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The Problem of Internet Plagiarism Essay

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The Problem of Internet Plagiarism

In November 2001, CNN reported a case of alleged rampant plagiarism at the University of Virginia involving 72 cases and 148 students. What happened at the University of Virginia is only one of many cases of plagiarism faced everyday all over the world. Plagiarism itself is not a new problem, but the Internet has made a difficult situation even more complex. According to Ryan:

Plagiarized work used to be generated through frat house recycling efforts, purchased from local ghost writers, or simply copied from campus library reference materials, all clumsy efforts readily detectable by educators familiar with their course material. But the World Wide Web and other resources have changed the game and …show more content…

As Lathrop and Foss state, AWe know students are cheating more often today; their cheating techniques are increasingly sophisticated, and many express guilt or remorse only if they care caught@ (p.1). Significant research has been conducted on campus cheating in general. During the 1990's Donald L. McCabe conducted five research projects. His results showed:

*On most campuses, over 75% of students admit to some cheating. In surveys conducted in 1990, 1992, and 1995 involving almost 7,000 students on 26 small-to-medium-sized campuses, almost 80% of undergraduate student respondents reported one or more incidents of cheating.

*Academic honor codes effectively reduce cheating. In surveys conducted in 1990 and
1995 of over 5,000 students on 14 small-to-medium-sized campuses that have strong academic honor codes, 57% of undergraduate student respondents reported one or more incidents of cheating. Giving students significant voice and responsibility in issues of academic integrity appears to significantly reduce cheating.

*Cheating is higher among fraternity and sorority members. 75% of Greeks surveyed in
1993 admit to one or more incidents of test/exam cheating versus 61% of Independents.
42% of Greeks versus 36% of Independents in 1993 reported they were likely to help a friend who asked for help on a test or examination.

Cheating doesn=t just begin in college. Studies conducted by McCabe on 4,500

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