Plagiarism

Plagiarism

The Internet, what a wonderful place. The Internet connects people across the world, provides the world with vast amounts of easily accessible information, and keeps everyone connected. At first glance, you wouldn¦Ðt notice any outlying problems with this seemingly brilliant creation of the 20th century. On closer look, however, a major problem has arisen. That problem is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is loosely defined as: to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one¦Ðs own, to use without crediting the source. There is an abundance of free information on the Internet, and regulations for its use, which can¦Ðt easily be enforced. Consider who uses the Internet for research and study purposes, college students, who have many papers to write. Plagiarism is high among students of all levels, because it¦Ðs the easy way out. Disciplinary action in regards to plagiarism is so infrequently taken, especially on the college level, that plagiarism isn¦Ðt being taken too seriously. There are some universities, however, that are taking it seriously, and immediate action has taken place. On the whole, plagiarism is a serious offense, and steps need to be taken in order to control the use of the information on the Internet.

When it comes to the Internet, plagiarism is high among high school and college students for a number of reasons. For starters, the Internet is a relatively new phenomenon, only in the past ten to fifteen years have we been using it for research. Other methods of research have been around for hundreds of years, and thus they have specific guidelines for their use, there are rules about citation and creating bibliographies. I have yet to see a specific, all-inclusive format for citing or recognizing an Internet source. Cheating and plagiarizing have also become less serious offenses to the majority of youth during our time. For example, The State of Americans: This Generation and the next (Free Press, July 1996) reported that in 1969, only 58.3% of high school age students allowed other students to copy from them, while in 1989, 97.5% allowed this to happen. That startling statistic demonstrates these offenses have unacceptably increased over the years.