Plagiarism remains at the forefront of academic misconduct and academic integrity conversations. Unfortunately, the behavior is often described differently by institution and discipline. With so many policies on plagiarism, it can be challenging to find resources that best address the behaviors. Over the last year, I have worked with incredible authors, including ICAI members and scholars Courtney Cullen, Sarah Elaine Eaton, Jen Simonds, and Salim Razi. These and several other authors helped develop a student success resource, offering standard definitions of academic integrity and various forms of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism. The objective was simple: to work together to create a definition and guidance that capture misconduct more universally while supporting student success. Books such as David Rettinger and Tricia Bertram Gallant’s Cheating Academic Integrity: Lessons Learned from 30 years of Research (Jossey Bass), and Sarah Elaine Eaton’s book Plagiarism, tackling tough topics in Academic Integrity (ABC-CLIO) speak to this with more nuance. In addition, there are growing collaborative efforts to develop common, easily accessible language for students and faculty to promote academic integrity, prevent plagiarism, and increase student success. One such international example includes research lead by Martine Peters through a collaborative grant, the Social Sciences and Humanites Research Council SSHRC Partnership on University Plagiarism Prevention (PUPP).
After reviewing plagiarism tutorials to understand more about available resources, I found commonality and opportunity that help to make sense of the available information. I began by searching plagiarism tutorials. To understand the content, I sought accessible resources with eight considerations:
I limited the resource list by checking for up-to-date links (and up-to-date resource links). The good news? There are fantastic resources available-- too many resources to share here. The resulting list is based on google search placement, strategically including domain identifiers that broaden to be inclusive as a brief blog post might allow.
Below is a sampling of the resultant links by characteristics that may be helpful. While many of the links meet multiple categories, this list intends to provide examples at a glance. I encourage you to visit related websites at your institutions and use this list to refine further the information you receive and share about plagiarism. All sites are live and adhere to the requirements above as of March 2022.
Library Guides
Librarians are the heroes of this post. College and University Library guides (LibGuides) are an excellent source of information on plagiarism. With links to school policies, definitions, and examples, LibGuides are a comprehensive, open-access source of information for students and faculty. Librarians are sought after, trusted sources of information on plagiarism. There are too many great examples to include in this post, but I encourage you to thank your librarian and visit the LibGuide resources.
Plagiarism Tutorials and Games
Tutorials are interactive tools that require engagement from student participants. Tutorials offer definitions of plagiarism and dive deeply into institutional expectations on the topic. Gamification elements offer an additional measure of engagement. Many institutions combine plagiarism with academic misconduct policy tutorials more generally. The selected tutorials are specific to plagiarism and are examples that demonstrate active learning in context.
Certificates and Tests
Check your understanding of plagiarism and appropriate citation practices by completing these assessments. The examples listed here offer participants a certificate of completion. The best part is that these are entirely free to use and do not require a log-in!
Video Tutorials
Video is a popular way for students to quickly take in information to prevent plagiarism. Many lib guides also link to videos. Here are a few that may be of interest:
3rd party tutorials
The majority of tutorial examples are associated with educational institutions. Despite this, students regularly view external, easily accessible content. Therefore, the examples included in this list do not represent any endorsement.
In closing, here are a few things I have noticed while searching.
Tech check: More and more institutions use Learning Management Systems (LMS) to house academic integrity tutorials. While this is very helpful for tracking information, a consideration is that it is not publicly accessible when log-ins are required.
Librarians lead the way: Libraries are likely to house plagiarism tutorials. Partnership with libraries goes a long way in understanding plagiarism expectations.
Partner with students: There are few examples of student-generated content in tutorial form, despite the incredible work of peer educators and integrity board members. Partnerships are an excellent opportunity to tap into student expertise, relevance, and perspective.
Check links. As with all resources that include live links, regular checks to ensure that links are working correctly and map appropriately are necessary.
Beware of information overload. Be mindful of the vast array of materials available. Students may feel overwhelmed with the amount of information shared. Instead, consider being strategic, scaffolding new opportunities for students to refine their understanding of plagiarism.
Have an example of a great tutorial? Share it in the comments, and we can compile a list!
*This resource is fully interactive and includes a pdf version, though individuals seeking a certificate must log in using institutional credentials
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