This paper presents an evaluation of the application of Ephorus plagiarism detector in a hundred and thirty dissertations submitted by final year students at masters’ level at a university in Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by stakeholders’ reactions which varied from a total ban to approval. A descriptive case study using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methodologies guided the gathering of data from twenty research project supervisors, forty-three students and a test run of a dissertation to establish the contribution of common dissertation preliminaries tot Ephorus’ status. Data from supervisors and students was captured by telephone interviews and e-mailed self-reporting questionnaires. The study revealed that, although Ephorus application was a noble move to reduce plagiarism, its’ application require improvements. The current application of Ephorus at the end, when dissertations have been marked renders it more of a witch hunting device than a dissertation quality and originality improvement tool. The majority of supervisors and students had limited knowledge of how Ephorus works. Bailey (2011) objected to the use of anti-plagiarism software because they don't detect plagiarism but sections of identical texts. Participants recommended that, Ephorus be applied by dissertation supervisors within the supervision process as a learning enhancement tool. This study recommends that: (a) the university mounts anti-plagiarism software awareness workshops for all lecturers. These can cascade from top (Deans) to bottom (Teaching Assistance). (b) All lecturers be trained to use it with trial runs done on dummy assignments in which plagiarized; sentences, paragraphs and ideas are included. Stress can be placed on the role of the lecturer in deciding whether plagiarism has been done or not. (c) Students should be informed of its’ application. (d) At masters’ level, the plagiarism report should be discussed with the student as a remedial teaching tool.
Managing plagiarism, dissertations, Ephorus, University
