======= Date Modified 14 43 2010 16:43:13 =======
Hi

I don't want to go into too much details but it has come to my knowledge that a student has copied my work for one of the assignments and an investigation is underway. Anyone here had a similar experience? or can anyone perhaps shed light on what to expect? I am worried(!!) I know I haven't copied or plagiarised the work.
I guess it's consoling to know the invesigation is focussed primarily on the other student but affects me too.

I still find it shocking anyone at postgrad level would try that. I'm just worried about my progression and potential academic career now.


any advice/tips/comments?

many thanks

I don't think that fact that someone else plagiarised your work will have any bearing on you and your potential, future academic career. It's like if you were to cut and paste a chunk from an article into your work; it has nothing to do with the original author. Rest easy (up)

I suspect plagiarism is actually worse at the postgrad level from what I've heard and seen. One of my fellow PhD students not only submitted a wholly plagiarised paper to a conference, he entered it for a prize and was very indignant at being thrown out of the conference. I pity his supervisors as I imagine they are having to check his thesis very rigorously.

But anyway, I imagine the issue is, how did the other person get hold of your work to plagiarise it? If you gave it to him/her, your university might be concerned about whether or not you colluded in the plagiarism. That's assuming obviously that you've been told that the other student has admitted plagiarising your work i.e. there's no question about the original author. If your behaviour could be construed as having colluded with the other student, it might be worth trying to get some advice from your students union on how your university handles this. I imagine you will be called in for an interview to determine how this happened at any rate.

What usually happens is that both students are contacted and possibly interviewed - we had a situation a couple of years ago where two students who shared a flat handed in the same piece of work - it was indisputable and so they were both told that they would both be penalised - the one who copied fessed up and the other one was let off.  It sounds like they are focussing on the other student. If they don't fess up then you might have to be interviewed as well - it's fairly easy to find out who is the innocent party - you just need to ask a few questions about sources, what they were thinking etc.  If you have any previous drafts of the work or evidence of library usage (downloaded articles, or list of books you borrowed then you could mention those. Don't worry, you are innocent and should be able to prove it.

======= Date Modified 14 Jun 2010 22:33:17 =======
Hi,
Thanks to everyone for responding. How did this person copy my work?assuming it's the person I *think* it is - they asked me to send them my work to help them structure their's... I've never withheld work either at postgrad or undergrad as I believe sometimes seeing another person's work not only helps you focus on structure but also acts as a reassurance! Likewise, I have many a time asked/seen other people's work just to see how it constructed and sent my own too.

thankfully mine was submitted first so I cannot have copied it - still cannot get my head round this one!!!!

This has definitely thrown me off! I still think (or fool myself into thinking!) the uni may have it wrong...

On a lighter note I ust want to know my mark...to think I've waited almost two months and STILL have to wait further to know what I got...punishment for my sins and impatience I guess!

It doesn't stop me worrying though...

thanks again


p.s. I don't have previous drafts but I do have email exchanges to the suspected individuals, and also copies of a few emails I sent to friends asking for feedback on my work... does that count for anything??

I'm afraid you are being naive if you think a so called firend is going to just look at your structure (and I'm a bit concerned that you "think" you knwo who it is - how many people did you share your work with). I often ask students if they would leave their credit card and pin with another student and quite a few of them are horrified at the thought - how much more valuable is your own work than a credit card?

A couple of years ago I was teaching a research methods course and (again naively) shared the literature review for my completed MSc dissertation (another university, unpublished) as they were unsure about structure - one of the students copied huge chunks of it (including a layout typo, a diagram I adapted form a book published in 1974 which is not in our library). She still denies it depsite bein found guilty at the hearing, but since then I have become much more wary at sharing anything. I share very little now (see a previous posting about how much you should share of your research at conferences when again I have decided I am a bit naive)

I would keep anything you have - I would expect that you will be interviewed at some point. You can legitimately ask the university how long the process is going to take but you may just be told by the course leader that they can't talk about it to you and that a central person (academic advisor or similar title) is looking into it.

Another thought - just because your was submitted first it doesn't follow that you couldn't have copied it - all that proves is you handed it in first (I used to leave it until the last day to hand something in, in case I wanted to make changes) - save everything (& print them out) in case you ned them.

If you've got emails between you and this other student (ideally one in which you've attached or at least made clear reference to sharing, your work) then you should be fine. We all want to think the best of one another, and my fellow phds and I have often shared chapters to get ideas for structure and so on, but we all work on different things so it's never been a risk to do so. I think Jepson is right that sometimes we need to be more cautious, but don't beat yourself up over this, it sounds like it will be fine :-)