year is very little for this kind of service - consider it a long term investment in your future."

Listed below are just a few of the meta-sites that provide a listing of Paper Mill sites on the Internet. Some sites try to mask their true purpose with a "disclosure" statement, stating that the site is for the purpose of research and background material and that plagiarism could be prosecuted. While others plainly state "Professional help provided for... Dissertations and theses from inception to completion" [http://www.associatedwriters.com/writing.htm]. Search a few of the sites listed to get a feel for the scope of work that is available out there to purchase.

Kimbel Library - Cheating 101: Internet Paper Mills [http://www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htm]
This site was created and actively maintained "as a convenience for faculty, in order for them to be aware of the vast variety of resources out on the Internet that are tempting their students." Also includes a link to Internet Subject Specific Paper Mills.

Paper Mill Web Site Directory [http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/mcmurtry/]
Basic listing of URL, services and cost. Updates are sketchy but this is a simple page that illustrates the services available.

Term Paper Sites.com [http://www.termpapersites.com/]
Claims to list "Only the Highest Quality Sites on the Net".

Yahoo! Commercial Directory - Academic Services [http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Writing_and_Editing/Academic_Services/] Basic directory listing from Yahoo!, broken into "College Admissions Essays" and "Research and Term Papers".

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: "In addition to term paper mills, the vast number of reports and papers posted on the web by government agencies, universities, think tanks, and other organizations, along with papers from individual and course web sites proved almost limitless opportunities for plagiarism." (Daniel Library, The Citidel)

• Define and explain plagiarism to your students, including your policies about it. Don't assume that they understand the concept of intellectual property and documentation. (Daniel Library - The Citadel)
  
• As part of the paper or as a separate assignment, have students reflect personally on the topic they are writing on or on the process of doing research and writing. (Kimbel Library, Coastal Carolina University)
  
• Ask for an annotated bibliography, and the earlier the better. Asking for it in advance of the paper insures that the student has done some work, and allows you to check the final bibliography against the initial one. (Falcone Library, Le Moyne College)
  
• Avoid having students simply find answers. Encourage students to do their own thinking, not paraphrase the thinking of someone else. What are their thoughts and ideas on a given topic? (Staley Library, Millikin University)
  
• Ask a Randall Library reference librarian for assistance.

It's not all bad, here are just a few of the Internet sites designed to help students learn how not to plagiarize.

Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (Indiana University, Bloomington) [http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html]
Straightforward; explains acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing; also explains common knowledge.

Avoiding Plagiarism (The Writing Place: Northwestern University) [http://www.writing.nwu.edu/tips/plag.html]
Includes tips for avoiding "accidental" plagiarism.

Avoiding Plagiarism @ Oregon University [http://osu.orst.edu/admin/stucon/plag.htm]
Makes distinction between "borrowing" and "paraphrasing."

How Not to Plagiarize (University of Toronto) [http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html]
Arranged in a type of FAQ format.

Paraphrase: Write It In Your Own Words (Purdue University)
Six steps to effective paraphrasing, plus a paraphrasing exercise.

What is Plagiarism? (Georgetown University) [http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html]
Readable, fun, and geared toward students.

• Copy a string of 6-8 words from the paper, enclosing them in quotation marks, into a large search engine such as AltaVista, Google, Google Scholar, Google Books, or Lycos. These search engines will find the string if it has been taken from a paper in one of the free paper mill sites or if it has been copied from another website, such as ERIC Digests. (Daniel Library, The Citadel)
  
• Search full-text databases in Randall Library, entering a four to eight word, distinctive phrase in a full text search engine will often yield the source of the plagiarism. Be sure to use the proper search techniques for locating phrases. Search databases that have full text of articles, for example MasterFile, Academic Search (set the search for All Text - this is not the default), LexisNexis, ScienceDirect, Project Muse, JSTOR even Mergent Online. (Staley Library, Millikin University)
  
• Search for the title of the paper, using quotes "", on an Internet search engine or a paper mill site. If the student hasn't the foresight to change the tile, you may find it listed on a term paper site. (Kimbel Library, Coastal Carolina University)
  
• Is the bibliography in the format that you requested? Does the paper cite references that you consider old and out-of-date? (Daniel Library, The Citadel)
  
• Check for unusual formatting or formatting that does not match what you require. In particular, check for website printout page numbers or dates, grayed out letters and unusual use of upper/lower case and capitalization. (Hinchcliffe, Illinois State University)

Center for Academic Integrity [http://www.academicintegrity.org/]
A forum to identify, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students.

Essay Verification Site (EVE) [http://www.canexus.com/eve/index3.shtml]
Internet plagiarism detection program - site offers a free 15-day trial.

Glatt Plagiarism Services [plagiarism.com]
Has three (pay) services: tutorial for students, detection program, and a self-detection program

Plagiaized.com [http://www.plagiazed.com]
"The Instructors Guide to Internet Plagiarism"

Phony Diploma.com [http://www.phonydiploma.com/articles/cheating-in-school.html]

TurnItIn.Com [http://www.turnitin.com]
Submitted papers are compared not only against the entire Internet, but also against our exclusive database of previously submitted student papers. Offers individual, teacher, or institution accounts. A one time, one month free trial with five complimentary Originality Reports is available.

Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism: Preventing, Detecting and Tracking Online Plagiarism (Hinchcliffe, Illinois State University) [http://www.uregina.ca/tdc/CutPastePlagiarism.htm]

Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices - (Council of Writing Program Administrators) [http://www.ilstu.edu/~ddhesse/wpa/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf]

Electronic Plagiarism Seminar (LeMoyne College) [http://www.lemoyne.edu/library/plagiarism.htm]

Online Plagiarism: How to Prevent It, How to Detect It. (Daniel Library, The Citadel) [http://www.citadel.edu/citadel/otherserv/library/plagiarism.htm]

Plagiarism (Sharon Stoerger MLS, MBA) [http://www.web-miner.com/plagiarism]

Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism (Staley Library, Millikin University) [http://www.millikin.edu/staley/plagiarism.html]

Resources for Web Plagiarism: Prevention and Detection [http://libweb.uncc.edu/instruction/plagiarism.htm] (Atkins Library, UNCC) - Donna Gunter, who originally developed UNCW's webpage on plagiarism, continues her work at Atkins Library, UNCC.

Last Update: June 11, 2009

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