Digenis.org

In coming to Russia to study for a year, I expected right from the start to have an academic experience different from anything my American university could offer. I knew that there would be differences in teaching methodology, student-teacher interaction, and all that would be generally expected of me. I got used to some differences right away, but other things still make my jaw drop and my conscience object.

In American universities we have a policy referred to these days as ‘academic integrity’. It’s essentially an honor code between the student and their institution, stating that the student will not cheat on exams or plagiarize in written coursework. At both U.S. universities I have attended, this code has been heavily stressed and the consequences of breaking it (which can range from failure of the course to expulsion from the university depending on a few things) clearly explained. In other words, back home, academic integrity is a big deal.

In Russia things work differently.

But before I go on, I need to make an important distinction. The purpose of this series is not about ragging on about how many Russian students plagiarize or use crib sheets on exams. It’s more about how plagiarism is viewed and accepted here. I’m also not arguing that American students don’t plagiarize or use crib sheets. Of course there are students in every country who do these things. The point is that they are probably fewer and that the consequences are very different when they get caught.

The first experience that I’ll mention is that several other students and I have been told by professors that it’s perfectly fine to plagiarize to some extent in our research papers. The academic advisor that I have for my project is a great instructor, academically-qualified, and I love her to pieces. She’s helped point me in the right direction in finding resources, arranged an interview for me at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and I’m positive that most improvements made in my Russian are related to her help in some way or another. Needless to say, I have a great respect for her.

So, I was surprised when in one of our meetings she commented that she couldn’t understand why Americans are so afraid to copy someone else’s words. “‘If somebody else has said something well, why should you go and paraphrase it?” she asked me, after I had asked for her help in reworking a paragraph long sentence on the 1917-18 language reform. She then advised me to simply insert the paragraph into my paper, word for word without any citation.

A fellow student of mine was told by his advisor to do the same thing in his paper during a similar consultation. The instructor even said that the student was lucky to have the resource in electronic format, because then he could just cut and paste straight into his paper.

I was incredibly curious about all of this, so I asked Danil (my personal language tutor) about it. He said that everyone does it and that professors have just come to accept it; all you have to do is cut and paste a few pages, chop out the paragraph headings, and you’ve got yourself a paper. Another Russian student sitting at the table shook his head in agreement.

So where does that leave me?

I’ve decided not to just shrug it off with a ‘When in Rome. . .’ excuse. My paper is my going to be my own original thoughts and conclusions; citations will be used wherever necessary. That of course makes my project more difficult and time-consuming, but I know I’ll take more pride in the final product as a result.