Where Does Plagiarism Come From?

How the sources of plagiarism can impact institutions

Of the 117 million papers submitted by institutions of higher education in

2016, 81% had at least some similarity to content found in Turnitin’s
comprehensive databases.

81% 19%

So, are 81% of students cheaters? No!

Most papers contain a relatively small amount (1 - 24%) of similar content.

1-24% Matched Content 25-49% Matched Content 50-74% Matched Content ≥ 75% Matched Content

66% 20% 7% 7%

However, 34% of all matching papers contain high, very high, or extremely high
levels of unoriginal content.The more matching content a paper has, the more likely
it is that there may be an academic integrity issue.

But where does this potential plagiarism come from?

Hint: Students don’t just copy and paste from the internet!

© 2017 Turnitin, LLC. All rights reserved.

 Protecting Your Institution’s Reputation
Database Frequency Potential Impact

Publications Database
7% of all highly-, very highly-, or extremely highly-unoriginal papers
match Turnitin’s massive publications database of journal articles and Very
scholarly sources.

Though this percentage is small, the impact of letting academic

High
plagiarism go unchecked can be huge: what might happen to an
institution’s reputation if 7% of its students’ theses weren’t original?

Internet Database
It may come as no surprise that 37% of highly unoriginal papers
match internet content. Medium
Since it is so common, institutions must employ plagiarism detection
tools that have as much internet content coverage as possible.

Student Papers Database

Very concerningly, 82% of highly unoriginal papers match student
papers in Turnitin’s vast database. High
These similarities may be due to student collusion not only within
the same class, but also across multiple institutions.

So what should institutions do to be confident

in the integrity of their students’ work?

Implementation: Identification: Education:

Adopt academic integrity policies
that clearly define what is and is
not acceptable behavior, and
what procedures are enacted
when the latter is identified.
Plagiarism detection systems will
identify potential cases of academic
dishonesty. However, only the most
comprehensive coverage will
provide the fullest protection.
Most importantly, make sure students
have the skills and knowledge they
need to produce original work. Visit
Turnitin.com for best practices and
advice on this topic.

© 2017 Turnitin, LLC. All rights reserved.