Perception of and Attitudes towards Plagiarism among Graduate Students in Ghana (original) (raw)
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African Journal of Library, Archival and Information Science 22 (1) 53-60., 2012
This study examined students' awareness of plagiarism in Babcock University, one of the first-established private universities in Nigeria. The study also assessed the incidences of plagiarism among students and the perceived factors responsible for plagiarism. Out of the 200 copies of a structured questionnaire randomly distributed to students, 169 copies (84.5%) were returned and used for the analyses. The results indicated that most of the students lacked good understanding of behaviours that constitute plagiarism and are more likely to commit unintentional plagiarism. Copying from the web without attribution is very common as more than 60% of the students admitted that they often engaged in such practices. The ease of accessing information from the internet, the desire to earn good grades, a poor knowledge of citation principles and the pressure to meet assignment deadlines were mentioned as the most prominent reasons for plagiarism. A significant positive relationship was found between perception and incidence of plagiarism, indicating that awareness of behavior that constitute plagiarism does not in any way deter students from engaging in the behaviours. The study recommended that academic institutions should discourage unintentional plagiarism by teaching students the techniques of summarization and referencing, adopt strict policies and sanctions against intentional plagiarism and embark on value reorientation to encourage honesty, diligence, fairness and academic integrity among students. Introduction Among the legacies that quality education bequeaths on its recipients is the capacity to think critically and analytically as well as generate novel ideas. The purpose of university education is to produce creative and original thinkers who can contribute meaningfully to the development of the society. This noble mission is however becoming a herculean task as the increasing number of literature on academic plagiarism attest to the prevalence of the practice among university students. Like piracy and other forms if copyright infringement, plagiarism violates other people's' intellectual property rights. It undermines the principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility which are fundamental to academics. It devalues the integrity of academic qualifications and discourages students who do not engage in such practices (JISC, 2005). There is therefore a need to understand students' perception of plagiarism and the factors contributing to the prevalence of the practice in order to effectively combat it.
This study examines students' understanding of plagiarism in universities in Tanzania using the case of Mzumbe University. A single case study design and a mixed approach were employed. The study population of 211 students pursuing education programmes was involved, and a sample of 72 students was obtained using stratified and purposive sampling techniques. Data obtained was analysed using SPSS and the content analysis technique. Results revealed little understanding of what constitutes plagiarism by 57 (79%) of the total respondents. Major forms of plagiarism identified by respondents were source-based 27 (38%), and direct plagiarism 20 (28%). Causes of plagiarism pinpointed by respondents were laziness 52 (71.6%), poor time management 43 (59.7%), difficult assignments 53 (73.6%), and unawareness of penalties associated with plagiarism 38 (51.8%). This study recommends that all undergraduate works should be subjected to plagiarism check, the University should develop a plagiarism policy, and that plagiarism is taught as a topic to students.
PLAGIARISM: A PERSPECTIVE FROM A CASE OF A NORTHERN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY
Academic dishonesty, especially plagiarism, is a global problem that has bedevilled the academia. It is regarded as unethical and immoral intellectual thievery that could negatively impact on not only the repute of an academic institution, but the prosperity of a society. This study was designed to investigate student’s awareness and indulgence in plagiarism and their perception of punishment towards Plagiarists. Towards this end, a sampling survey approach employing questionnaires and interviews was used to collect data from a total of 200 Gombe State University students (Nigeria). The result of the interviews showed that 90% of students have plagiarized at one time in the past, 68% have included textbooks and other sources in the bibliography of assignments, out of which 50% had written books that they didn’t even consult. The data from questionnaires showed that the proportion of students whose awareness of plagiarism was partial (63%) and those completely unaware (20%) were higher than those (17%) aware of it. Further, the data showed that the majority of students plagiarize from the Internet (90%) and when asked about whether it would be fair to punish Plagiarists, 42% of students disagreed. Generally, this appears to confirm other reports about the incidence of plagiarism in the academia and pinpoints under awareness as its major cause. Hence, this calls for a campaign to increase students’ awareness of plagiarism and its ethical and moral implications; the need for plagiarism detection tools and development of more strict measures for Plagiarists.
An insight into the awareness, perception and attitude of Nigerian Students to plagiarism
This paper is about the pilot to a much larger study of student plagiarism in Nigerian Higher Education Institution (NHEI) which is an extension to the IPPHEAE (Impact of Plagiarism Policies in Higher Education across Europe) project. The IPPHEAE is a European wide study of thirty-two Higher Education Institutions (HEI) focusing on policies and procedures for the mitigation of plagiarism. level study skills students. An analysis of the findings revealed prior levels of plagiarism awareness, several themes of perceptions and attitude to plagiarism. This pilot study reveals a need for more training on scholarly academic writing for Nigerian students who have come to study in the United Kingdom for the first time. This will help them understand the need to write and cite appropriately and acquire the relevant skills particularly in summarising and paraphrasing which will help them avoid plagiarism. An insight into the awareness, perception and attitude of Nigerian Students to plagiarism
Attitude of Postgraduate Students towards Plagiarism in University of Port Harcourt
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 2020
Plagiarism remains a threat to scientific integrity and development of knowledge. This study examined postgraduate students’ attitude towards plagiarism at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Three research questions and corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The descriptive research design was used for the study with a sample size of 200 postgraduate students was drawn using the purposive non-random sampling technique, from a population size of 1762 postgraduate students of the University of Port Harcourt. A questionnaire titled "Attitude of Post- Graduate Students towards Plagiarism Questionnaire" (APSPQ) was used as an instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts and the reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach alpha, Data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation, independent t-test and Two-way ANOVA at 0.05 level of significances. Findings revealed that most postgraduate students of the University of Port Harc...
2021
The extent of plagiarism has been rising globally and many universities are trying hard to eradicate this practice. The challenge is being exacerbated by the availability of information due to technological advancements such as the Internet. Researchers and students become exposed to too much information but sometimes disregard the copyright and intellectual issues surrounding use of such. This exposure has contributed to the rise in plagiarism. Students at universities have had difficulties in understanding plagiarism and avoiding it. While most effort has been on designing detection tools and punitive measures, there has been little research on why students practice plagiarism particularly in countries such as Zimbabwe. This study aims at finding out the main reasons behind plagiarism. The study was carried out at Bindura University of Science Education, a university in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa. A qualitative approach was taken. Data was gathered through use of Document Analysis ...
Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a pervasive and increasing problem at all levels of study in higher education. Institutional awareness of plagiarism has largely been to focus on a pedagogical response and deterrence through punishment. The study sheds light on students’ experiences of plagiarism, their understandings of and attitudes towards it. Based on a self-reported study of a stratified sample of 300 undergraduate students drawn from three colleges of a public university in Ghana, this paper explores the nature of plagiarism and students’ understanding of the concept. The study revealed that unattributed copying and falsification of references was a common activity amongst students as a result of poor understanding and lack of real engagement with plagiarism and referencing issues. It is evident that the institution’s ‘awareness strategies’ to avoid or minimize plagiarism is not effective. The paper concludes that institutional efforts to dissuade students from plagiarism should be centred on focusing not only on deterrence through punishment but on developing a more holistic institutional pedagogical approach instead of in a piecemeal manner.
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Our objective was to identify the understanding of theoretical aspects and the interpretation of practical situations that a sample of 3,623 graduate students (Population = 22,438) at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) have regarding academic plagiarism. The survey used an electronic questionnaire containing 30 multiple choice questions developed from the literature concerning the concept and definition of plagiarism, occurrence modality, types of plagiarism, reasons for occurrence, standards and preventive actions adopted. We identified that the fact of respondents agreeing or disagreeing with the theoretical-conceptual characteristics of plagiarism did not make a difference in their capacity of correctly assessing practical situations characterizing plagiarism. Moreover, the agreement or disagreement responses regarding the concepts of plagiarism were observed not to differ among the respondents who had been trained to use references and citations. However, the same respondents correctly interpret practical situations characterizing plagiarism. Therefore, this study suggests that there is a gap between theoretical and practical knowledge regarding plagiarism for graduate students. Although the technical training related to the correct use of research sources is an important prerequisite in the capacity-building process, it does not seem to be enough to prevent plagiarism practices.
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
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.