Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Plagiarism and Factors Contributing to Plagiarism: a Review of Studies (original) (raw)
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Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal
Plagiarism has recently turned into a major concern for academics and academic institutions. Nevertheless, the reasons behind it continue to be obscure. Available statistical findings do not provide a very clear picture of the scale and nature of plagiarism; neither do they clarify the extent to which this phenomenon is changing through time or is different from country to country, from subject to subject, or among undergraduate and graduate students. Accordingly, the present study was carried out to investigate EFL University professors' and students' perceptions of the nature and causes of plagiarism. The participants consisted of 20 EFL university professors and 40 university students studying TEFL at MA and PhD levels. Their responses to a 30-item Likert-Scale questionnaire demonstrated that both groups were equally aware of the nature of plagiarism and the related ethical issues, while the students had considerably different standpoints regarding the excuses and punishments for plagiarism.
2014
Plagiarism is a significant area of concern in higher education, given university students\u27 high self-reported rates of plagiarism. However, research remains inconsistent in prevalence estimates and suggested precursors of plagiarism. This may be a function of the unclear psychometric properties of the measurement tools adopted. To investigate this, we modified an existing plagiarism scale (to broaden its scope), established its psychometric properties using traditional (EFA, Cronbach\u27s alpha) and modern (Rasch analysis) survey evaluation approaches, and examined results of well-functioning items. Results indicated that traditional and modern psychometric approaches differed in their recommendations. Further, responses indicated that although most respondents acknowledged the seriousness of plagiarism, these attitudes were neither unanimous nor consistent across the range of issues assessed. This study thus provides rigorous psychometric testing of a plagiarism attitude scale ...
Journal of applied measurement, 2014
Plagiarism is a significant area of concern in higher education, given university students' high self-reported rates of plagiarism. However, research remains inconsistent in prevalence estimates and suggested precursors of plagiarism. This may be a function of the unclear psychometric properties of the measurement tools adopted. To investigate this, we modified an existing plagiarism scale (to broaden its scope), established its psychometric properties using traditional (EFA, Cronbach's alpha) and modern (Rasch analysis) survey evaluation approaches, and examined results of well-functioning items. Results indicated that traditional and modern psychometric approaches differed in their recommendations. Further, responses indicated that although most respondents acknowledged the seriousness of plagiarism, these attitudes were neither unanimous nor consistent across the range of issues assessed. This study thus provides rigorous psychometric testing of a plagiarism attitude scal...
Examining students’ perceptions of plagiarism: A cross-cultural study at tertiary level
Plagiarism continues to dominate the academic world as one of its greatest challenges, and the existing literature suggests cross-cultural investigation of this critical issue may help all shareholders who detect, are confronted by and struggle with this issue to address it. Therefore, the present study, drawing upon a cross-cultural investigation using a questionnaire, aimed to investigate the differences between three groups of students, namely, Turkish (n = 106), Georgian (n = 83) and German (n = 72) regarding their tendency to conduct academic theft. It also investigated ways in which to plagiarise and reasons for and awareness of this issue. The results show that lack of time, busy schedules and weak academic writing skills are the most frequent reasons for plagiarism. However, in contrast to previous studies, the role of the Internet was found to be minimal in relation to increasing plagiarism. It is also worth noting that the German participants were found to have a higher level of sensitivity to this academic malpractice and were seen to be much more successful at identifying it. The article concludes with workable suggestions on how to discourage academic theft at universities.
2019
Purpose: In this project we aim to discover what differences exist between how students and faculty perceive plagiarism in a post-secondary context. To do this, we will work with two sets of research participants: faculty members and students. Our research question is: What gaps, if any, exist between faculty members' and students' perceptions of plagiarism? Methods: We will use a scenario-based questionnaire administered to two groups of research participants: faculty members and students. Results: We anticipate the results might show differences in how faculty members and students perceive plagiarism. Implications: This work has the potential to develop further training for faculty members and students, possibly leading to a better understanding of what plagiarism is and how to identify it. Additional Materials: The research team has developed a scenario-based instrument specific to this study. Keywords: Academic integrity, plagiarism, Canada, higher education, faculty stu...
Plagiarism: initial research findings in undergraduate students
Journal of Integrated Information Management, 2019
Purpose-This paper presents and discusses the main results of a small-scale research concerning students' and academic staff's perceptions about plagiarism and its implications. The research was conducted in 2018, at the Department of Archival, Library & Information Studies, University of West Attica, with the use of two separate on-line questionnaires. Design/methodology/approach-The questionnaires, consisted of open and closed-ended questions, were sent respectively to the undergraduate students and to the academic staff of the Department. As a result, 62 questionnaires were completed by the students (~10% of the whole population) and 9 by the academic staff, which was the total number of the faculty members at the time of the study. Findings-The findings demonstrate that the students' and the academic staff's comprehension and perception of the term plagiarism, as well as their attitude towards the disciplinary implications, that this phenomenon entails, make it an imperative for academic realm and especially for libraries to deal with it actively and proactively. Originality/value-Useful findings were made regarding the perception and the comprehension of plagiarism phenomenon for undergraduate students.
A Student Perspective of Plagiarism
Problems and Solutions
This paper reports on an Australian study of undergraduate students’ engagement in plagiarism-related behaviours, their knowledge of plagiarism and their academic writing skills. Students were surveyed to: (i) estimate the incidence of plagiarism behaviours; (ii) examine students’ self-reported academic writing skills; (iii) their knowledge of plagiarism; and (iv) their ability to identify plagiarised work. Across all three undergraduate years, approximately 90% of students believed that direct copying of text or ideas without acknowledgement constituted plagiarism, whilst around 5% were unsure if it constituted plagiarism. The majority of students (80% or more) claimed never to have plagiarized. About 80% of undergraduate students said they possessed the skills of note-taking, paraphrasing, citing and referencing etc., but barely half of students in each year group reported confidence with these skills. Students were able to distinguish between clear-cut cases of plagiarism and par...
Investigating Teachers and Students’ Perceptions of Academic Plagiarism at the University Level
International Education Studies
Plagiarism is a prevalent issue in academic settings that demoralises the integrity of learning and assessment processes. This study aimed to explore students’ perceptions towards plagiarism, their level of plagiarism awareness, the causes of plagiarism, and potential strategies to tackle this issue. Data was collected through surveys and interviews with both students (N = 267) and teachers (N = 4) at a university. The findings indicated that while students acknowledged plagiarism as unethical and detrimental to their learning progress, many lacked a clear understanding of what plagiarism involves. Students’ level of plagiarism awareness did not necessarily develop as they progressed in their academic studies. The causes of plagiarism identified in the study included easy accessibility to online resources, a lack of research writing skills, cultural influences, and perceived time constraints. Teachers emphasized the importance of technical writing training, providing constructive fe...
International Journal of Current Research, 2018
With the development of the Internet and the abundance of sources available to students, plagiarism has become more prevalent and widespread in the academic community. There are now a number of special software recognition programmes which can detect academic misconduct and plagiarism. Many scientific studies have been conducted investigating the possible reasons behind why plagiarism is being employed more readily by students. The afactors and ther system. Research states that there are five elements which can result in undergraduate student's plagiarism. These are known as the five 'S's: Student, Supervisor, Syllabus, System, and Society. Each of these elements affects the stud can lead to academic dishonesty. This research tries to review these studies to consider the reasons that motivate student plagiarism and ultimately to create a framework which empowers decision makers and educators to prevent students plagiarising during their university studies
Student Perceptions of Self-Plagiarism: A Multi-University Exploratory Study
Journal of Academic Ethics, 2015
The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of self-plagiarism. Students at three university campuses offering graduate and undergraduate classes in a residential and online format were queried; 284 students responded. Overwhelmingly, students perceived they owned their own previous published works and over half reported they believed self-plagiarism should not be considered an academic honesty offense. Most faculty members did not provide information about self-plagiarism to their students. Only about one-fourth of the students reported recycling parts of an assignment in the past. Students who took online courses were more likely to have been educated about self-plagiarism than those who took residential courses. Understanding students' perceptions about academic honesty offenses such as plagiarism can help institutions develop effective policies and interventions.