I have this problem with students on the bachelor programme. All the way through the primary and middle school they are used to make some kind of short essays on the subject whereas their teachers just don't care about referencing, and quoting and naming all the sources for their assignments. So students very often get away with "copy-paste" essays and theirs is only the signature.

And when they start university education we emphasize the importance of referencing and crediting others, and parafrazing and getting the perspective from more than one source very much. But it just doesn't get to them on the first mentioning.

And after they have been taught to copy-paste for 12 years and that it was acceptable, it is very hard to turn it all the way around. So I tend not to be too harsh on the first year students. I always point out many times, and if I get works that include loads of plagiarism, I first comment them and return them their work for revision. But if a plagiarism occurs on next levels, I report it to the discipline committee, and if it is their first "sin" they usually get only a warning, but for reoccuring mistakes they can get expelled.

Surya –

I believe that depends on the degree of the infraction and whether expectations have been clearly stated in the syllabus, classroom, and university policies. Plagiarism is, in effect, a form of theft. He student is stealing another’s work. He or she is also fraudulently acquiring an academic credential that was not earned. This is a matter of academic and professional integrity. Often minor incidents of plagiarism arise and the student responds to counseling. Last year I had a student who submitted a paper that was 86% others’ work (we require review through a program called TurnItIn). This was a repetitive incident for this now former student. Permit me to frame this in another manner. If you were pending surgery and learned that the surgeon had someone else take the licensing examination, what would be your level of confidence? Kind feelings should not diminish our commitment to the discipline.

Look at your syllabus and school policies. Hopefully, you will find answers.

Unfortunately I have seen two articles back-to-back in one of the most elite scientific journal talking about the same idea but submitted 6-months apart. The 2nd one was from one of the editorial board members with a big name in that field. It is frustrating and I wa so amazed that the journal let it happen. I truely hope there is no plagiarism in scientific field but have seen several time. Maybe a lot of true, honest, scientifists have very good tolerance for such behavior and there is just no good mechanism in academic field. This is especially true when the one doing it is very high on the hiarachy. Another thing is the whistle-blower is usually the one been punished. Better solution is from top-down so higher level in-charge person should take more responsibility.

I agree that we can punish students or even demand them to be expelled.

It's much more frustrating when you see your results published without mentioning your name by your co-author or by the editor of the journal where you have submitted these. Some bodies practice the procedure of paper retraction; however, it's questionable how effective and how widespread it is.

The worse experience I have seen was the boss got promoted twice in 6 years using all the junior faculty's papers. And the boss is now a medical school dean in an elite school. What about that? If the high level is doing it, and cotrolling about the resource, there is just nothing you can do.

Report to the World Association of Medical Editors. I am a member of this association, if you have a case, tell me about it and we will discuss.

I have this problem with students on the bachelor programme. All the way through the primary and middle school they are used to make some kind of short essays on the subject whereas their teachers just don't care about referencing, and quoting and naming all the sources for their assignments. So students very often get away with "copy-paste" essays and theirs is only the signature.

And when they start university education we emphasize the importance of referencing and crediting others, and parafrazing and getting the perspective from more than one source very much. But it just doesn't get to them on the first mentioning.

And after they have been taught to copy-paste for 12 years and that it was acceptable, it is very hard to turn it all the way around. So I tend not to be too harsh on the first year students. I always point out many times, and if I get works that include loads of plagiarism, I first comment them and return them their work for revision. But if a plagiarism occurs on next levels, I report it to the discipline committee, and if it is their first "sin" they usually get only a warning, but for reoccuring mistakes they can get expelled.

I'm not sure if the original question is referring to students or faculty; the answers will differ considerably. With regard to students, outright cheating in the form of plagiarism should be penalized and as some of the responders have mentioned, your school probably has a policy spelled out.

However, many schools' policies are way too simplistic and harsh. A lot of -- probably most -- freshmen come in with a fuzzy idea at best of when to cite and when not to cite. A student paper that lacks some footnotes, or that quotes too copiously from an article, is an ideal opportunity for education, NOT punishment!

It the student is a lazy cheating jerk who deliberately copied stuff off the web after being told not to, then yeah throw the book at them. But if they're still learning what wikipedia is good for and what it is not good for, and when and why we cite, I wouldn't even give them a failling grade for that paper. I might dock the paper's grade a little, depending on the seriousness of the infraction, but the main thing I would do is tell the student that the paper is unacceptable in its current state, tell them to re-write it with proper citations (and I'd show/tell them where they went wrong; we're supposed to be teachers after all), and make them submit the revised paper. I'd tell them their current paper represents plagiarism and would at a minimum get a failing grade (and at some colleges, expulsion), but they have the opportunity to make the paper right -- and learn from the experience.

I agree that it matters if we talk about plagiarism by staff (professors, researchers etc.) or students handing in seminars, essays, or homework.

In the first case, those people should know better and this should be properly addressed, if it is indeed a case of plagiarism. (Beginning researchers may still be unaware how to cite properly, and "how many own ideas" are enough to make this work "different"!). See also the ACM Policy on Plagiarism at http://www.acm.org/publications/policies/plagiarism_policy which also includes "self plagiarism" (excessive quoting from one's prior publications without referencing).

In the latter case, I tell my teaching assistants to be very careful with the judgement. Telling a student he or she has been caught in plagiarism is a hard statement. Some students will be deeply hurt by this - especially if it turns out to be unfounded. For example, somebody else copied their actual contribution and handed it in without being caught first. They also tend to be hurt if they have not been informed which behaviour may be unacceptable: even excessive use of Wikipedia may "feel to be OK" for them (with or without quoting), but the supervisor may see things differently.

What we actually do is give them either no rating or a zero/fail rating (depending on the lecture and the way the grading is set up), and let them know that a problem was detected. We given them the chance to talk to us, and if they can convince us that they have properly understood most of what they submitted - here, usually program code -, they get the grade. (We try to grade for understanding.) Otherwise, tough luck.

We do NOT force them to talk to us and justify their (supposed) actions - this would only lead actual culprits to "think up a fancy story why they are innocent", which wastes our time and theirs. Instead, we rely on students who feel that the judgement - which is phrased carefully, politely and without any stigma - is incorrect will contact us to get "their deserved grade".

One important side aspect: it is not very fair or realistic to expect students to provide a reference for all images etc. used in their work - if the teacher feels free to incorporate images, logos, pictures, ... from various sources in the teaching materials without giving a reference! Talk about "leading by good example"...

it depends on local laws of your higher education authorities or university-- the best person who can control it I believe is the main supervisor who must be very carefull and strict in checking it.