Turnitin Whitepaper Plagiarism Web
WHITE PAPER Plagiarism and the Web: Myths and Realities
An Analytical Study on Where Students Find Unoriginal Content on the Internet
Prevent Plagiarism. Engage Students.
www.turnitin.com
Table of Contents
1.0 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 3.0 Popular Content Resources on the Web ...................................................................... 5 4.0 The Most Popular Student Sources ............................................................................. 6 5.0 The Top Eight Most Popular Sites for Matched Content .............................................. 7 6.0 Key Findings ................................................................................................................. 8 7.0 Recommendations for Educators ................................................................................. 9 8.0 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 10
WHITE PAPER | Plagiarism and the Web
2
1.0 Summary
The move from an analog to a digital culture is raising a new set of challenges for educators and students when it comes to writing and critical thinking. The following study examines what web sources students rely on and how educators can help students develop better citation and writing skills. Key findings include: • Plagiarism is going social One-third of all content matched in the study is from social networks, content sharing or question-and-answer sites where users contribute and share content. Legitimate educational sites are more popular than cheat sites One-quarter of all matched material is from legitimate educational web sites, almost double the number that comes from paper mills or cheat sites. 15 percent of
An Analytical Study on Where Students Find Unoriginal Content on the Internet
Prevent Plagiarism. Engage Students.
www.turnitin.com
Table of Contents
1.0 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 3.0 Popular Content Resources on the Web ...................................................................... 5 4.0 The Most Popular Student Sources ............................................................................. 6 5.0 The Top Eight Most Popular Sites for Matched Content .............................................. 7 6.0 Key Findings ................................................................................................................. 8 7.0 Recommendations for Educators ................................................................................. 9 8.0 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 10
WHITE PAPER | Plagiarism and the Web
2
1.0 Summary
The move from an analog to a digital culture is raising a new set of challenges for educators and students when it comes to writing and critical thinking. The following study examines what web sources students rely on and how educators can help students develop better citation and writing skills. Key findings include: • Plagiarism is going social One-third of all content matched in the study is from social networks, content sharing or question-and-answer sites where users contribute and share content. Legitimate educational sites are more popular than cheat sites One-quarter of all matched material is from legitimate educational web sites, almost double the number that comes from paper mills or cheat sites. 15 percent of