Plagiarism

In today's world of high speed internet, high powered computers and free access to thousands of databases and publications, access to a vast amount of information is just a "click away". When used properly, this information can benefit students and general academics around the world. When used improperly, it can help create one of the biggest problems facing the Academic environment today, Plagiarism.

In our society, it is quite common to hear reports of people caught trying to beat the system. This is the era where the convenience of the internet has enabled the illegal downloads of information such as computer software, images, music, movies and even opinions and ideas of others. Recently the law has indicted many people for the unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted material on the World Wide Web. It is a very costly fine that has people second guessing their decision to beat the system. It is the misguided, unethical concept that immediately enters everyone's mind: why pay for something if I could get it for free? There are many software programs on the Internet that encourage the "sharing" of illegal downloads of this information. Now there are websites that let you bypass hard work and allow you to pay money for a research paper rather than produce one from your own thought and effort. In an academic setting, this occurrence is best described as plagiarism. It is theft of another person's efforts and accomplishments not to mention cheating. This means that anytime you use another person's work, you must give that person credit. Plagiarism is the use of another's words or ideas without obtaining their permission. Plagiarism can mean using someone else's entire work word for word, using just part of another piece of work, or even paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is taking some else's work and trying to put those ideas into your own words or format.

In an academic environment, it could be difficult to detect the intentional use of Plagiarism, especially in a group setting. For example, an assignment is given to a group or team of individuals in which they are instructed to research and collaborate as a group on a specified subject. It is up to the team as a whole to use the on-line tools to assess the final paper ensuring that Plagiarism is not involved. Those conducting research and writing papers must be careful; Plagiarism is Plagiarism, regardless if the action was intentional or even unintentional.

What is considered "Common knowledge" must also be carefully looked at. It is possible that a statement or piece of knowledge is attributable to a single person or group. In this case, it is a good idea to cite the source. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Why would an individual decide to plagiarize? There are many reasons why one might choose to plagiarize such as lack of effort; personal time constraints; inaccurate research of what is commonly accepted knowledge or even misunderstanding of the subject at hand. Ethics and morals come into play when one decides it is acceptable to take the valuable work of another. What form of thinking and ethical standards does an individual uphold when they feel it is acceptable to download a music file or plagiarize another's work? Personal ethics and critical thinking evolve from individual moral values and personal opinions. Your thinking originates from the code of ethics you uphold and opinions you consider to be fact. Most opinions are influenced by the way we were raised, what we believe in, and training and life experiences. Our thinking is molded and shaped by principles that are accepted as true and considered to be accurate and correct. In a dissertation by J.H. Danovitch Ph.D., (2005 Ð'¶ 2), her study determined, "Hence, these studies reveal that, by middle childhood, children construe morality as a distinct domain of knowledge that differs from the sciences and that their reasoning is based on consistent intuitions about what is necessary in order to be an expert in each domain."

From a psychological standpoint, parenting has a major impact on the development of moral conduct and early life impressions. According to a dissertation by S. R. Vaden, Ph.D.,(2001, Ð'¶ 2), moral development may also be gender specific, "Fathers' parenting styles appeared to have a significant impact on their children's