Plagiarism and Ethics

This is the version of the CCCC-IP Caucus Recommendations Regarding Academic Integrity and the Use of Plagiarism Detection Services approved by the Caucus.

The following resources are useful to anyone researching Turnitin and other plagiarism detection services:

“At Issue: Should Educators Use Commercial Services to Combat Plagiarism?” CQ Researcher 13.32 (Sept. 19, 2003): 789. http://www.cqpress.com/docs/Combating%20Plagiarism.pdf (6 September 2006).

Point/counterpoint-type of columns, with the President and Founder of Turnitin.com representing the “yes” viewpoint, and Rebecca Moore Howard representing the “no” viewpoint. Howard’s 6-paragraph stance on the issue is among the most concise, clear, and articulately stated opinions on the matter. Contained within a 24-page special edition of CQ Researcher entitled “Combating Plagiarism.”

Gary Becker and Richard Posner had a recent discussion on plagiarism that might be interesting to some of you. Here are the posts in chronological order: one, two, three. Be sure to read the (many) comments as well.

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

Note: I didn't write these; I'm just the messenger.

Minutes from IP Caucus Group / Action Items

Our group largely focused on the shifting meanings of plagiarism and intellectual property across disciplines. Because these meanings vary so widely, students can end up confused around issues of citation, plagiarism, and intellectual property.

This problem is compounded by the nature of institutional writing in which, for example, someone else writes speeches for the president of a university. Who owns that writing?

The group discussed strategies for teaching these issues:

1.Let students know that what you’re teaching about plagiarism is discipline-specific.

John Logie began the CCCC Intellectual Property Caucus with a tribute to Candace Spigelman, co-chair of the Caucus, who passed away last year. Candace never lost sight of students in the process of talking about rhetoric and intellectual property. Institutions are here for the benefit of students. He set up a Candace Spigelman Memorial Fund, which will benefit the Caucus. Directions on how to contribute to the fund will be on the web site soon. Then he reviewed the MGM v. Grokster case and explained why we, as rhetoricians, should take an interest in it. He held up two sheets of paper, one in each hand, that said, "THE INTERNET IS A PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK." The Grokster case, he argued, represents the threat of suppressing technologies that merely have the potential to be used for copyright infringement. Jeff Galin (I think) posed these questions: Can we engage our students to get active in this as well? Can we imagine ways that free use and fair use might intersect? What roles are we going to play to challenge Congress and the entertainment industry?