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Investigating Copyright as a Mechanism for Combatting Unauthorised Student Academic File-Sharing in Higher Education: Findings from an Explorative Study

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Title: Investigating Copyright as a Mechanism for Combatting Unauthorised Student Academic File-Sharing in Higher Education: Findings from an Explorative Study
Language: English
Authors: Christine Slade (ORCID 0000-0002-2197-2824), Jack Walton (ORCID 0000-0002-9885-8448), James Lewandowski-Cox (ORCID 0000-0002-9716-6677)
Source: Journal of Academic Ethics. 2025 23(3):487-502.
Availability: BioMed Central, Ltd. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://www.springer.com/gp/biomedical-sciences
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Copyrights, Shared Resources and Services, Web Sites, Access to Information, Archives, Integrity, Cheating, Universities, Foreign Countries, Ethics
Geographic Terms: Australia
DOI: 10.1007/s10805-024-09558-z
ISSN: 1570-1727
1572-8544
Abstract: Academic file-sharing services encourage students to upload materials, sometimes their own study notes for example, but can also include copyrighted university documents, in exchange for access to downloading resources from a common repository. In this process, the lines between legitimate study help and academic misconduct are unclear. Integrity-based strategies to combat these transactions have been limited. Removal by copyright mechanisms has been identified as a potential approach but has been hampered by the enormity of the task and the resource intensity required to make an impact at scale. This explorative study at a large Australian university sought to remove a percentage of copyrighted material from two commonly used academic file-sharing websites and to understand the experience of users in uploading files. Findings from the study were encouraging and informative, resulting in a suite of initiatives being introduced across the institution to prevent uploading in the first instance as well as, where possible, addressing misconduct when it occurred. Limitations included that the study was only undertaken as one university and therefore does not represent the contexts of different institutions. Further, it only investigated two websites out of many available. Future research could explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by academic file-sharing services to retain existing users and attract new ones. This work provides a clearer picture of how an institution's copyrighted material is hosted on two academic file-sharing websites and offers an effective and potentially scalable copyright approach that could be adapted by other higher education institutions.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1485633
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Investigating Copyright as a Mechanism for Combatting Unauthorised Student Academic File-Sharing in Higher Education: Findings from an Explorative Study
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Christine+Slade%22">Christine Slade</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2197-2824">0000-0002-2197-2824</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jack+Walton%22">Jack Walton</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9885-8448">0000-0002-9885-8448</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22James+Lewandowski-Cox%22">James Lewandowski-Cox</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9716-6677">0000-0002-9716-6677</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Academic+Ethics%22"><i>Journal of Academic Ethics</i></searchLink>. 2025 23(3):487-502.
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  Data: BioMed Central, Ltd. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://www.springer.com/gp/biomedical-sciences
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Copyrights%22">Copyrights</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Shared+Resources+and+Services%22">Shared Resources and Services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+Sites%22">Web Sites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Access+to+Information%22">Access to Information</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Archives%22">Archives</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Integrity%22">Integrity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cheating%22">Cheating</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Universities%22">Universities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethics%22">Ethics</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1007/s10805-024-09558-z
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  Data: 1570-1727<br />1572-8544
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Academic file-sharing services encourage students to upload materials, sometimes their own study notes for example, but can also include copyrighted university documents, in exchange for access to downloading resources from a common repository. In this process, the lines between legitimate study help and academic misconduct are unclear. Integrity-based strategies to combat these transactions have been limited. Removal by copyright mechanisms has been identified as a potential approach but has been hampered by the enormity of the task and the resource intensity required to make an impact at scale. This explorative study at a large Australian university sought to remove a percentage of copyrighted material from two commonly used academic file-sharing websites and to understand the experience of users in uploading files. Findings from the study were encouraging and informative, resulting in a suite of initiatives being introduced across the institution to prevent uploading in the first instance as well as, where possible, addressing misconduct when it occurred. Limitations included that the study was only undertaken as one university and therefore does not represent the contexts of different institutions. Further, it only investigated two websites out of many available. Future research could explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by academic file-sharing services to retain existing users and attract new ones. This work provides a clearer picture of how an institution's copyrighted material is hosted on two academic file-sharing websites and offers an effective and potentially scalable copyright approach that could be adapted by other higher education institutions.
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      – SubjectFull: Shared Resources and Services
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      – SubjectFull: Web Sites
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