It's that time of year when many University of Memphis students,faced with papers and deadlines, may feel tempted to turn to theInternet in search of work written by others.
Internet plagiarism has grown steadily with the increasing useand availability of the Web. The Center for Academic Integrity atDuke University reported that the percentage of students committingInternet plagiarism jumped fourfold between 1999 and 2002, from 10percent to 41 percent.
Many professors across the country have responded by usinganti-plagiarism software that works like a search engine, analyzingpapers in an effort to match similar phrases and passages on theinternet.
One of the most sophisticated plagiarism programs is iParadigms,which sorts through such Internet-based journals and databases,ferreting out evidence of plagiarism in mere seconds.
iParadigms' Turnitin program is used by 2,500 high schools anduniversities in the United States and another 1,000 schools outsideof the country.
Even businesses such as newspapers are using the software, butit isn't cheap.
iParadigms licensing fee is only $500 per year but it alsocharges a school 60 cents for each full-time student.
At The U of M, with approximately 13,539 full-time students asof the fall 2003 semester, that would amount to around $8,623annually.
However, head of Library Services John Evans said he knows of noanti-plagiarism software in use by The University, adding that TheU of M probably does not have the equipment needed for it.
"Such software uses really big servers," Evans said. "It reallyrequires a large data repository."
Even so, Steve Terry, director of client services, said theInternet does give professors options in fighting plagiarism.
They can pay individually to use plagiarism detection software,and there are even programs that professors can use for free, Terrysaid.
Terry also pointed out that the popular search engine Google canbe used in looking for plagiarism.
"Professors can type passages in the search box and look upmatching passages that way," Terry said. "It may not be the mostreliable method, but it does work."
Even with the effectiveness of software though, Evans said thehuman factor plays a big part in determining what constitutesplagiarism.
"A human still has to look at what the author of the suspectdocument has written," he said, "and how much it compares to whatthe software shows."
