Plagiarism: are we losing the battle in higher education?

Abstract

Plagiarism is not a new phenomenon. In fact it has been around for a long time. Even famous authors and creators have allegedly plagiarized others’ works. However, the digital era has created new opportunities for plagiarists and more problems for teaching staff. The Internet offers students a treasure trove of digital resources which are easy to access, use and reproduce. Despite the Internet also providing the means to detect plagiarism, there has been an increase in plagiarism in higher education. Plagiarism has become a real concern for South African tertiary institutions. This paper will discuss plagiarism in relation to educational and cultural backgrounds, academic integrity and ethical codes and will give possible reasons why students plagiarize, some ways of avoiding and detecting plagiarism and some possible solutions to the problem.