Turnitin deemed OK to detect plagarism

Plagiarism and cheating are a plague to any scholarly institution. Universities and professors fight to keep students in line and ensure an honest environment. But how far can the education system go?

Last Wednesday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the plagiarism-detection web site Turnitin.com was victorious in their legal suit when a federal judge ruled in its favor. The case involved Turnitin and four high school students from Arizona and Virginia. The students were suing based on the fact that Turnitin keeps students' papers in its database and allows others to view their work, name, and school without permission. The plaintiffs sued because they believed Turnitin to be guilty of copyright infringement.

The judge's 24-page report declared that iParadigms, the company running Turnitin, does not violate students rights. "Schools have a right to decide how to monitor and address plagiarism in their schools and may employ companies like iParadigms to help do so," said The Chronicle's Jeffrey Young.

Professors who use Turnitin.com can require students to upload their papers online, where their work is checked against Internet sources and other previously uploaded essays. It is this aspect that has been the source of controversy. Questions as to the legality of leaving students' papers prone to public review led to the lawsuit.

In March of 2006, Mount Saint Vincent University, a school in Bedford, Nova Scotia, banned the use of Turnitin. According to CBC News, the students lobbied against the service due to the culture of mistrust it fostered. The university's senate voted to ban all plagiarism detection software as of May 2006.

This raises the question of how plagiarism and cheating are addressed at Boston College. On BC's Academic Policies and Procedures Web site, cheating is defined as "the fraudulent or dishonest presentation of work." Plagiarism is said to be "the act of taking the words, ideas, data, illustrations, or statements of another person or source, and presenting them as one's own." The school has a strict policy against these two shortcuts. Punishments may range from a grading penalty to expulsion.

There are both opponents and advocates for Turnitin among members of the BC community. Some see it as a violation of ethics and describe it as ineffective. Others find it to be useful, and a necessary step toward scholastic integrity in the world of information.

Clare Dunsford, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, found the judge's ruling to be inadequate, a sentiment shared by the plaintiff's lawyer. "I'm not a lawyer, but I am impressed that the [plaintiff's] lawyer saw that the judge didn't address the fact that others can see the names of students attached to old papers," Dunsford said.

When asked how far the education system can go to stop plagiarism, Dunsford said, "Not as far as invading students' privacy. Academic integrity is extremely important as an educator and writer but I would have to balance that with a student's own work and privacy."

The communication department at BC does employ Turnitin as a tool against academic dishonesty. Bonnie Jefferson, a professor in the communication department, is an advocate for Turnitin. "For us, it's been extremely useful," Jefferson said. She said she finds that the service's strength lies in the breadth of its database, the extensive library from which it can compare students' papers.

"The whole process that we go through has changed. There are more ways to get information thanks to the Internet, and that can be both good and bad," Jefferson said. Jefferson said that Turnitin is the next step in the evolution of the prevention of plagiarism and cheating as the very acts themselves evolve with new ways to acquire, use, and even hide information.

Andres Perez Carrasco, a professor in the philosophy department, does not use Turnitin, but says he but can still sympathize with those who do. "They [students] deserve some privacy. They should find some middle ground. It is so difficult [for teachers] nowadays with the Internet. So I understand why they [professors] are using it. There are so many ways of cheating," Carrasco said.

Students have also weighed in on the subject. "There's a middle ground between student work profiting corporations and maintaining student integrity," said Justin Roorda, A&S '11.