In the era of computers and research, students often find themselves tempted to use information
they find online and cut and paste it into homework or assignments as their own work. It is not
always intentional. Not all students have had the benefit of being taught key concepts and strategies
in the selection and use of information either in the classroom or by a teacher-librarian. Without this
framework for teaching and learning information literacy skills across the curriculum, they do not
have a foundation in how to use information ethically and legally. These issues coalesce when
students reach middle years and secondary school where they now are asked to seek information
sources on their own. Ideally students should be exposed to a continuum of critical literacies,
research ethics and information literacy throughout K-12.
■ Critical Literacy: Focuses on how and in whose interests the information found is
used. Students need to know how to determine the authenticity and reliability of
sources found in print and in digital format.
■ Ethics of Information Use: Students must understand the values associated with the
fair and honest use of information they find in print and in digital format. They need to
represent the work of authors accurately and appropriately. They need to have a
respect for the confidentiality and intellectual property of authors and understand the
illegal uses of knowledge and information.
■ Information Literacy: Understanding how to find resources and sources that can help
the student organize and structure information, synthesize new knowledge with note
taking and finally using and presenting the new knowledge.
In “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at our Fingertips”
(Sparrow, Liu, and Wedner, 2011) the authors conclude that the Internet impacts rates of recall of the
information and whether encoding is increased for where the information is to be found rather than
for the information itself.
They conducted four experiments with students using computers to access information and their
conclusions are that students recall where the information came from rather than the information
itself. This reliance on knowing where information can be located rather than what the information is
about is not conducive to successful research by students in schools.
With access to digital schools starting early, students learn pretty fast that Google is an endless
access to sources of information We all know what happens when ‘just Google it’ is the only strategy
students have for finding information. Students are always amazed when you show them how to get
the most out of this information source by applying Advanced Google tools or using Google Scholar.
But in order for students to get the most out of even these most basic search tools students need to
understand their topic enough to develop good key words and search terms to get best results. This
brings us to a basic tenant of assignments that involve research. Research is not an assignment
event. It is a process that involves teaching interventions all along the journey.
So as teacher librarians, how can we collaborate with classroom teachers to infuse these teaching
interventions and thus enhance the research skills of students? To ensure that students have
effective research methodology, there needs to be an understanding of the literacy skills that
students require to be lifelong learners. There needs to be an instructional shift towards teaching
these literacies so that students understand how to research and write papers that meet the rigorous
standards necessary for success.
Cut and pasting
Looking at cut and pasting, teacher librarians, in collaboration with the classroom teachers, can
provide students with learning experiences that will allow them to grasp the concepts related to
ethics of information use and plagiarism and avoid it in future assignment submissions. If critical
literacy isn’t discussed with students in K-12 education, they will not perceive it as an important issue
when doing research. If students don’t understand that it is essential to move away from the concept
of cut and pasting and not adding citations, why not continue with the practice?
Most post-secondary instructors pass out a syllabus, typically on the first day of the course, to
explain the plagiarism policies and information. Adopting strategies in K-12 instruction will allow
students to consider what copying and pasting entails and how it can be avoided. Unless students
experience it, which can be done through literacy instruction, their understanding of it will remain
limited. Although plagiarism may not be completely preventable, students may benefit from providing
them with the opportunity to learn about behaviours that constitute plagiarism and to practice citation
and referencing skills (Chuda et al., 2012).
What constitutes plagiarism?
It can be:
■ Copying the work of someone else
■ Citing a source incorrectly
■ Not citing a source
■ Creating sources that don’t exist.
■ Handing work from someone else as your own work.
How common is plagiarism in high school?
According to the McCabe study, the percentage of students handing written work by others in high
school is very high (58% admitted to committing plagiarism) so it needs to be addressed.
What else can be considered plagiarism?
■ Keeping any of the original document without quotations, even if the work is cited.
■ Keeping the original sentence structure without quotations, even if cited (no cutting
and pasting or using synonyms)
■ Not using of their own ideas (the entire paper is cited)
■ Improperly paraphrasing or misrepresenting the author’s original intentions
Why does plagiarism occur in high schools?
■ It is often due to a lack of prioritization of their allotted time to do the work. The student
is either multitasking between studies and a job or meeting multiple assignment
deadlines during the school year.
■ In the view of the student, ‘copy-pasting’ is faster than composing the own paper and
typing out original material and so Internet plagiarism is a quick solution.
■ The desire for good grades either due to the constant pressure generated by teachers,
parents, and peers.
■ Lack of knowledge about what constitutes plagiarism and how to work legally and
ethically with information.
■ Assignments that do not value information skills and ethics.
■ Assignments that are not supported by information skills interventions.
What is the big deal with copy pasting and not citing work?
■ In high school you could get a failing grade on the paper or homework and be required
to do a re-write of the work
■ You could be suspended or be expelled from college for handing in work that is not
properly credited or cited.
■ You could lose your job for taking ideas from someone else or writing a document that
is not in your own words.
■ You will lose recommendations when applying to another college or for application to
future employment.
Tools for citations and writing papers
■ Purdue Online Writing Lab – OWL
■ The online writing lab offers global support through online reference
materials and services for creating citations, cover letters, major-specific
writing help, and general writing advice.
■ Citation Machine
■ Citation Machine helps students and professionals properly credit the
information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, and
Turabian
■ EasyBib
■ EasyBib has tools to help you create citations for over 50 source types
in this style, as well as a guide to show you how an MLA paper should
be formatted.
■ A Research Guide for Students
■ It provides guidelines for the technical aspects of writing a paper such
as layout and style guides as well as a plethora of links to other
research resources on just about every topic imaginable.
■ Grammarly – Compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing
■ Correct grammar mistakes and other writing errors with Grammarly’s
online grammar checker.
■ Are these my own words?
■ This site is a very helpful tutorial written for students to help them avoid
plagiarism from Waterloo Region District School Board Library Learning
Commons
Instead of copy pasting, students have two choices
1. Using a direct quotation
■ Use the author’s exact words in “quotation marks”.
■ Don’t make ANY changes.
■ Cite the author’s name and add the information in the reference area.
That tells your teacher that “I did not write this. This is another author’s words.”
2. Paraphrasing
■ To start off, read through and take notes.
■ After reading a paragraph ask yourself, “What did I just read?”
■ Write a list of the main facts.
■ Take notes that relate directly to your research.
■ Explain the main ideas of the document in your own words.
■ Cite the source.
How to locate information
■ The students need to think about sources that suit their needs.
■ It is best to first consider sources they already have:
■ Reading material studied in class (e.g., textbook articles, library books,
encyclopedias, databases, newspapers, etc.).
■ Finding visual and/or audio texts (e.g., YouTube, films, documentaries
…).
■ Then search the library catalogue and the internet for other resources.
■ They need to refine search terms to make their searches broader or narrower.
■ They need to evaluate the quality of the information source. Teach students how to
approach every information source with a critical thinking stance and ask lots of
questions such as:
■ ‘How current is it?’
■ ‘How reliable is the author and is it relevant to the task?’
■ They need to practice lateral reading by doing some fact-checking on the author and
the content in question.
How to search online
■ Students should be taught to use a variety of search engines other than just ‘Google’.
Google Scholar, Wolfram Alpha, ISeek Education are good examples.
■ Google Scholar – web search engine that indexes the full text or
metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats
and disciplines.
■ Wolfram Alpha – a unique search engine for computing answers and
providing knowledge.
■ Iseek Education – a targeted search engine for students and teachers.
■ Use unique terms that are specific to the subject you are researching. For example,
instead of searching for “cats,” include the breed of the cat.
■ Use the Advanced search settings. This will help narrow the number of sites that
appear.
■ Include the words ‘for kids’ or ‘for students’ after you have typed in your key words,
phrases or question. You will find these sites easier to read and understand.
■ Use words that are most likely to appear on websites.
■ Use quotation marks to search for specific phrases. This limits the search results to
only those webpages that contain the exact phrase you’ve specified, for example
“water pollution in Canada”.
■ When doing research online, it is best link directly to the source and do a site search.
Example: a website ending in .edu will give useful information geared for students.
■ Have multiple tabs open in your browser. This allows the student to transition from one
site to the others and compare the usefulness of information.
■ Each time a student searches the Internet, they should make sure to have a
bibliography generator (Citation Machine) open to save a reference to the website.
They should make sure to check that all the information has been included. They
should also check with their teacher librarian or teacher as to the preferred
bibliography format that should be used (APA, MLA, Chicago).
Critical literacy, ethics of information use and information literacy are three important components
that contribute to better research skills for students in Canadian schools. A collaboration between
the teacher librarian and the classroom teacher to focus on these literacy skills in K-12 education
and value them by making them components of teaching interventions, project design criteria and
assessment is critical. Students will improve their research output as they become attuned to
demonstrating that they understand what they have read and have made it their own. Students will
become responsible researchers as they learn how to acknowledge the work of others. These are
important first steps in life-long learning.
References
Chuda, D., Navrat, P., Kovacova, B., & Humay, P. (2012). The issue of (software) plagiarism: A
student view. IEEE Transactions of Education, 55 (1), 22-28
McAbe, D. L., Klebe Treviño, L., & Butterfield, K. D. (2001, January 31). Cheating in academic
institutions: A Decade of Research. Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research.
Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
[Link]
e_of_Research
Sparrow, B., Liu, J., & Wegner, D. M. (2011). Google effects on memory: Cognitive consequences …
– Harvard University. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from
[Link]
Richard Beaudry is an Information Specialist, Teacher Librarian, certified ALA Librarian and Fellow
of the Library Association of Ireland. Since July 2020, Richard has been the Coordinator of the
Teacher Librarian Diploma and Certificate Program at UBC. Richard is particularly known for his
activities to promote human rights and freedom of information, particularly as they relate to the
censorship of materials in school libraries. Richard was the recipient of the 2020 BCTLA’s
President’s award for his advocacy for teacher librarians in BC and the 2016 Canadian Association
of Library Associations’ Award for the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada, and most
recently BCTLA’s Val Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award.