In widely accepted terms, plagiarism is the intentional use of other people's words or ideas without due acknowledgment. The U.S. Office of Research Integrity defines plagiarism as the “appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit” (§ 93.103), and it is a rapidly increasing problem facing today's educators. This entry explores the types of plagiarism, the impact of the Internet on the plagiarism, and recommendations for ameliorating the problem.

Plagiarism applies to both the intentional and unintentional use of intellectual property, an issue that many find confounding. Plagiarism comes in many forms, from replicating a few words, to copying entire texts, to buying “custom” papers. Examples of what needs to be credited or documented include words or ideas presented in ...