“IMPACT OF AI-BASED PLAGIARISM DETECTION TOOLS ON ACADEMIC HONESTY IN PAKISTANI HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Higher education is founded on academic integrity although plagiarism has continued to be a challenge in Pakistan. As the use of digital resources has also become more common, the threat of academic dishonesty has increased, and the application of effective tools that can check plagiarism has become a necessity. Turnitin and iThenticate are artificial intelligence (AI)-powered plagiarism detector tools that have opened a novel set of possibilities in enhancing originality, responsibility, and academic integrity. The research paper has a cross-sectional quantitative research design that investigates the effect of AI-based plagiarism detection tools on academic honesty among Pakistani tertiary education. A sample of 200 respondents in 50 participants were then sampled in general and private universities using stratified random sampling method. The sample considered undergraduate and post graduate students between 18-30 years. The data were gathered by using a structured questionnaire aimed at the measurement of awareness, frequency of use, and perception of AI plagiarism tools and their perceived effect on the writing behavior and commitment to academic integrity among the students. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression were applied to the data to determine the relationships between demographics, the usage of the tool and reported academic honesty. The results indicate that AI-based plagiarism detection improves the knowledge of academic integrity and deters unethical activities, but such problems as excessive reliance on machine-generated reports and insufficient training are still major obstacles. The research also notes that incorporation of plagiarism detecting tools with supplementary actions, including ethics education and institutional policy reinforcement, is the key way to enhance the culture of academic honesty in Pakistani higher education.