Faculty of Education - Theses

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Start date: 2010 × End date: 2013 × Subject: higher education × Author: Grigg, Gabrielle Anne ×

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    Plagiarism in higher education: confronting the policy dilemma
    Grigg, Gabrielle Anne ( 2010)
    Plagiarism is a problem that all universities have to address, not only to maintain academic standards, but also to maintain institutional reputation and confidence in the tertiary sector. In a global context of massification combined with competition for students, government funding, and income, these are crucial concerns. Policy is a central avenue for defining acceptable behaviour and for signalling that institutions are prepared to deal with activities contravening their expectations. However, plagiarism presents distinct challenges for policy, many of which arise from its amorphous nature. This study analyses the language, content and structure of policy according to the principles of social constructionism, using policy documentation related to student plagiarism from all 39 Australian universities. It is the first comprehensive, sector-wide survey of policy on plagiarism that also provides detailed analysis of depictions of plagiarism. This research shows the ways in which plagiarism is depicted as a problem for universities, and thus develops new insights into the relationship between conceptualisations of plagiarism as an offence and institutional responses to cases of plagiarism. The linguistic analysis approach of Appraisal is used as a device to analyse selected sections of policy documentation. These data are supplemented by interviews with people experienced in formulating and implementing policy on plagiarism. The study found that policy attributes multiple causes to unintentional plagiarism: misunderstanding; lack of knowledge; and carelessness. While it is acknowledged that there may be contributing factors, intentional plagiarism is attributed solely to student choice. Moreover, plagiarism is commonly depicted as an offence. Student intention is the key criterion for determining the severity, and the intensity of response, for any specific instance of plagiarism, although policy does not always express this explicitly. There is variation across the sector in the key criteria presented in policy. This thesis concluded that institutional policy acknowledges the complexity of plagiarism in its range of criteria and possible responses to individual cases. However, depicting minor and/or unintentional plagiarism as an offence may have some undesirable consequences for teaching and learning. This study offers broad recommendations for policy in minimising the predominating depiction of plagiarism as an offence; for approaching the criteria by which the severity of instances of plagiarism and the intensity of the institutional response to these cases are assessed; and for acknowledging the different contexts of coursework and research students.