Plagiarism detection and prevention experiences from the Open University of Cyprus
The introduction of eLearning led to a number of advancements in student assessment and evaluation. Conventional methods of assignment submission, evaluation and feedback were substituted by online workflows and were enhanced with plagiarism detection tools to assist tutors in evaluating large numbers of assignments. The increasing number of eLearning students along with the huge amount of freely accessible information on the Internet, require tools and services for tutors, to assist the grading of student assignments and check the originality of their work. In this paper, we present the methodology used for introducing and delivering a plagiarism detection service in the Open University of Cyprus eLearning platform and integrating it with the assignment submission process. Additionally, we describe the challenges faced during and after the implementation and the actions taken to train tutors in using the service in a proper way. We conclude by presenting an evaluation of the service, both for its educational and technical soundness, along with statistics of its usage during the last four years.
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Plagiarism detection and prevention experiences from the Open University of Cyprus
- 1. PLAGIARISM DETECTION AND PREVENTION EXPERIENCES FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS C. Rodosthenous, P. Christoforou, M. Epiphaniou, G. Matheou, S. Mavrotheris, C. Christodoulides
- 2. Agenda § The OUC at a glance § What is Plagiarism? § Reasons that lead to plagiarism § Plagiarism Detection Service. Why needed? § Challenges during and after the implementation § Evaluation of the service
- 4. Study • Distance learning methodology • Face-to-face meetings OR Virtual meetings Exams and Assessment • Mandatory assignments • Physical presence at exams Educational Model
- 6. § Submitted electronically/Online § Counts for up to 50% of every course’s final grade § Mandatory for the fulfillment of the course § An average grade of 50% in all mandatory coursework is required for every student to be qualified to attend the final examination Coursework
- 7. § Plagiarism is when you submit someone else's work as your own work (Carroll, 2002) § Plagiarism is one of a number of practices deemed by universities to constitute cheating, or in university-speak: ‘a lack of academic integrity’ (Neville, 2010) What is Plagiarism?
- 8. § Inability to do the coursework § Lack of time § Difficulty to keep up § Do not understand the rules of citing § Easy access to internet sources Reasons that lead to plagiarism
- 9. § Need to check previous years’ assignments § Manual checking became almost impossible – Students increase – Coursework increase – Students from different groups copy each other’s work – No physical contact with students Plagiarism Detection Service. Why needed?
- 10. § Web service to detect similarities from various sources § Support all the popular file formats § Support both Greek and English language coursework § Secure coursework submission § Seamless integration to eClass eLearning Platform Technical Requirements
- 11. Test dataset T1: content from English and Greek news sites T2: content from open repositories with thesis and dissertations in Greek language T3: content from the OUC’s institutional repository T4: content from assignments added to the plagiarism detection database T5: content from publishers that the OUC has access to T6: content from books used for teaching in OUC courses T7: source-code from sites with examples (e.g., Microsoft Developer Network, php.net, etc.) Testing and Demonstration
- 12. Testing and demonstration Plagiarism detection service T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Ephorus1 56% 47% 85% 90% 46% 35% 48% Turnitin2 88% 63% 79% 92% 61% 53% 37% [1] https://www.ephorus.com/ [2] http://turnitin.com/
- 13. Service deployment and integration § Activation of the service and content migration. § Integration to the eClass eLearning Platform. § Preparation of training material and educator training. § Pilot phase initiation. Plagiarism detection service
- 14. Current Status
- 15. § Similarities percentage include content that is part of the student’s coursework (title, instructions, pre-defined coursework templates, multiple choice question templates etc) § Resubmitting an assignment is also sometimes detected as plagiarism, since educators forget to withdraw the first submission from the reference database Identified issues
- 16. Evaluation of the service
- 17. Evaluation of the service (2)
- 18. 2011 2015 Number of assignment activities in eClass 386 1439 Number of coursework submissions 14071 30208 Average grading time (in days) 17 13 Evaluation of the service (3) § Average coursework grading time decreased
- 19. § A plagiarism detection tool in a university is far from being a cure for the phenomenon of plagiarism § Aims in building a healthy scientific culture and academic honesty for future scientists and to act as a prevention method for students to present not original work Conclusions
- 20. More information…. • Christos T. Rodosthenous • Email: christos.rodosthenous@ouc.ac.cy • Georgia Matheou • Email: georgia.matheou@ouc.ac.cy • WWW: http://www.ouc.ac.cy