Electronic Plagiarism in Institutions of Higher Learning

Plagiarism is a concept that seems to be becoming more prevalent in today’s institutions of higher learning. It entails stealing and passing off ideas or words as one’s own. It takes on various forms. Whereas academic integrity is the core of any institution rampart plagiarism can be attributed to the technological advancements available today. The higher learning institutions have become victims of this vice and learners give various reasons whether intentionally or unintentionally ranging from poorly developed research and writing skills, failure to understand the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing, confusion about how to acknowledge use of material from various sources; misconceptions about plagiarism, intellectual property, and ownership of materials found on the internet.