Anti-plagiarism system triggers a strong response on campus
- Source: Global Times
- [21:31 June 11 2009]
- Comments
A system that claims to detect plagiarism in dissertations was promoted in a number of colleges and universities at the end of 2008, which provoked a great deal of controversy.
Han Yanwu, a graduate student at the College of Literature and Journalism of Sichuan University, received a text message from his instructor on May 8: “Two more students were found cheating in their papers, and they will not be graduating.” Shocked, he stood up in a meeting in his working office and shouted out: “Hell, no!” Seeing his co-workers’ accusing looks, he apologized but could not remain still.
The message from his instructor made him worry about his own dissertation and his future. He had received calls from his roommate who said “lie detector” software was being used to detect plagiarized papers.
Han’s 42,000-word dissertation was completed within two months, which is not especially fast compared with his senior schoolmates, some of whom finished their papers in one week.
They told Han how they “fix” a paper by directly copying and deleting certain lines of papers written by others. His senior schoolmate told him to relax since this was the way they all got their degrees.
In recent years there have been numerous reports about the cancellation of degrees because of plagiarism. According to a survey conducted by xinhua.net, more than 44 percent of netizens believe plagiarism is universally practiced in colleges and nearly 25 percent said this had already exerted a negative impact on society.
In Sichuan University, all kinds of rumors were circulated among students: “The software detected plagiarism in one third of students’ papers” and “Out of 65 students in one department, 27 will not get their degrees.”
No claim has been confirmed, but panic is spreading. Some students began to frequent libraries to modify their papers.
Along with the spread of plagiarism is an atmosphere of suspicion and complaints.
“We just wanted to copy theories that are in text books, but it turns out the lines in some sections of different books are exactly the same. Since all these famous experts practice plagiarism, why should students be subjected to punishment under the banner of fighting academic misconduct,” one student complained.
Why would students copy others’ papers?
According to Zhang Yun, a graduate of Sichuan University’s law school, the pressure to find a job is far greater than the pressure to complete their dissertations fairly: “The employment situation is now so severe that if I put a lot of time into writing papers, I doubt if I could ever find a job.” Her view represents that of the majority of students.
Zhou Enbo said in an interview that “What I have found is people sacrifice honesty when they face practical pressure. That is a problem that has plagued our society for years.”
A professor at Sichuan University said that with the increasing exposure of academic scandal, the introduction of an academic testing system could help motivate students to improve their academic achievements and would be beneficial to China’s schools.
China Newsweek