![\"plagiarisim-pic\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/plagiarisim-pic.jpg?resize=439%2C293&ssl=1\")
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Many universities and academic journals now use plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin<\/a>\u00ae, to identify essays and research papers that have borrowed excessively from previously published work. However, in a blog post on BioMed Central<\/a>, Ann Rogerson draws attention to a new type of paraphrasing software that may make this process less effective.<\/p>\n Paraphrasing tools, or \u2018article spinners\u2019, rephrase blocks of text so that they are no longer identical to the source material. In a study<\/a> published in the \u2018International Journal for Educational Integrity\u2019<\/a>, Rogerson and co-author Grace McCarthy applied two such paraphrasing tools \u2013 both freely available online \u2013 to an extract from one of their own previous publications. By comparing the resulting output to the original text, they showed that the programmes replace key words with synonyms, but typically avoid changing conjunctions or long strings of letters such as those found in URLs. Notably, Turnitin\u00ae failed to identify the output from either programme as plagiarism<\/a>.<\/p>\n The paraphrased output contained a number of dubious word choices and grammatical errors that would probably ring alarm bells for journal editors and university lecturers. Nevertheless, machine learning<\/a> will likely enable these programmes to become increasingly accurate over time. Rogerson and McCarthy therefore argue that it is important to have an open discussion about the implications \u2013 both ethical and practical \u2013 of using paraphrasing software. Researchers and students should receive training in how to describe others\u2019 work in their own words with appropriate attribution. Finally, journal editors and universities should learn to recognise the red flags that may signal the use of paraphrasing tools.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Summary by\u00a0Louisa Lyon, DPhil<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Aspire Scientific<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"