Read each of the following scenarios and answer the questions. While reading the scenarios, think about what the problem is and what the best solution would be based on Penn State's principles and policies. Use the "My Notes" tool on the right side of the tool bar at the top of the page to type your responses to the questions.
David is a senior and only has three more classes this semester before he graduates. He feels the pressure to uphold his 3.65 GPA, as well as just wanting to finish and get the classes out of the way.
In one of his classes, an extra credit assignment is to read through a set of given texts from certain articles and books that have been given by the instructor throughout the semester, and then to compile personal thoughts based on the principles covered. To David, it seemed like basically doing something he already had done in the class—read the same information again. He figured the instructor just wanted to make sure the students really did read the articles, so David wrote his paper using direct quotes and verbatim phrases from the reading without correct citation. It was just extra credit, after all, so if it was not as good as his other work, it couldn’t really hurt his grade.
Is what David did wrong? Why or why not? Do you think David is right in thinking that this assignment really doesn't matter and can't really hurt his grade because it is only for extra credit?
Janie has just moved to the Twin Cities from a non-English speaking county. It is hard to fit in, understand the language, and make friends. She misses her family and it is sometimes difficult for her to concentrate on all her classes.
She is taking a biology class this semester, which turns out to be much harder than she thought it would be. In one of the tests, the answers are to be marked by blackening out lettered circles on a separate answer sheet. Janie studied as hard as she could, but it seemed she did not read the topics that most of the questions on the test covered. Near tears, she hands in her test answers and sits down at her desk to await the end of class. To her right, Mark is working on his test. He seems to have no trouble with the class and is carefully marking his own answers. Glancing at his answer sheet, Janie sees that he has marked several answers differently than hers.
Janie goes up to the proctor and asks for her test answer sheet back, saying that she just remembered she did not correctly put in her student ID number. She quickly erases and changes some answers to reflect what she saw on Mark’s paper and hands it back in again.
Some time later, the instructor informs Janie that the proctor saw her change her answers. She is going to be given an "F" for the test.
Janie thinks her actions do not constitute plagiarism or academic dishonesty, and that the sanction is too harsh, especially after she describes what she feels are extenuating circumstances. Is she right? Does Janie have to accept the instructor's sanction? Do you have any ideas about better ways for Janie to handle this problem in the future?
Chris, Todd, and Mike are assigned to work on several group assignments together in a history class this semester. One of their projects includes each of them researching different events on a given time line, and then combining the information together.
On a test that covers some of the information gathered by Todd, Mike cannot remember what the answers are. He reasons that because the three of them had worked on the project together as a collaboration and got a good grade, it shouldn’t be a problem to ask Todd what the answers are. Since they sit not far from each other in class, Mike asks Todd to tell him the answers. Todd does not want to offend his friend, so he moves his arm so Mike can see his paper. Chris also sits nearby, and sees this.
Is this plagiarism/academic dishonesty? Are all three of them at fault? Is Mike more so than Todd? Is Chris obligated to tell the instructor what he saw?
Jennifer really enjoys the art history class she is taking this semester. She spends a lot of time on her final project—a portfolio of works of art that she selects, writes a brief background about the artist, and then describes what she feels about the piece. She is careful to make sure all her information about the artists is correct, and reads several essays on the artists she has chosen. She agrees with most of what the essayists have to say regarding the pieces. She represents some of their thoughts in her project as her own, reasoning that since it is not fact, and instead intangible opinion, and because she agrees with them, then she is not plagiarizing.
Is she right or wrong? Why?
Lee has to write a paper on some of the causes and symptoms of drug abuse for a public health class. He accesses the Web and finds several chat rooms that feature posted questions which are answered by doctors. He uses their answers in his paper, citing just "Internet" as the source. He also finds a site that is put together by the mother of a recovering addict which contains information that she has compiled as a resource for other families in similar circumstances. Steve also uses this information, and since the author of the site does not indicate which books she got the information from, he cites "Internet" again as the source.
Is this sufficient? Is this a form of plagiarism/academic dishonesty? Why or why not?
Jack and Diane are both in business class. Toward the end of the semester, the assignment is to do an analysis of a business plan. The paper is due in a couple of days and due to a family emergency, followed by being in bed all weekend with the flu, Jack hasn’t had a chance to work on the paper and is very stressed out. Diane feels badly for Jack and since she has finished her analysis, she offers to loan Jack a copy of her paper so he can look it over to get a sense of how she broke down the assignment and then structured her response, figuring that should help Jack not feel so overwhelmed and make the project manageable. Jack gratefully accepts the offer. Diane sends him her analysis in an e-mail attachment.
At this point, is this academic dishonesty? If so, what kind (plagiarism, cheating, etc.) and why?
As Jack reads over Diane’s paper, he agrees with the majority of Diane’s analysis, but there are a few things that he would word a bit differently. Jack reasons that since he agrees with Diana’s concepts, it would make more sense to make a full copy of Diane’s paper and go through it line by line, changing the sentences to sound like him. Occasionally he adds a couple of sentences to expand on a thought. He then creates a coversheet with only his name on it and turns it in.
At this point, is this academic dishonesty? If so, what kind and why?
As Prof. Mellencamp reads through the analysis, he is struck by the similarity between Jack and Diane’s papers, in fact when he compares them, he realizes that they are outlined identically and in parts, they are worded identically and even where the wording varies, the concepts are the same.
If you were Diane, how could you explain your role in what transpired?
Susan and Lucy are both international students from Narnia and in the same science class. Lucy has a strong grasp of the English language and is doing well in her classes. Susan’s grasp of the English language is not nearly as strong as Lucy’s. With Lucy’s help, she’s working hard to expand her standard English vocabulary, plus learn all of the science vocabulary. But Susan is having a hard time retaining the information, most likely because she isn’t eating or sleeping well. One day, there is an exam in their science lab. Susan is having a hard time understanding what is being asked in the questions and therefore doesn’t know what to put down for the answers. She starts to panic that she’ll fail the lab and the class. The TA notices that Susan and Lucy are talking to each other in Narnian and he asks them what they are talking about. Lucy explains that she is only translating the questions for Susan. The TA asks them not to talk and if Susan has questions about the test, then she should bring them to him (the TA). Susan asks him about one of the questions, but the TA can’t explain it without giving away the answer, so Susan goes back to her seat, uncertain what to do. Twice more during the exam, he catches Susan and Lucy talking in Narnian. Again, he tells them to stop talking. The TA knows Lucy is a solid student and thinks it is very possible that Lucy is only translating the question and is not providing Susan with the answers, but he isn’t sure. He decides to report the situation to the professor who teaches this section.
Is this a case of academic dishonesty? What would you have done if you were in Lucy’s place? How could the problem have been solved differently?
Last semester Ben took an ecology class and one of the papers he wrote was about the effects of DDT on bald eagles. This semester he is taking a wildlife biology class and realizes that his paper from last semester would work for one of the assignments for this semester too.
Is it academic dishonesty for Ben to turn the same paper in twice? What is the best thing for Ben to do in this situation?
Shawn and Mimi are in the same program with about 40 other students. It is Mimi’s first year in the program and Shawn’s second year. This year Mimi has an assistantship in the same office where Shawn had an assistant last year. At some point, Mimi finds several papers that Shawn wrote last year on the hard drive of the office computer. She sees that one of the papers matches an assignment coming due soon; an assignment that Mimi sees as being a lot of detail work that she’ll never use in the real world. Shawn’s paper is well written and so Mimi lifts large sections of it and uses them in her paper, which she turns in to the same faculty member who taught the class last year when Shawn took the course.
If you were Shawn and the faculty member called you in about the similarity in the papers, what would you say? What would your reaction be to Mimi?
What if the faculty member did not notice the text was plagiarized, but one night when you, Mimi, and some other people from your program are out socializing, Mimi told you what she had done. How would you react?
You are in a large, lecture-style class. Because of the size of the class, the tests are all bubble sheets and because the chairs are bolted down and students need to sit right next to each other, the faculty member has three variations of the test and they are layered so that students sitting next to each other will not have the same version of the test.
As tests are being handed out, you notice that this one person doesn’t take the question sheet on the top, but pulls one out of the stack and then compares it with the person to his left before passing the stack on to the next person in the row. During the test you notice that the way they are positioning their bodies and answer sheets, these two people are comparing answers as they go along.
What do you do?
This is where you will need to draw on your own personal philosophy of academic integrity. Will you turn your eyes away and act like nothing is happening because, after all, it's none of your business? Will you tell one of the people proctoring the exam and hope that they will just separate the two students and let them continue to take the exam since they really haven't cheated yet? Will you wait until the test is finished and talk to the two people who were cheating, maybe asking them to turn themselves in?
Used with permission from © Regents of the University of Minnesota, 2001.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
http://www1.umn.edu/oscai/integrity/faculty/case.html
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