Practice Makes Perfect

Abstract

To address the issue of plagiarism, students in two undergraduate Research Methods and Analysis courses conducted, analyzed, and wrote up original research on the topic of plagiarism. Students in an otherwise identical course completed the same assignments but examined a different research topic. At the start and end of the semester, all students ( n = 44) completed a homework assignment assessing plagiarism knowledge and paraphrasing skills. Students in the plagiarism-themed courses showed improvement in both knowledge and skills, and the strategies they suggested for avoiding plagiarism became more sophisticated as did the reasons for avoiding plagiarism. The control group did not show the same improvements. Results suggest repeated hands-on exposure to the topic of plagiarism improves plagiarism avoidance and understanding.

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