The Pew Research Center has found that tertiary students are increasingly plagiarizing others’ work and that the Internet plays a significant role in this.
The study, entitled “The Digital Revolution and Higher Eduction,” found that 55% of the heads of tertiary institutions believed they had seen a rise in plagiarism over the past decade with just 2% saying it has decreased, with most of them crediting technology with the rise.
Of those who say plagiarism is on the rise, the overwhelming majority – 89% – believe that computers and the Internet have played a major role in this rise.
The Pew Research Center conducted this study alongside the Chronicle of Higher Education between March 15 and April 24, 2011, among 1,055 tertiary study institution leaders.