Plagiarism on the Rise

The issue of plagiarism is definitely on the rise.  According to a survey by the Psychological Record, 36% of college students willingly admitted to plagiarizing on assignments.  A lot of thanks goes to those new innovative pieces of technology that come out every couple of months.  With access to a computer and the Internet basically anywhere, it makes it very easy for someone to plagiarize.  Now that we have iPads and smartphones we don't even need to be sitting at a desk to copy someone else's work.  Obviously, technology makes it ridiculously easy for college students to plagiarize.  I know we all use search engines to help us with homework problems, papers, and presentations, but sometimes we use them in the proper way.  Instead of using technology to help us, some people use it strictly to complete an assignment with as little effort as possible.  Since technology makes it easier to plagiarize because resources become more accessible to everyone, obviously it is going to occur more often.  Even social networking sites are an aide for those who are trying to cheat because it allows them to communicate with other students in there class and even all over the world.

It is hard to control what is put on the Internet and how students use it to their benefit, but professors at colleges/universities can do a few things to control the increase in plagiarism.  A professor from Rutgers University created a web page all about plagiarism.  He offers multiple ways to prevent and cut back on the amount of plagiarism.  One way he explains is for a professor to design their own assignments, quizzes, and exams.  He mentions that you should have multiple variations for exams and quizzes and that repeat assignments should never be given in a future semester.  Another way is for professors to help with a research paper throughout the semester rather than assigning it at the beginning and giving a due date without ever mentioning it again.  This will prevent students from panicking at the end of the semester when they remember they have that huge paper due, which will cut down on their urgency to just complete it, whether it's copied or not.  Finally, Professor Ehrlich suggests requiring students to give presentations or share their progress on a thesis with the entire class.  This would prevent students from plagiarizing because they know they could get caught in front of the entire class.  It also gives the professor insight into whether the student has really been working on the assignment or not, which can help predict the future and the possibility of plagiarism.

Here is the link to Professor Ehrlich's page: Plagiarism and Anti-Plagiarism
Source for the statistic: MLA Forum