WHY ADULT LEARNERS RESORT TO PLAGIARISM AND LOGICAL SUGGESTIONS AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM

INTRODUCTION
Plagiarism derive from Latin word “Plagiarius” meaning ‘kidnapper’ or “abductor” (William, 2002). Plagiarism commonly happened seriously in academic institution where the submission of work with the integrities take accoutered for credit.

University of Lead gives a new definition as “Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work as your own. Work means any intellectual output, and typically includes text, data, images, sound, or performance.” (MacDonald-Ross, 2005)

Carroll, (2002) said most of the academic work done by undergraduate students at university will be based on the words, information and ideas of other writers. Then, the original sources of contribution might consist mainly of selecting, ordering, summarizing, and interpreting what others have said. Therefore, it is important to learn how to reference properly that is, how to specify clearly and precisely what your debts are and how to acknowledge them. Then your own contribution can be clearly identified and appreciated.

In this assignment I divide to three section i.e. section 1, focusing on why it happens especially among the adult and distance learner. Then I will suggest a solutions to avoid this happens base on Landon(2004) statement in Educator’s Voice the problem fall in two parts, first the problem “…why students cheat, as well as how to handle it…”.

In Section 2, I will explain on Information Evaluation Criteria base on journal wrote by Christina C Jocoy and David diBiase “Plagiarism by Adult Learners Online: A case study in detection and remediation”; and in Section 3, I will present data The most reasons cited by students (with corresponding perceptions by staff) show in article by Mike Hart and Tim Friesner in articles “ Plagiarism and Poor Academic Practice – A Threat to the Extension of e-Learning in Higher Education?” in form of bar chart.

PLAGIARISM: REASONS AND SOLUTIONS
Many researches show that plagiarism among adult learner on the rise. Jocoy and DiBiase (2006), Hart and Friesner (2004), Harris (2004) show that the number of plagiarism among the adult learner was increase year by year.

Table 1: Numbers of incedent of plagiarism
Base on Jocoy and DiBiase(2006)


There are many reasons why plagiarism happens. Dordoy (2002) in their research illustrate that 59% of the student cheating to get a better grade and 54% of the student has a bad time management and so on (refer to table 2).

Hart and Friesner (2004) List out numerous major factors why adult learner resorting in plagiarism base on Tribe and Rendell (2003) studies as follows:

• Less Commitment to the learning process and instead concentrating upon the final certificate.(JISC 2002 )
• Life Style, family responsibility and house pressure encouraging student to acquire the best possible result with the minimum works(JISC, 2002)
  
• Less Effective Time Management particularly by first year student
  
• Wide education background and low entry policy
  
• Previous college experience experience may dispose students toward qualification getting rather than independent learning.
  
• Use of Internet extensively and not acknowledgement the sources properly (Harpin, 2003).
  
• Confusing between collusion or collaboration and copying partly of the written (Moon, 2005)
  Universal Library which all material is regard as free (Moon, 2005)
  
• Less knowledge of illegitimate of plagiarism (Moon, 2005)
  

From the list given by Hart and Friesner(2004) and Dordoy(2004) we can summarize the reason why plagiarism happen as intentionally and unintentionally such as:

Pressure to Get Metter Mark
Jocoy and DiBiase (2006) highlight that adult learner have a big pressure to get better grade. This pressure came from spouse normally regarding to financial factor which they have to spend over the education or for living.

Laziness and Bad Time Management
Sergiou (2004) in her studies involving 33 student and 3 lecturer to detect the view of plagiarism. The result show that “Over half of the students questioned admitted that they had plagiarised intentionally due to time limitations.”

Lazzy student also can obtain these recycle paper from internet. Some website promoting “Research Papers, Essays, and Book Reports” for sales via CollegeTermPapers.com, MegaEssays.com, Cyber Essays, SparkNotes.com, TermPaperSites.com, and Education-Majors.com.

While using Google browsing engine by title or subject easily list out some paper available for sale. The paper varies from too good and too worse depends on how much money should transact (Harris, 2002).

Lack of knowledge
Understanding what we can do and what we cannot do is important. Some student do not know what they was involving in plagiarism. One out of three lecturers interviewed by Sergeou (2004) also explained that he had discovered that if students do not understand plagiarism, they do not bother to pursue what it means. Theytend to 'just leave it at that'

As explained by Carroll (2002) about managing the relating of other ideas a proper acknowledgment involve skill of summarizing, paraphrasing, precis skill where need to be abbreviated and the ability to relate one idea to another.

Proper paraphrasing will distinguish the good paper. The good skill and habits of write an appropriate citing word and construct a reference list will improve the overall of writing. Moon (2005) said ‘you do not need to be able to define the word for summarizing, paraphrasing or précis but you should be able to use the techniques when requires”.

How To Eliminate Practice Of Plagiarism
The overall goal of an assignment are required the student writing by their own using reliable sources. Then the issue of plagiarism will arise. However, we should have a strategy how to avoid this situation happen. Hart and Friesner (2004) proposed two method of preventing of plagiarism. Appropriate warning and penalties should be published to the student community and a set of institutional procedure of punishment shell be take to offender. Second approach is to fight technology by technology and investing in plagiarism-detection software. The Plagiarism-detection software effectiveness was proven by Jocoy and DiBiase (2006) in their studies.

However, JISC (2002) still point out that Human expertise should be use to preventing plagiarism by using process and procedure and not to rely on technology detector. This point of view actually was highlighted in Carroll (2002) handbook and listed as appropriate assessment mechanisms, a supportive institutional culture, clear definition of plagiarism and policy to deal with it; and training to staff and student.

Base on fact suggest by Carroll (2004), these step should be taken as a solution to avoid plagiarism.

Specific Instruction
Instructor, Lecturer or Tutor should give a clear instruction subsist of specific expectations, permission to collaboration or individual tasks; prohibit awareness, specific component and topic, and requirement for oral presentation. Instructor also should explain the content of good writing article and research paper.

Oral Presentation
Oral presentation may show at what extent, the student doing the information trail, evaluating information and review the information. Then they will caught by an uncertainty of their data, sources and un-familiarities of reference.

Assessment strategy
Many scholars agree that appropriate assessment strategy is the most important step should make by tutor to avoiding plagiarism. Ryan (2001) and Moon (1999) suggest to the student to make their own research and write with conditioned supervision.

Hart and Friesner (2004) propose that an assignment should be defer in terms of substance year to year which demand the student to evaluate the sources rather than collecting the information. For instant, this assignment is a good example of practice of assessment strategy to avoiding the plagiarism.

Writing academic skills
Method of writing for the purpose academic articles, or research paper should be constantly toughs and reinforced. For example, OUM stress on using APA format for citation and references. (Zaiton at al, 2008). Then, student should acquire this technic of citation and then they should be able to use that time to times. This method will help them to acknowledge the sources they were refer.

Referring to handbook by Carroll contains tutorial material, which can be use to indicate to students the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable practice (Carroll, 2002).

Encourage Student to make Statement
Instructor should encourage student to make their own statement base on understanding of the subjects. From the reading and review of the sources should make them able to make a conclusion.

However, Moon (2005) explain that we can borrow other’s idea by use of term of attribution, citation, referencing and acknowledgement of the other’s idea and link up together to support the argument will indicate a good writing papers.

Conclusion
The number of resorting in plagiarism never decrease but, student and instructor or lecturer should improving writing academic skill. More training, knowledge, and method on citation skill, referencing or paraphrasing should be toughs to student.

As Hart and Friesner (2004) said that, the majority of poor academic practices are still at the low end and cheating still arising in education. The most involving in plagiarism is online adult learner. Sources, information, or data all at finger tip. With less knowledge, they will involve in plagiarism without intention.

Combating using technology such as Tunitin.com is a last weapon to preventing plagiarism. Jocoy and DiBiase (2006) shown in their studies that combating with electronic computer tool is another weapon to avoiding plagiarism. Student should aware that university has this tool to detect their academic works using Trinitin.com or other software.

REFERENCE

1. Bull, J. (1999). Computer-assisted assessment: impact on higher education institutions. Educational Technology and Society, 2(3), 123-126
2. Caroline Gatrell(2006), Managing Part-time Study: A Guide for Undergraduates and Postgraduates, McGraw-Hill International.
3. Carroll, J.(2002), A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher Education, 2002, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford.
   
4. Christine L. Jocoy and David DiBiase.(2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 7(1): 1-15. Accessible from http: // www .irrodl.org/ index.php/irrodl
   
5. Dordoy, A. (2002), ‘Cheating and Plagiarism: Staff and Student Perceptions at Northumbria’, Northumbria Conference.
   
6. Harris, R. (2002), ‘Anti-Plagiarism Strategy for Research papers’ [online] Virtual Salt, 12 March, 2001.
   
7. Henriikka Clarkeburn and Mark Freeman,(2005), To plagiarise or not to plagiarise: an online approach to improving and motivating honest academic writing, University of Sydney
   
8. Jeremy B. Williams, (2002), The Plagiarism Problem: Are Students Entirely To Blame?, Brisbane Graduate School of Business, Queensland University of Technology, AUSTRALIA
   JISC (2002), Electronic plagiarism detection, Bristol: JISC
   
9. Kaczmarczyk, L. (2001). Accreditation and student assessment in distance education: Why we all need to pay attention. Proc. 6th Conf. on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Canterbury, UK, 113-116.
   
10. Katerina Sergiou (2004) 'Why do students plagiarise?', Plagiarism: Prevention, Practice & Policy Conference. St James Park, Newcastle upon Tyne 28-30 June. Newcastle: Northumbria University Press, pp 195-203
    
11. MacDonald-Ross, G., 2005. Plagiarism in Philosophy: Prevention Better than Cure. HEA Subject Centre Philosophy and Religious Studies.
    
12. Hart, M., and T. Friesner. 2004. Plagiarism and poor academic practice–A threat to the extension of e-learning in higher education? Electronic Journal of e-Learning 2 (2). http://www.ejel.org/volume-2/vol2-issue1/issue1-art25.htm