Abstract:

One of the implications of the Covid19 lockdown was that many student support interventions that happen under normal circumstances as face-to-face workshops could not take place. The priority at that time was to train and support students and lecturers to engage online, so many of the other ‘normal’ training initiatives could not be prioritised. One such student support intervention that normally received much attention was plagiarism and referencing. A possible consequence of this was a spike in plagiarism and copying cases. The focus of this research was a student support intervention for referencing and plagiarism that was implemented, and the outcome of the intervention. This intervention was different as it targeted the students through their lecturers, instead of academic staff who would usually conduct support workshops in this regard. The rationale for this intervention was that by increasing the support for referencing and writing we were hoping to develop to the students, and that this support would impact on the student’s skillset and reduce the need to copy.

The intervention took the form of two presentations. The first presentation was a template for the lecturers to adapt and use as a referencing refresher before assessments that required paraphrasing and referencing were due. The second presentation contained detailed information about aspects of paraphrasing and referencing with voiceover for students to listen to. Both presentations were uploaded for students to access as and when needed.

This study is relevant as it highlights challenges that were experienced resulting from the Covid19 lockdown. It also sheds light on the need for alternate, creative ways to support our students with academic writing, in particular paraphrasing and referencing.

To evaluate the usefulness of the intervention, the number of plagiarism cases prior to the intervention will be analysed and compared to those after the intervention

Keywords:

Referencing, plagiarism, academic dishonesty, academic writing, academic honesty.