Gaming against plagiarism: A partnership between the library and faculty

Abstract

Instilling the values of research and professional ethics is one of the most important functions played by an academic institution. Holding students to a high level of academic integrity supplies the foundation for these values. As detailed in the March 2009 PRISM article ?The Pull of Integrity," engineering colleges across the country are confronting the problem of plagiarism.1 As a function of the library research support role, librarians should collaborate with departmental faculty to educate students about the ethics of research as outlined by national policies and by institutional honor codes. Examples of such policies include the National Science Foundation's America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act, or the America COMPETES Act. This Act, effective January 2010, requires that institutions applying for NSF funding must ?provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research" to students and researchers.2 To help meet these requirements, librarians can fill the role of educating today's researchers by teaching the ethical way to conduct research and cite sources to avoid plagiarism. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.