Circular
S/IF/78/05 October 2005
TO: The Principals of Post-primary Schools and Institutes
of Further and Higher Education
FOR CIRCULATION TO: The Head of the Art & Design Department
Dear Colleague
It has come to our attention that issues of plagiarism arose in the 2005 examinations for GCE Art and Design dissertations Unit A21. This is a serious issue which falls under malpractice. To assist centres with issues of this type always adhere to the Joint Council document as well as guidance in the specification and advice from the Chief Examiner/Principal Moderator. There are some general points on how to avoid/prevent/deal with plagiarism in Art & Design.
- Keeping watch
- Confirmation
- Reporting
What to do first
- Access the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) documents, for teachers and students, which are in centres and are also accessible on the WEB. The specific document for students is ‘Notice to candidates: Coursework and portfolios.’
- Spend time outlining the main facts about plagiarism to your students. A summary list of ways to recognise this problem is included at the end of this document. Make sure students understand what is acceptable and not acceptable in the use of sources, esp. Internet.
- Make sure that students understand the significance of the form they sign which indicates that it is all their own work and that they have understood and followed the coursework requirements.
- You might within centre require students to sign a declaration that they understand what plagiarism is.
- You might explain to candidates and their parents the penalties of malpractice.
- YOU must accept the obligation to authenticate the work, which is submitted for assessment. You must confirm that the work produced is that of the candidate. YOU MUST NOT accept work, which is not the candidate’s own. If plagiarism is discovered prior to the signing of a declaration of authentication, you should deal with it in accordance with your centre procedures.
- Make sure that students keep to deadlines for submission and marking. This will allow you time for checking sources /Internet sites which can be very labour intensive.
- Make students aware that you will be checking ALL prep work. Advise students of the need to have quality illustrations (Internet illustrations are often very poor quality).
- Thoroughly check ALL prep work and on a regular basis. If you are not computer friendly, ask another colleague to type in a few phrases to check for Internet lifts.
- Take care that work submitted by other candidates in previous years is not submitted as their own by candidates for the current examination.
- If, despite all your efforts, a student fails to hand work for the deadline and you have no time for a final check/are in doubt about the authenticity, refer the matter to your HEAD of CENTRE /Head Teacher who will deal with it according to JCQ documents. Write detailed notes on the student record sheet, which you will be sending to CCEA, if necessary expressing your concerns about aspects of a piece of work.
Dealing with and recognising plagiarism
Watching
- Check acknowledgement of sources as the work is in progress. Lack of references could indicate copying.
- Note any varying quality of content, from language to typography.
- Check if introduction and conclusion relate to work in the middle. Are there parts which do not make sense?
- Note if the work does not focus on the topic but instead uses or refers to related matters, perhaps in a very sophisticated manner.
- Note if the language is typical of this level of candidate; use of specialised jargon is often a clue.
Confirming
- If you suspect that an assignment has been plagiarised, the next step is to try and locate the source. Detailed information on how to do this is in the JCQ document ‘Plagiarism in Examinations’, guidance for teachers/assessors. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) offers a comprehensive plagiarism advisory service.
Website is http://on line.northumbria.ac.uk/faculties/art/information studies//Imri/JISCPAS/site/iscpas.asp
- There are computer programmes available, which detect plagiarism. Contact your centre computer technician for initial help- it may save you a lot of time. http://www.turnitin.com and http://www.plagarism.org are two sites which you may also access.
- Talking over the assignment on a regular basis with the candidate may eliminate problems at an early stage. Ignorance of what actually constitutes plagiarism is often the cause.
- You should not award marks for work, which is not the candidate’s own.
Reporting
- If your suspicions are confirmed and the candidate has NOT signed the declaration of authentication, your centre can resolve the matter prior to the signing of this form. Ultimately, it is the Head of Centre/head teacher who has the responsibility for ensuring that candidates do not submit plagiarised work.
- If the declaration is signed and plagiarism is detected, the matter must be reported to the Awarding body CCEA.
- If an Awarding Body’s moderator suspects plagiarism, full details of the allegation will be reported to the centre. The Head of Centre will be asked to conduct an investigation into the alleged malpractice and to submit a written report. If you keep notes on candidates’ work this would be very useful and might protect you from any blame.
I trust this is helpful and look forward to meeting you at Agreement Trials.
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