Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!bu.edu!xylogics!transfer!lectroid!jjmhome!m2c!umvlsi!dime!dime.cs.umass.edu!moss From: moss@ibis.cs.umass.edu (Eliot Moss) Newsgroups: comp.theory Subject: Re: Homework problems? Message-ID: Date: 19 Mar 90 15:09:26 GMT References: <88200005@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu> <1413@oravax.UUCP> <1420@oravax.UUCP> <22697@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> Sender: news@dime.cs.umass.edu Reply-To: Moss@cs.umass.edu Followup-To: comp.theory Distribution: usa Organization: Dept of Comp and Info Sci, Univ of Mass (Amherst) Lines: 22 In-reply-to: wdn@springs.cis.ufl.edu's message of 17 Mar 90 23:20:44 GMT With respect to looking in library books, I think it is good for students to go dig in the library. The possible bad thing that might come of it is turning in a book solution as your own, a clear case of plagiarism. I think that if one runs across a published solution while pursuing angles on homework problems, and one uses substantially the same method on the paper turned in, then one should indicate the source (i.e., Following John Smith, "Theory Text", Math Press, 1985). Most honor codes are clear about that. Whether the instructor would give the student full credit under the circumstances is an interesting question. I think substantial credit may be due, since learning to use libraries well is part of what students should be learning, but it is a matter of individual taste and the instructor's objectives. Many instructors take exam and homework problems from previous/alternate texts, so they are indeed a good source for students, but also a temptation to short cuts ... Eliot -- J. Eliot B. Moss, Assistant Professor Department of Computer and Information Science Lederle Graduate Research Center University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 (413) 545-4206; Moss@cs.umass.edu