[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Aspects of Internet Plagiarism
Introduction
CYBERSPACE OFFERS NEW and seemingly unlimited opportunities to gain easy access to information. A substantial and growing literature exists on the use of the Internet for a myriad of purposes, ranging from literature searches to "chat rooms" of professional social workers interested in exploring one or more issues. Web users are even witnessing a proliferation of online instructions and written information about how to access "good" information and how to critically analyze information sources.
Unlimited Internet Resources
The uses of the Web are limited only by the imagination. The World Wide Web Yellow contains 794 pages of websites on subjects ranging from action games to zoos. Chat rooms, newsrooms, and bulletin boards augment available sites. Government is active in the Internet world, as are the various academic disciplines and the journals and associations which represent them. Academia utilizes the Web as well to recruit students and provide admissions materials.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (1996a) urges social workers to keep abreast of new developments in the field. To satisfy this professional mandate, academics, practitioners, and students find the Web to be a convenient, fast, and rich resource. Thus, the Internet offers an important means of professional development--but at what cost?
The Code of Ethics clearly sets forth professional obligations to avoid misrepresentation. However, the ease of accessing information offers temptations that may be detrimental to the profession and to social work education programs. Although one hopes that adherence to the Code of Ethics would mitigate against misrepresentation or cheating, social work students are subject to the same kinds of pressures as students in other disciplines, and pressures sometimes lead to inappropriate means of resolution. The authors are unaware of any study undertaken to determine the extent and nature of cheating among students in social work education programs, and even if such a study has been initiated, the findings would be suspect. After all, how many students are likely to stand up and be counted in terms of cheating?....
