Plagiarism

• Plagiarism can be simply defined as taking another author's ideas or writings and posing them as your own. This can be done intentionally or unintentionally. The best way to avoid unintentional plagiarism is by providing correct citation of ideas of others that are used in the work, and the adequate citations can be found within style guides such as the APA Style Guide. However, most plagiarism likely occurs because students do not want to do adequate research and present their own original ideas, which leads to academic misconduct.
  
  

Internet Plagiarism

• Internet plagiarism is the use of works found on internet sites, that are not given the appropriate citations and presented as original work. Most educators are aware of the availability of information that can be found on the internet. Because the Internet is such a massive invention, many students feel that they often can use the internet to plagiarize and get away with it. To counter this, educators can now rely on technical websites that are designed to spot internet plagiarism and stop it dead in its tracks.
  
  

Detection

• Along with the endless availability of information online, comes with ways to detect the authenticity of the information that is presented in written works. To detect internet plagiarism, educators can simply perform a search for plagiarism detection sites. The result will be a number of cites that advertise quick detection of works presented that are not truly authentic. The sites can be set up where the student can attach the work and "drop" it off to the site. From there, the plagiarism detection website will scan the work up against websites on the Internet, and will send the educator with a report stating the true authenticity of the work.
  
  

MyDropBox

• MyDropBox is a website that offers internet plagiarism detection. The website promotes "Preventing Plagiarism, Protecting the Originality of Work, Ensuring a Level Playing Field, and Creating Awareness and Educating Students." The site simply requires that the student submit the paper that they are presenting as theirs. From there, MyDropBoxwill then scan match the words written in the paper up against internet websites, and will highlight words that match specifically with those websites.
  
  

Deterring

• In order to deter students from relying on internet plagiarism, educators should be sure to devise a policy that educates students on what exactly plagiarism is and how it can be avoided. This can include explanations on how to adequately use style guide and citation rules. Use of a website whose main function is to detect Internet plagiarism such as MyDropBox can also be used to deter such activity.