Using Videos To Teach The Ethical Use Of Engineering Information

The engineering profession has always valued ethical behavior. However, it seems that unethical behavior is more and more prevalent in our classes. The rising incidence of plagiarism is and should be a concern to educators not only to ensure academic integrity but also because of the implications for our profession. The ethical use of engineering information is important for our students to learn. This article describes the production of a series of videos intended to give engineering students a foundation in the ethical use of engineering information. Topics covered by the videos include copyright, plagiarism, and citing materials. Camtasia software was used to create short videos in Flash format. Flash format videos are easy to place on the web, and can also be inserted into a course on BlackBoard. Scores from tests for the videos can be directly inserted into the grade book. From its inception the project relied on cooperation between the faculty of the college of engineering and the library. The faculty were consulted at every stage of the creation process. The feedback they provided was invaluable. Pre and post tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the videos. The Plagiarism Issue Ethics has always played an important role in the engineering professions. According to the Code of Ethics for Engineers presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers, “engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity.” 1 In fact, the document gives as one of its fundamental cannons that engineers should, “conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.” Unethical academic practices commonly occur in the university setting. It would be nice to think that engineering students are more ethical than their counterparts, but one study has shown the opposite to be true. Donald McCabe found that 72% of engineering students admitted to “one or more acts of serious cheating in the past year” compared to 66% of other students. 2 We need to do all we can do to instill ethics into the engineering students at our institutions. Learning to use information in an ethical manner should not be overlooked when teaching about ethics. Plagiarism is not new to the academic environment, but it seems to be on the rise. Even publishers of scholarly journals are worried about the rising occurrences of plagiarism in articles submitted for publication. 3 The Internet has changed way students plagiarize to some extent because it has changed the way they research. A wealth of information is now at the researcher’s fingertips. A library of information is brought straight to their desks. The phrase “cut and paste plagiarism” expresses P ge 13367.2 the ease of copying a sentence, paragraph, or more from an article into a term paper. Additionally, many in the upcoming generation view materials retrieved online differently than those obtained from other sources. Clifton Poole stated “there is a tendency to think that cutting and pasting from the Internet is a form of good research and not plagiarism.” 4 Several students are further confused because of online access to scholarly journals and conference reports through their library’s web sites. Townley and Parsell note that “the Internet presents mixed messages that may confuse people as to what is and what is not acceptable appropriation practice.” 5 In order to understand how to combat plagiarism, we must understand why students plagiarize. The list of reasons is long and varied. One of the first reasons is that students don’t realize they are plagiarizing. Granitz and Loewy studied the files of several students who were caught plagiarizing at a major university. Over 40% of the cases fell into this category. 6 Students often do not know what plagiarism is and what the plagiarism policy is at their university. We cannot assume that students were taught about plagiarism in high school. It may be covered in a freshman English class, but many students test out. Students may lack the skills needed to avoid plagiarism. Many students don’t believe it is necessary to provide citations for paraphrased materials. Pamela Jackson found that “students did not see using direct quotes or paraphrasing as a means to validate and support their ideas. Rather, they viewed using the work of others as a means to communicate their ideas better than they think they can.” 7 Even when students know they should give credit to another source, they may not know how to cite the source properly. Unfortunately, not all plagiarism can be attributed to ignorance. Students may consciously plagiarize for several reasons. Procrastination is a trap that many students fall into. Failing to manage time wisely can lure the student who would not usually plagiarize to employ unethical practices to complete an assignment. 8 Some feel that taking the words and ideas from others is the best way to obtain a high grade. Scanlon and Neumann found that although only 8% of students admitted to frequently using “cut and paste plagiarism” they felt that over 50% of their peers did so. 9 As a result, students may plagiarize to level the playing field and get the grade they would have gotten if everyone else wasn’t cheating.