Ethical use of digital content

4. How to identify and prevent plagiarism?

Teachers should know how to:

• recognise plagiarism – by using detection tools such as Turnitin or PlagScan, or by analysing language and style (Turnitin);

• teach students to cite sources correctly and use available tools to check originality (Council of Europe, 2016a, 2017; European Network for Academic Integrity, 2021);

• define clear rules – explain in course instructions what is permitted and what is not (Council of Europe, 2016a, 2017).

The Council of Europe (2016a, 2016b) recommends continuous education for all stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of ethical behaviour, beyond merely addressing the technical aspects of plagiarism prevention.

If AI tools are used to generate content, it is important to indicate that the material was generated using artificial intelligence. This respects the principle of transparency and prevents hiding the true source (Council of Europe, 2017; European Network for Academic Integrity, 2021).