Insincerity in academic circles is a common feature. However, there is no consensus among the academics as to the reasons that induce literary piracy in the academic field. It is realized that easy access to online information has greatly spurred plagiarism and with the inception of World Wide Web (WWW), plagiarism has received a further boost.
In view of the information becoming easily accessible through the use of internet, students often resort to lifting texts as such from various sources and assembling their study reports or assignments as their own and claiming these to be original. Earlier, students copying from books had to hand-write the relevant matter, but these days with the help of internet, they just cut and paste the pertinent matter and construct a study report without expending much time.
Since there is immense volume of literature available on the internet, it is rather difficult for the teacher to identify the sources from where the student would have pirated the text. In fact, it can be said that internet has become the receptacle of plagiarism. The unprecedented increase in the number of publications has made it all the more difficult for the teaching staff to detect the original sources.
Google research engine, however, provides an effective means of detecting literary piracy on the internet, though academics admit that it is the internet that is responsible for giving much boost to plagiarism. Plagiarism in the hands of students assumes many forms, such as lifting the text or ideas of others verbatim from sources like periodicals, newspapers, books, internet, and reports of fellow students. Piracy of literary material through the deployment of internet is among the most common means of this practice.
Though plagiarism is a form of cheating, yet the students hardly realize its implications and do not think it to be a wrong approach. Plagiarism is generally used intentionally and students purchase ready-to-submit papers or approach a professional catering in pirated contents.
They also lift substantial portions of material from various sources without acknowledging the source as such. Plagiarism is unintentional when a student fails to properly cite the source or when he constructs his description that is very close to the original. The impact of plagiarism extends much beyond the classroom deliberations and casts a negative shadow on the process of learning itself.
Though plagiarism is not taken as an offence, yet it is considered as an unethical practice. Within the academic circles, plagiarism by any person student, teacher, or a researcher amounts to insincerity and cheating and the involved person could face condemnation or even expulsion.
Stealing views and ideas of others without acknowledging the source is termed as plagiarism. Students mostly consider plagiarism as an accepted practice, though it may ultimately have an adverse impact. It casts adverse impact on the process of delivering learning, teaching, teachers as well as the taught in four ways:
Teachers are concerned that students mostly do not realize the implications of plagiarism and, therefore, much of their time is spent on explaining to the students what plagiarism means and the way it can be avoided.
Teachers commit students to an assignment in order that they may understand the subject being taught adequately. Students who take to plagiarism do not gain enough insight of the subject.
Instructors who intend to discourage plagiarism and maintain the dignity of learning should try to find out plagiarism whenever it occurs. They should design assignments in such a way that makes literary piracy a difficult exercise. However, it demands considerable time and effort on the part of the teacher.
An intense competition exists among students to outdo the other in securing higher position with respect to grade or career. In case plagiarism is not discovered, the plagiarist students would enjoy advantage over the sincere students.
There are many reasons that call for avoiding plagiarism. Plagiarism not only adversely impacts the quality of learning outcomes but also casts a slur on the integrity of the educational institution itself.
As such, it is imperative that all teaching institutions faculty measures that curb plagiarism in order to take care of their reputation and the quality of students they produce.
Apart from delivering learning, the educational institutions have the responsibility of teaching the importance of ethical values to the students. Since plagiarism is an unethical practice, students should be made to understand it and avoid it.
Plagiarism is fast infesting the educational system and students are increasingly making use of internet and discarding the habit of writing the study reports themselves. The problem of plagiarism originates from the lack of knowledge that what they are doing is ethically wrong.
Even those students who are aware of what plagiarism means, are not aware of the implications of the offence and its outcomes.
Other reasons that make students fall to plagiarism include: insufficient level of skills, disposition towards grades and assignments, improper management of time, impression that their seniors have been plagiarizing, and inadequate perception of risk-reward parameters.
Taking care of the above issues can help prevent plagiarism. The most desirable measures to contain plagiarism would be to tackle the causes that induce this practice.
The approaches that can curb plagiarism comprise understanding the reasons that motivate students to plagiarize, finding the ways plagiarism occurs, and implementing techniques that prevent the wrong practice.