Introduction
Plagiarism is the practice of trying to pass off the words or ideas of someone else as your own. Thanks to the growth of the web, coupled with the explosion of electronic content, one can easily cut and paste the contents of an academic essay and other documents with little regard for quotation marks or even proper citation (Reynolds 2009, p. 201). The wide prevalence of online ‘paper mills’ means that users can now easily download entire term papers. Several sites give the warning that their services are only meant for research purposes but not many users heed this warning. Some instructors can detect plagiarism on term papers submitted by students by familiarizing themselves with the writing style, vocabulary, and grammar of students. However, this can be a slow and inefficient process, especially when dealing with hundreds of term papers at a time. Thus, plagiarism detection systems become useful. These systems enable teachers, law firms, publishers, and corporations to match the text in various documents in a bid to identify possible plagiarism (Reynolrds, 2009, p. 211). Nonetheless, the submission of students’ term papers to the Turnitin system for plagiarism detection, along with retention of the same in the archives of the Turnitin database for use in comparing term papers submitted in the future remains a controversial ethical issue.
Plagiarism detection systems
Plagiarism detection systems work by comparing the materials submitted against several databases containing electronic content. Some of these databases include over 5 billion pages of electronic content that the public can access on the internet. We also have numerous pages of published works in electronic form, including magazines, journals, newspapers, and even electronic books. Papers that have previously been submitted by participating institutions for plagiarism detection services also form part of the database. Several plagiarism detection software and services are available in the market but Turnitin is the most popular and widely utilized.
The software has been in the market since 1999 and more than 5,000 academic institutions across the globe use it. Although there is the likelihood that the use of Turnitin service could somewhat infringe on the copyright laws of a student over the essay submitted, nonetheless, the use of the work of a student by Turnitin is still in compliance with the copyright and privacy laws in Australia. Copyright infringement occurs when iParadigms, the firm that owns the Turnitin product, accesses the archived papers of students without seeking their consent first while examining the originality of newly submitted term papers. On one occasion, the firm was sued by four high school students on grounds that it used its archived papers without first seeking the consent of the students. However, according to the ruling of both the court of appeal and a district court, the use of student papers to facilitate the detection of plagiarism is fair and as such, it does not constitute a copyright infringement. On the other hand, although the use of plagiarism detection software is a legal practice, the question of whether this is an ethical act or not, is still debatable.
Ethical issues of submitting student assignments for plagiarism detection
It is important to note that doing a certain activity such as the use of plagiarism detection systems could be legal, but this does not mean that it is an ethical practice. This is because all of us are advised to obey the law lest we are punished. On the other hand, the issue of ethics should be addressed from an individual point of view. For example, several students or institutions would not be comfortable with the use of the software detection systems and instead opt for a system that teaches the culprits the need to avoid plagiarism so that it may not even become necessary to detect the vice. A good example here is the case of a student at McGill University who declined to submit his work for plagiarism detection using the Turnitin service. The student in was opposed to the university policy that required students to submit their work through Turnitin for plagiarism detection, and he challenged the policy with success (Brown 2004; Churchill 2004). Following this incident, we have had mixed reactions from faculty members and students alike regarding the use of the software.
There should be a concerted effort to create awareness amongst the students and faculty members on the need to pursue academic integrity. Also, the faculty members should be pursuing other options to deter plagiarism, other than the use of plagiarism detection software. The key stakeholders at the university, including the administrative staff, teaching staff, student advocacy groups, and librarians should all be committed to promoting academic integrity among the students. Lampert (2004) aptly notes that in the same way that handling academic offenses is usually shared between administrators, the faculty, librarians, and student service officers, in the same way, they should also share the responsibility of educating the student on how to use information ethically.
Ethical issues of retaining papers submitted to Turnitin for plagiarism detection
We also need to question if the practice of Turnitin retaining papers submitted by students for subsequent analysis is ethical. Once a student has submitted his/her paper to Turnitin to check for possible plagiarism, such past papers are retained to act as reference material for checking papers sent in the future. In this case, the students do not derive any commercial advantage from this activity, even as they still retain the copyright to their works (Blake Dawson Waldron, 2004).
According to the ACS code of professional conduct and professional practice, a professional in the IT sector must always observe integrity and honesty in all their professional actions and decisions (Australian Computer Society 2005). While undertaking their professional duties, there are times when iParadigms, the owners of Turnitin may be tempted to deceive their clients and benefit in some way. Nonetheless, the firm should be aware that such gains are only short-term and in the long run, the company’s image shall be dented by such actions. The issue of confidentiality is also important because IT professionals should desist from disclosing any information that might have been acquired while undertaking their professional work. The only exception is when consent has been sought from the client. In the case of Turnitin, the essays and term papers submitted by customers are usually retained by the company for use in checking plagiarism in papers submitted in the future by other customers.
The idea of retaining such papers and using them has elicited a heated debate amongst students who are opposed to this move. To them, Turnitin uses their work for commercial purposes and they do not benefit in any way from the ensuing financial gain. In addition, the institutions of higher learning shall have enlisted the services of Turnitin at a fee so that the students can then submit the paper to check for plagiarism. It appears as though Turnitin is benefiting from both the institutions and the students as well, and this is unethical. To clear the doubt of a student, he/she may be informed in advance that indeed their submitted work shall undergo the process of plagiarism detection and that the system would retain copies of the works submitted so that they may be used as source material while conducting plagiarism detection services in the future.
From a legal perceptive, such a practice could be okay but from an ethical point of view, the practice could elicit a heated debate (Johnson, 2011). To start with, we have students and faculty members who are opposed to the use of plagiarism detection systems. In the same way, some students would be consumed with guilt knowing that their work submitted to Turnitin is being used as reference material to check for plagiarism. Not only is the retention of a student’s essay an infringement of copyright, but because the company also benefits commercially when the previous papers stored in their database is used as a reference document to check for plagiarism, the fact that submitting a paper with the full knowledge of what to expect is a source of personal guilt, and hence unethical.
Conclusion
The use of plagiarism detection systems by institutions of higher learning has been a controversial activity. On the one hand, there are those students and faculty members who support the practice. On the other hand, there is a smaller group of students and faculty members who are opposed to the use of plagiarism detection software. The legal fraternity has argued that there is nothing wrong with retaining the term paper of a student as a point of reference in detecting possible plagiarism in papers submitted by students in the future. However, we need to appreciate the fact that what is legal may not necessarily be ethical. Some students are consumed by guilt when they knowingly submit their term papers to Turnitin and have such papers archived for later use. Even though they presumably retain the copyright to their work, the fact that their work is used for commercial purposes is a cause for concern to them.
Reference List
Australian Computer Society., 2005. ACS code of professional conduct and professional practice. Web.
Blake Dawson Waldron., 2004. Australian Legal Document. Web.
Brown, L., 2004. Toronto teen wins battle against McGill University over plagiarismdetector. Canadian Press Newswire, Web.
Churchill, L., 2004. Turnitin.com debated. McGill Daily. Web.
Johnson, C. E., 2011. Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light Or Shadow. London: Sage.
Lampert, L. D., 2004. Integrating discipline-based anti-plagiarism instruction into the information literacy curriculum. Reference Services Review, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 347-355.
Reynolds, G., 2009, Ethics in Information Technology. Stamford, Mass: Cengage Learning.