Encouraging Academic Honesty through Anti-plagiarism Software

Abstract

This article aims to introduce LIS professionals to plagiarism, its types, some famous cases and the numerous library web sites devoted to this important issue. Plagiarism by students and researchers in academic and research institutions is an old but ever growing problem. The proliferation of paper mills, full text databases, and World Wide Web pages has made plagiarism a bigger problem in academia. The easy availability of electronic information through Internet creates a challenge for librarians, who must be well informed not only to detect and deter plagiarism, but also to educate their users about its ill effects. This article also enumerates reasons for increase in plagiarism cases, how to avoid plagiarism, do’s and don’ts of plagiarism, and finally prevention and punishment for plagiarism. Use of plagiarism detection tools can not only deter but also assist faculty to combat this form of academic dishonesty. In this article various anti-plagiarism tools have been enumerated and the advantages and disadvantages of using these automated texts matching software’s are discussed and analyzed in brief. The librarian’s role in informing masses about ill effect of plagiarism is also highlighted.