Plagiarism & collusion

Plagiarism can often be avoided by encouraging academic honesty when introducing assessment.

All students should be encouraged to use the Safe Assignment tool that they can access via the Blackboard Academic Honesty Module to check their groupwork does not plagiarise. The Academic Honesty module is compulsory for all commencing students.

 

Different forms of plagiarism

The different ways in which academic dishonesty may manifest are:

• Plagiarism by all group members
• Plagiarism by one group member (without the knowledge of others)
• Unauthorised sharing between groups by one member
• Collusion between groups

Plagiarism may be ‘negligent plagiarism’ (innocent, reckless, careless) or ‘dishonest plagiarism’ (knowingly presenting another person’s work as one’s own and not acknowledging sources).

Often educating students of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, and making them aware of academic practices to recognise the work of others will help prevent these situations from occurring. 

Not all cultures view the sharing and use of information in the same way as the Australian culture and particularly the university community. Students often just need to know the accepted practices and behaviours in their current study environment.

 

Suggested actions when plagiarism is found

Always talk to students involved and allow them to explain the situation. Listen objectively.

Be wary of coming to conclusions without evidence.

Plagiarism by all group members
If negligent plagiarism is detected students should be counselled in line with Academic Board Resolutions. If dishonest plagiarism is found, and you are sure all members are aware, deal with it as you would an individual case.
Plagiarism by one group member without knowledge of others
If you determine the student’s actions were dishonest, act in accordance with Academic Board Resolutions.  Point out to other group members that by placing their name on the document they did have responsibility to read it in its entirety and be responsible for its content. It is recognised that it may be difficult for students to identify plagiarised sections of a document.  Setting an assignment task that is difficult to break into completely discrete parts will reduce the potential for this problem to occur.
Unauthorised sharing between groups by one member
If you determine the student’s action was dishonest or negligent, and other students were unaware, act in accordance with Academic Board Resolutions. In cases where it is not clear that the action was obviously intentional, care should be taken in dealing with the student.
Collusion between groups
Collusion between groups can be considered a breach of academic honesty and there is little doubt that it is intentional for the students involved. If you are sure collusion has occurred between groups, act in accordance with Academic Board Resolutions.

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