One in Three Students has Plagiarised, Survey Finds

Almost a third of UK university students has plagiarised work, a Europe-wide study has found.

More than 330 students took part in the survey and 31% said they had either deliberately or accidentally plagiarised. The study was part of the Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education across Europe (IPPHEAE) project which has involved all 27 countries of the EU.

Students, academic teaching staff and senior management in universities and colleges were all asked about their understanding and experience of plagiarism.

The preliminary findings will be presented next week at a major two-day conference sponsored by Turnitin, the leader in plagiarism and originality checking for educational institutions worldwide.

Gill Rowell, Academic Advisor for Turnitin and Plagiarism Advice, will be talking about plagiarism and academic integrity in the UK at the event which will be hosted by Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic on June 12 and 13.

She said: "We’re proud to be sponsoring this conference and supporting the three-year IPPHEAE project, researching policies, procedures and tools for tackling plagiarism.

"This is about capturing awareness and attitudes to help provide the bigger picture in Europe.

"Previous research indicates that plagiarism is a serious global problem, with some countries taking more active approaches than others to discourage it.

"The results will be made available to universities and colleges worldwide and could influence international educational strategy."

The anonymous surveys have generated almost 5,000 responses.

The highlight of the conference will be a debate between Jude Carroll and Debora Weber-Wulff, both well known in the world of plagiarism research.

Dr Weber-Wulff is a regular contributor to the VroniPlag Wiki which has exposed cases of plagiarism by high-profile figures including German Education Minister Annette Schavan, who was found to have plagiarised parts of her doctoral thesis.

Jude Carroll has worked internationally for more than a decade researching and supporting initiatives to address the underlying causes of plagiarism.

Irene Glendinning, the project’s Principal Investigator, said: "There is no doubt that Debora's support for naming and shaming has been highly effective in bringing plagiarism to the attention of the international community.

"Jude’s work has been very influential in transforming the way many UK universities manage breaches in academic integrity.

"Their very different approaches should make for a lively but friendly debate!"

For further details and to register for the event visit: http://ippheae.pefka.mendelu.cz/

For further information please contact Caroline Smith, Communications and PR Officer on (0044) (0)845 643 0105 or email intmedia@turnitin.com