Educating students about plagiarism avoidance - A computer science perspective

Plagiarism is a longstanding problem faced by academics. Detecting and processing cases of student plagiarism is a tedious and time-consuming task, and difficult to manage for the large class sizes common in the modern tertiary education environment. More importantly, policing does not address the underlying causes of academic dishonesty. In this paper, we describe our approach to educating students about issues related to plagiarism, copyright, and academic integrity early in their careers in the School. We describe workshops and tests used as part of this process, and evaluate student responses to these. Preliminary results indicate this approach, incorporating information specific to the students' field of study, has had a positive effect. It is our belief that adequate information and ongoing support can complement traditional methods of detection and help reduce the incidence of plagiarism among students.