The Effects of Plagiarism, Research Paper Example

Plagiarism is a very serious issue facing several educational institutions. Plagiarism is the ultimate form of academic dishonesty. It undermines the work of instructors everywhere (Articles Alley, 2009). Most instructors genuinely want to help their students learn. When students plagiarize, not only do they fail to learn the material but their instructors also do not know where they stand; making it difficult for teachers to understand what type of material to teach their students.

With increasing access to the Internet, plagiarism among high school and university students is more common than it ever was before. Typewritten assignments make it simple for students to pass off another person’s work as their own. The increasing difficulties facing America’s youth are also a contributing factor towards plagiarism.

Reasoning

While academic dishonesty is in no way acceptable or justified, there are a number of reasons why students may choose to plagiarize their assignments. Modern students face several difficulties from a lack of familial support to working constantly from a very young age in order to survive. Many middle-aged individuals are choosing to return to school due to an increasingly demanding and difficult job market as well as strong desire for self-fulfillment. However, these are the students who have the least amount of time to learn as much as they can. Many of these students already have families of their own and work one or more jobs in order to make ends meet. Students who work more than one job and also attend school may find themselves struggling academically. The level of stress that they endure could lead them to seek help elsewhere; possibly even from the array of writers online to sell academic writing services. Even younger students may feel burdened by their school work and may seek help elsewhere.

Long-Term Effects of Plagiarism

Plagiarism has several long-term effects which can be very negative for students and educational institutions. It may be difficult for students to perceive how cheating today can affect their lives tomorrow. Even if they are able to get away with plagiarism the damages that they face and the long-term can be very significant.

Unfortunately, plagiarism is highly prevalent among university students (The Collection, 2008). This can lead to negative long term affects on the job market. The American job market is becoming more and more difficult to break into. Most jobs that pay a living wage now require at least a Bachelors degree. This is forcing an unusually high number of people to return to school. Consequently, it is also causing an extremely high number of students to commit plagiarism by purchasing papers through the Internet.

The amount of stress that is placed on today’s students is reprehensible. Many students must work full-time jobs while raising a family and going to school either full-time or part-time. Some even work two or three low-paying jobs in order to fund their schooling. The state of the job market is only perpetuating this negative cycle. Several jobs do not even require the level of education that employers are asking for and pay less than the employees are actually worth.

What many employers do not realize is that several of their workers have obtained their degrees, in part, through plagiarism. They also do not realize that the unreasonable demands that they are making are contributing to the plagiarism issues that are facing several universities. Higher education provides the foundation which is needed for individuals to venture out into the job market. When students cheat, they do not receive the information they need in order to be successful. They may struggle with their jobs. Additionally, they may obtain a job that they are not even qualified to perform. This can cause an unnecessary burden on both the employee and the employer.

The universities themselves are also victims of the long-term effects of plagiarism (Scanlon & Neumann, 2002). Universities do everything that they can to ensure that academic honesty is maintained throughout the student body. However, not everything can be regulated and some students slipped through the cracks. Universities that give degrees to students who are dishonest – whether intentionally or unintentionally – risk harming their reputation and even losing their accreditation.

Students or the university administration can also face potential legal problems from student plagiarism. Authors are not very tolerant of those who plagiarize and may choose to bring about law suits if they find that their work is being copied without their permission and without proper attribution. Plagiarism can cause significant financial harm to the original authors of the works. Many authors rely solely on the revenue that comes from the writing and researching. When their material is plagiarized, their finances are in jeopardy.

Preventing Plagiarism

While academic dishonesty will always exist; there are things that instructors and school administrators can do to help prevent plagiarism. When school staff members work together in order to counter plagiarism they can have a powerful effect on the future of the school system.

Websites such as turnitin.com allow teachers to combat plagiarism effectively. Turnitin.com is trusted by several educational institutions around the world. There are other websites that can help detect plagiarism as well such as copiescape.com. Teachers can usually access these websites for free because of their profession in the education industry.

Instructors must also be held responsible for defining plagiarism to their students. It is the instructor’s job to make sure each and every student understands the entire scope of plagiarism and the consequences that can be brought about if they are ever caught cheating. Students also need to be taught about various essay formats and proper citation styles as early as middle school. This would ensure that by the time they reach college they’ll fully understand how to cite sources properly and thus, avoid accusations of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is not just limited to essays. Students in Web design and computer programming classes can easily plagiarize the work of another student by making small, cosmetic changes such as changing variable names (Ribler & Abrams, n.d). In a large classroom setting without strong plagiarism detection software, such actions could easily go unnoticed by the instructor (Ribler & Abrams, n.d). However, programmers are working on a solution to this issue by creating more powerful plagiarism detection software (Ribler & Abrams, n.d).

Administrators must also be willing to enforce the rules when it comes to plagiarism. Students are usually given a student handbook upon entering a university. Within the handbook, there is typically a section that is dedicated to plagiarism. This section defines plagiarism and the consequences of violating the set guidelines and policies. Usually the consequence of plagiarism is expulsion as well as a damaged reputation.

Conclusion

Plagiarism is a serious issue that can cause long-term consequences for the student, teacher, university system, and job market. The Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism across the entire educational spectrum. Websites such as turnitin.com can help to combat this issue. Instructors can do their best to understand the scope of what is going on in the student’s life and work with them accordingly. Teachers can reduce academic dishonesty by educating them about the meaning of plagiarism and showing them how to cite examples using various formats such as MLA and APA early in the education process, in order to prepare them for college. Technical students who plagiarize can be caught by stronger detection systems that are still in the process of being implemented. Students who are caught plagiarizing can face serious consequences such as expulsion.

Works Cited

Bowyer, Kevin W. , and Lawrence O. Hall. “Reducing Effects of Plagiarism in Programming Classes.” Journal of Information Systems Education 12.3 (0): 141. Print.

“How Plagiarism Hurts Students.” Submit articles or find free articles. N.p., 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <http://www.articlealley.com/article_750271_50.html>.

Ribler, Randy L. , and Marc Abrams. “Using Visualization to Detect Plagiarism in Computer Science Classes.” Print.

Scanlon, Patrick M., and David R. Neumann. “Internet Plagiarism Among College Students.” Journal of College Student Development 43.3 (2002): 374. Print.

“The Collection:: Effects of Plagiarism in Education :: August :: 2008.” The Collection. N.p., 7 Aug. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <http://mylanz.blogsome.com/2008/08/22/effects-of-plagiarism-in-education/>.