Abstract:

Against a background of concern surrounding access to electronic sources of information via the internet and the authenticity of students' assessed work, in 2002 the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) founded the Plagiarism Advisory Service in the UK. The service aimed to develop a national strategy for plagiarism detection, backed up by sound pedagogic advice and guidance, and to disseminate best practice throughout UK universities and colleges. The service sought to unite existing pockets of good practice within universities and colleges, in order to develop an holistic approach to addressing plagiarism, combining institutional policy and procedure, assessment strategy, student study and information literacy skills, combined with access to the US-based Turnitin plagiarism detection software. Whilst backed by the plagiarism detection software the service aimed to place a positive emphasis on learning and teaching approaches to formative prevention and appropriate use of electronic sources, rather than after the fact detection. An initial campaign of awareness raising promoted the importance of adopting this holistic approach to ensure the detection technology was not viewed in isolation, but rather as part of this integrated strategy. Nevertheless, arguably technology has acted as a catalyst for change within this area, and for many UK institutions has prompted a review of and further development of academic misconduct policy and procedures. Additionally, the service has provoked a rethink of assessment strategies, in an attempt by many institutions to effectively eliminate opportunities for cut and paste plagiarism, resulting in more stimulating and rewarding activities for learners. Almost seven years since the service's inception, TurnitinUK has now been adopted by over 96% of universities in the UK and a growing number of further education colleges, and, now, renamed PlagiarismAdvice.org the service continues to promote and encourage an holistic approach to ensuring authenticity in student work by establishing and sharing best practice. A need has also been identified for extending this approach to schools, in order to establish best practice and encourage original work and appropriate use of electronic sources of information from students at an early stage in their academic career.

Keywords:

plagiarism, plagiarism detection, assessment, turnitin, good practice.