Netting plagiarists--A response

Terry Schwadron, an old friend from our days at the Providence Journal, who now is Editor, Information & Technology at The New York Times, thinks I got some things wrong in my post about plagiarism detection software. He writes:

Chip,

"I think you're wrong about the chilling effects of anti-plagiarism.

"I think you're right about the beginning stages of a new software program aimed at doing something about plagiarism.

"You're starting with the writer.

"I'll start with the institution for which the writer is producing work. Or even better, the reader. The writer's work is being offered as original under journalistic ethics that underscore that it has not been plagiarized to a reader whose sole criterion may be whether to believe in the credibility of a story. Without credibility, we have nothing.

Too often, particularly in the last couple of years, writers have indeed plagiarized.

"How do these incidents come to light? Almost always from a reader.

"The finding then goes to some editor who looks through like stories in a laborious way and usually comes up with mixed findings. Then there is a separate process to figure out what happens next.

"The idea behind electronic review of documents -- whether news stories, academic papers or any other documents -- was simply one to save time and effort, not to replace human judgment. When your World program underlines a misspelled term, it is regarded as a help, not a chill-producer.

"The idea of using electronic review to detect plagiarism is replete with problems. Here are a few:

"- What's the pool of comparative stories? Over what time period? Against everything on the web?

"- What is the level of acceptable reliance on a phrase or quote. If we run all sports stories, shouldn't we find the same material from the Olympics in several stories? Does that mean that they cheated?

"- What's the process for internal review?

"- When do you run plagiarism software?

There are lots of questions. But the use of a piece of software should be like the use of the telephone -- once you know how to use it, you can call Mom or the President of the United States. Unless you know how to use it, you can't call anyone."

Terry

Thanks, Terry,

I value your response. It brings the perspective of an editor to the laborious process of plagiarism detecting software, and, as someone whose copy has undergone your keen scrutiny, I know the discussion is better for it.

Comments

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