A Tutorial with a Twist: How Plagiarism Advances Library Instruction

Plagiarism and other academic integrity violations might be viewed as yet another issue of concern to the whole university, but the responsibility of no one department or unit. For Georgetown University librarians it proved to be an opportunity to combine forces with others on campus to reach students in a new way. The presenters will report on a collaborative, campus-wide effort to introduce key academic integrity issues by teaching all new students library research skills, and acquainting them with other relevant academic support services. The librarians faced several challenges in creating the tutorial including presenting complex ethical issues clearly, limiting the scope of the tutorial (e.g., should file sharing be discussed?), integrating it with other University information systems, and ensuring student compliance with the requirement. Their online tutorial, Joining the Conversation: Scholarly Research and Academic Integrity, reaches 1700 new students each year. LOEX participants will learn how the librarians developed their program, the results of three years' use, and the advantages and disadvantages of the online tutorial for this application.