CCCC-IP Action Group on Commercial Plagiarism-Detection Services

Note: I've attached the document to this post; if you click "read more," you can see where to download it. Also: I didn't write these; I'm just the messenger.

What we discussed...

I. The IP caucus should publish an edited collection of IP/comp issues/work emerging from the caucus. Volunteer editors: Sally Chandler, Lisa Maruca, Wendy Austin, Gary Thompson—we will continue discussions of this in June. We would like to find a publisher who will create both a book and an online version.

II. Pedagogy not prosecution: Statement on Intellectual Property Issues Raised by Plagiarism Detection Services

First the caucus and ultimately CCCC’s should make a resolution taking a position on the ethical issues and problems inherent in using digital plagiarism detection services: statement publicized on a website with a rationale CCCC, NCTE, WPA and other groups should collaborate to issue a press release announcing this CCCC’s and IP-caucus members in particular should communicate these views to colleagues, librarians, administrators and secondary schools

The goal is to have a document with clout and credibility that interested faculty can use to persuade their institutions not to purchase these services or their colleagues not to use them.

What this resolution would cover: we support an economy of return of value for intellectual work—this is not what happens to student writing in plagiarism detection services, whose principles are the opposite. students should know their rights and have recourse to exercise their rights. Instructors have the responsibility to inform students of their rights. patchwriting or “remix” is the new way of writing online institutions need to give consideration to patchwriting as a developmental issue writing changes with technologies—we support this plagiarism detection services grow from an narrow construction of writing as property definitions of plagiarism need to respond to context, audience expectations and genre, which detection services do not do contrary to the goals and purposes of detection services, policies and practices surrounding plagiarism need to acknowledge faculty responsibilities focus on teaching the multiple reasons we use sources and why we cite them shift the conversation about plagiarism from policing, property and stealing to pedagogy and rhetorical processes

This is just the beginning: we are circulating a draft among our group members and interested others; when its complete, we will send it to the wider caucus. We can discuss how best to achieve our goals at that point.