Social websites are latest sources for plagiarized material

From eSchool News, September 6, 2011 — Plagiarism is going social, according to Turnitin.com, which found that one-third of plagiarized material in student papers can be traced to social networking, content sharing, or question-and-answer websites; sources that more and more students are turning to to fulfill assignments.

Turnitin.com offers software that checks student papers against a vast database of prior works and the internet at large, looking for matches that can indicate possible plagiarism. An analysis of the top sources of matched content flagged by the software reveals a significant shift in the last few years, the company says—from so-called “term paper mills” to social sites and homework help sites.

The white paper outlines three recommendations for educators as they strive to teach students how to research and properly cite from sources online. Read the entire story here.

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