Partnership on University Plagiarism Prevention

Funder

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Project Team

Dr Dimitar Angelov
Dr Irene Glendinning
Mr Daniel Quinn

Value to Coventry University

circa £93,000

Total value of Project

CAN$ 2.5 million

Duration

April 2021 - March 2028

Project overview

The advent of technologies, word processing software and the web has transformed the writing process for 21st-century university students. They now have access to a wide range of new technologies to write their assignments.

The increased use of the web as a source of information is enriching, but poses significant challenges: how to find relevant information in this unprecedented mass of information, how to integrate it properly into written work and, above all, how to reference it according to academic standards Although plagiarism existed before technology, it has nevertheless increased with the culture of copy and paste, combined with access to the web.

In this era of Web 2.0, many students are wrongly convinced that copying what is on the web without noting its source is not unethical. Plagiarism is, therefore, often a blatant sign of deep deficiencies in students' informational, writing and referencing skills. A real scourge in the world of education, plagiarism is constantly on the rise in universities around the world.

In this context, it is essential and urgent that the university community be able to better identify the gaps that lead students to plagiarism. The Partnership on University Plagiarism Prevention (PUPP) team, composed of 63 researchers from various disciplines, and from over 30 partners, focuses on an international strategy for the prevention of plagiarism in universities. The PUPP is proposing a unique research project on the use of digital scrapbooking strategies (DSS) by students and lecturers to determine how teaching and learning these strategies can prevent plagiarism. DSS facilitate searching the web for information, integrating this information into the writing process, and referencing the authors used in producing written assignments at universities.

Project objectives

• Identify the DSS used and taught at the university.
• Compare the use and teaching of DSS according to country, culture, program, and knowledge of first and second languages.
• Identify which DSS should be prioritised for teaching in order to foster integrity and reduce plagiarism, according to country, culture, program, and knowledge of first and second languages.
• Examine the impact of teaching those DSS considered as priorities on reducing plagiarism in students' assignments.
  Impact statement

The project aims to achieve impact with respect to improving capacities for writing in the digital age and thereby reducing plagiarism in Canada, the United States, and Europe. It is expected that the PUPP will provide a springboard for other inter-university collaborations, leading to other projects for combating plagiarism on a global scale.

Outputs

Research outputs, including edited collections and research articles;
Development of institutional policies as well as teaching and learning materials.

Website: https://pupp.uqo.ca/en/home/