Plagiarism in semester assignment

Question

I teach psychology to undergraduate students while I am studying in my PhD. The module's assignment is a research report on a subject of the students' choice (the report has to be written in English). Before the data collection the students had to send me their research proposal and their ethics form for approval. I have given approval to all the students and they have already started to collect their data.

However, yesterday I was searching some studies about my PhD and Ι found out that a student had copied and pasted whole parts of a Greek thesis in her research proposal (actually she has "stolen" the subject and research questions as well as many parts of the introduction) and translated them verbatim in English.

I am very confused on what to do. I am pretty sure that her report will constitute a complete copy of the other students' thesis. However, due to the fact that the text will be translated, the Turnitin score will possibly come out low. Should I inform the university's principal or wait to see what will happen?

Update: Thank you all for your answers. You helped me a lot! Just to explain why I asked about how to deal with plagiarism: I am quite new in this job (lecturing)and additionally the college I am working for belongs to the private sector in Greece (i.e. students pay to study in the specific college smth that is not the prevailing way of studying here. All the universities are free of charge). So far, I have noticed (due to my experience as a second marker) that there is a silent policy of not failing students unless they are completely incompetent to study in the college. As you can understand, the students' level is quite low. So, I am afraid that if I report a translated plagiarism (smth that cannot be indicated by turnitin score meaning that I deliberately searched for it) I will "accused" of discrimination towards the student. Additionally, despite their low level the students (as well as their parents who pay for their studies) react aggressively when they receive a low grade. So, I am afraid that I will have to deal with this, too. That is why I am very concerned about what to do.

Answer 1

You should follow whatever your university policies say should be done when plagiarism is detected. Typically reporting is the very first thing that must be done. What will happen after that depends on your institution's policies.

In the US, many institutions have a discipline process that is progressive in the sense that the penalty for a first offense is small, but later offenses are penalized much more severely.

In my own experience with this, if you catch plagiarism in an early draft, you can penalize the student's grade on the draft, and then the student has a chance to produce a final product that is free of plagiarism. If the final paper still has plagiarism then you can give the student a failing grade or expel them from the degree program.

This requires checking for plagiarism at the draft stage in addition to checking the final paper. However, if you don't do this additional checking then the student may get away with only a warning or a small grade penalty for plagiarism in a term paper.

Answer 2

Don't rely on Turnitin or other text-matching software scores! They should not be the only way to prove plagiarism. I would proceed with your university proceedures as soon as you discover the plagiarism, first preparing a synopsis with the students work (in English) on the left, the Greek thesis on the right. Anyone who can read Greek and English should be able to see that this is a translation.

Your university procedure may require you to speak with the student first, or it may require that an investigation board be informed. Check with your colleagues to find out where the regulations are documented.

And have the courage to go on with this, even if it is a lot of work. We have to nip plagiarism in the bud. People who are successful with plagiarism tend to be repeat offenders.

Answer 3

However, due to the fact that the text will be translated, the Turnitin score will possibly come out low.

If it walks like a duck and it swims like a duck, it doesn't matter if it quacks like a foreign duck. It is still a duck.

Don't "wait to see what happens". It is better to prevent a murder than catch the murderer after the fact. Give the wannabee plagiarists the chance to abandon the plot, either by communicating directly with them, or at least by a general announcement to the class that some research proposals are already flagged for plagiarism (explain/remind/stress that plagiarism applies to research proposals also).

The ideal for me would be a combination: namely a general announcement with no names and a confidential communication with the student, but your exact actions may depend on the specific circumstances, university policies and culture, relations with the class, etc.

But in any case, don't let this unfold without trying to stop it before it happens. Teachers are first and foremost guides, not judges.

Answer 4

While I agree with Brian's answer, sometimes University procedures are more onerous and are, quite frankly, not worth your time.

The approach I take is to zero out the grade for any piece of assessment that plagiarized work, showing my evidence of plagiarism to the student when doing so.

If they complain, then the usual procedure can be followed. If not, they take a hit on their grades, but it wastes less of your time on the legal procedures that many universities require.