What is Plagiarism?*
From Webster's Third New International Dictionary: Plagiarize - \'pla-je-,riz also j - -\ vb -rized; -riz·ing vt [plagiary] : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (a created production) without crediting the source vi: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Plagiarism can be divided into three basic varieties:

1. Using another person's words without giving credit. This form of plagiarism easier than ever - with cutting and pasting from online sources.
2. Taking another person's ideas without giving credit. Students often think that by paraphrasing they avoid plagiarism. Simply changing words around or substituting synonyms is not enough. This can be a difficult concept for students to grasp.
3. Citing sources that you never looked at, or making up references. This form of plagiarism is likely to occur when a student is required to have a certain number of references in their paper.

How Common is It?

• In 2001, Donald L. McCabe of Rutgers University performed a study of 4,500 high school students that found, "74 percent of students admitted to cheating seriously on an exam one or more times; 15 percent admitted to turning in a paper largely taken from a Web site or a paper mill; and approximately 51 percent admitted to not citing the source from a Web site when using a few of its sentences in their papers" (Straw).
• Another study performed in 2002 asked 698 undergraduate students how often they plagiarized. Only 24.5 percent admitted to having cut and pasted text without proper citation. More than 90 percent of the undergraduates reported that their peers were probably doing the same (Kellog).
• An article on the National Science Teacher Association site reports that, "In another poll, 80 percent of top high school students admitted to cheating during their academic careers, the highest percentage since the "Who's Who Among American High School Students" survey began 29 years ago. In the survey, 95 percent of cheaters said they had never been caught" (Toppo).

Why Do Students Plagiarize?
From the University of Alberta Libraries:

• Lack of research skills
• Problems evaluating Internet sources
• Confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing
• Careless notetaking
• Confusion about how to properly cite sources
• External factors (pressure from family/peers; attitudes toward school, etc.)
• Internal factors (poor time management, lack of organization, etc.)
• Culturally based attitudes toward plagiarism

How Do They Plagiarize?

• Students cut and paste text from online resources.
• Students utilize free or for-profit Internet paper mills.
• Using work that has been written by another student.
• Students copy from books and reference materials.
• Plagiarized material may come from journal articles found in library databases.

*Plagiarism can be, but is not necessarily, related to Copyright; see our Copyright pagesfor additional information.