Exploring University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Focus Group Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol9.iss1.2893Keywords:
plagiarism, reference, focus group, undergraduate studentsAbstract
Plagiarism is a matter of great concern to those who teach in higher education. The increase in technology has resulted in plagiarism becoming a source of anxiety for many students. Universities are continually being called upon to devote more time and resources to combating plagiarism. However, what of their understanding of students’ attitudes towards and understandings of plagiarism? It is critical to understand student perceptions towards plagiarism to develop approaches to combat plagiarism. This paper reports on a focus group study that generated qualitative data on students’ perceptions of plagiarism. Informal group discussions were held with first-year students to show how plagiarism appears from the undergraduate student's perspective. An interview schedule was developed to provide an overall direction for the discussion. The schedule followed a semi-structured, open-ended format to enable participants to set their agenda. The analysis revealed that students lack understanding of plagiarism, have certain assumptions about plagiarism, and have negative attitudes towards assigned tasks. This paper argues that there is merit in understanding students’ perspectives regarding plagiarism to develop successful strategies to promote academic integrity and prevent plagiarism. The paper concludes with a recommendation that lecturers at tertiary institutions need to teach explicitly plagiarism, how to avoid it, and referencing.
Downloads
References
Ayon, N. S. (2017). Students’ and Instructors’ Perceptions of Turnitin: A Plagiarism Deterrent? Creative Education, 8, 2091-2108. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2017.813141
Bamford, J., & Sergiou, K. (2005). International students and plagiarism: an analysis of the reasons for plagiarism among international foundation students. Investigations in university teaching and learning, 2(2), 17-22.
Baruchson-Arbib, S., & Yaari, E. (2004). Printed versus Internet plagiarism: A study of students’ perception. International Journal of Information Ethics, 1(6), 29-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29173/irie272
Bouville, M. (2008). Plagiarism: Words and ideas. Science and Engineering Ethics, 14(3), 311-322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-008-9057-6
Brimble, M. (2016). Why students cheat: An exploration of the motivators of student academic dishonesty in higher education. Handbook of academic integrity, 365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_58
Burnett, S. (2002). Dishonor and Distrust: Student Plagiarism is Now as Easy as Pointing and Clicking. Community College Week, 8.
Cahyono, B. Y. (2016). How Australian and Indonesian universities treat plagiarism: A comparative study. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, 12(3).
Carroll, J. (2016). Making decisions on management of plagiarism cases where there is a deliberate attempt to cheat. Handbook of academic integrity, 199-219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_54
Chan, C. M., Rahman, I. A., & Sanudin, R. (2020). Institutional Demands vs. Historical Baggage: What do Postgraduate Students Perceive of Plagiarism?. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 9(1), 39-52.
Chrysler-Fox, P. D., & Thomas, A. (2017). Managing plagiarism of South African Honours students: Does an intervention have any effect?. Koers: Bulletin for Christian Scholarship= Koers: Bulletin vir Christelike Wetenskap, 82(1), 1-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.82.1.2305
Chu, S. K. W., Hu, X., & Ng, J. (2020). Exploring secondary school students’ self-perception and actual understanding of plagiarism. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(3), 806-817. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000619872527
Clough, P. (2000). Plagiarism in natural and programming languages: an overview of current tools and technologies.
Colella-Sandercock, J. A., & Alahmadi, H. W. (2015). Plagiarism education: Strategies for instructors. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 13(1), 76-84. Retrieved from https://www.ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter/index
Curtis, G. J., & Vardanega, L. (2016). Is plagiarism changing over time? A 10-year time-lag study with three points of measurement. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(6), 1167-1179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1161602
Das, N. (2018). Intentional or unintentional, it is never alright to plagiarize: A note on how Indian universities are advised to handle plagiarism. Perspectives in clinical research, 9(1), 56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.PICR_140_17
Dawson, M. M., & Overfield, J. A. (2006). Plagiarism: Do students know what it is?. Bioscience Education, 8(1), 1-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3108/beej.8.1
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Paradigms and perspectives in transition. Handbook of qualitative research, 2, 157-162.
Durrheim, K., & Wassenaar, D. (1999). Putting design into practice: Writing and evaluating research proposals. Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences, 54-71.
Eaton, S.E., Guglielmin, M., & Otoo, B.K. (2017). Plagiarising: moving from punitive to proactive approaches. Selected proceedings of the IDEAS Conference Leading Educational Change Calgary, Alberta. https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/ideas/
Fish, R. M., & Hura, G. M. (2013). Student's perceptions of plagiarism. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(5), 33-45.
Fishman, T. (2009). “We know it when we see it” is not good enough: toward a standard definition of plagiarism that transcends theft, fraud, and copyright.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook of qualitative research, 2(163-194), 105.
Gullifer, J., & Tyson, G. A. (2010). Exploring university students' perceptions of plagiarism: A focus group study. Studies in Higher Education, 35(4), 463-481. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903096508
Hansen, B., Stith, D., & Tisdell, L. S. (2011). Plagiarism: What’s the big deal?. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(2), 188-191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1080569911404695
Hendricks, M. and Quinn, L., 2000. Teaching referencing as an introduction to epistemological empowerment. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(4), pp.447-457. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/713699175
Howard, R. M. (2016). Plagiarism in higher education: An academic literacies issue?–Introduction. Handbook of academic integrity, 499-501. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_70
Ismail, K. H. (2018). Perceptions of plagiarism among medical and nursing students in Erbil, Iraq. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 18(2), e196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18295/squmj.2018.18.02.012
Joob, B., & Wiwanitkit, V. (2018). Plagiarism: Either intentional or unintentional, it is still plagiarism!. Perspectives in clinical research, 9(3), 151-151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.PICR_17_18
Karasalides, T., & Emvalotis, A. (2019). Greek Undergraduate and Graduate Students’ Opinions about Plagiarism Causes. Επιστήμες Αγωγής, 2019(1), 20-38.
Khoza, S. B. (2015). Can Turnitin come to the rescue: From teachers' reflections?. South African Journal of Education, 35(4), 01-09. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v35n4a1152
Khoza, S. B., & Mpungose, C. B. (2017). Can the self, them or/and it come to academics’ rescue of Turnitin?. Paper presented at the ‘“Beyond the Horizon” conference held at Manhattan Hotel Pretoria, South Africa, on the 24-26 April, 2017.
Kuther, T. L. (2003). A profile of the ethical professor: Student views. College teaching, 51(4), 153-160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567550309596431
Lathrop, A., & Foss, K. (2000). Student cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era. A Wake-up call.
Leonard, M., Schwieder, D., Buhler, A., Bennett, D.B. and Royster, M. (2015). Perceptions of plagiarism by STEM graduate students: A case study. Science and engineering ethics, 21(6), pp.1587-1608. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9604-2
Mack, L. (2010). The philosophical underpinnings of educational research.
Magubane, P. (2018). Students understanding of plagiarism: a case study of the Criminology and Forensic Studies Discipline (CFSD), University of KwaZulu-Natal (Howard College), Durban, South Africa (Doctoral dissertation).
Mahabeer, P., & Pirtheepal, T. (2019). Assessment, plagiarism and its effect on academic integrity: Experiences of academics at a university in South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 115(11-12), 1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2019/6323
McCabe, D. (2005). Cheating: Why students do it and how we can help them stop. Guiding students from cheating and plagiarism to honesty and integrity: Strategies for change, 237-246.
Mishra, R., & Gautam, V. K. (2017). Issue and Challenges of Plagiarism in Digital Environment: A Conceptual Analysis. Journal of Advancements in Library Sciences, 4(3), 65-69.
Mohamed, K., Abdul Samat, N. H., Abd Aziz, A. S., Mohd Noor, N. A., & Ismail, N. (2018). Academic plagiarism in Malaysia higher education institutions: legal perspective. International Journal of Law, Government and Communication, 3(13), 245-253.
Molnar, K. K., & Kletke, M. G. (2012). Does the type of cheating influence undergraduate students’ perceptions of cheating?. Journal of Academic Ethics, 10(3), 201-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-012-9164-5
Moss, S. A., White, B., & Lee, J. (2018). A systematic review into the psychological causes and correlates of plagiarism. Ethics & Behavior, 28(4), 261-283. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2017.1341837
Mphahlele, A. and McKenna, S., 2019. The use of turnitin in the higher education sector: Decoding the myth. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(7), pp.1079-1089. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1573971
Myers, M. D., & Avison, D. (Eds.). (2002). Qualitative research in information systems: a reader. Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209687
Nelson, M. F., James, M. S., Miles, A., Morrell, D. L., & Sledge, S. (2017). Academic integrity of millennials: The impact of religion and spirituality. Ethics & Behavior, 27(5), 385-400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2016.1158653
Nwosu, L. I., & Chukwuere, J. E. (2020). The attitude of students towards plagiarism in online learning: a narrative literature review. Gender & Behaviour, 18(1).
Park, C. (2003). In other (people's) words: Plagiarism by university students--literature and lessons. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 28(5), 471-488. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930301677
Power, L G. (2009). University students' perceptions of plagiarism. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(6), 643-662. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779038
Ramzan, M., Munir, M. A., Siddique, N., & Asif, M. (2012). Awareness about plagiarism amongst university students in Pakistan. Higher education, 64(1), 73-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9481-4
Selemani, A., Chawinga, W. D., & Dube, G. (2018). Why do postgraduate students commit plagiarism? An empirical study. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 14(1), 1-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-018-0029-6
Smart, P., & Gaston, T. (2019). How prevalent are plagiarized submissions? Global survey of editors. Learned Publishing, 32(1), 47-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1218
Smith, M. R. (2017). The incidence and correlates of intimate partner violence in a sample of South African university students (Doctoral dissertation).
Straw, D. (2002). The Plagiarism of Generation'Why Not?'. Community college week, 14(24), pp.4-6.
Thanh, N. C., & Thanh, T. T. (2015). The interconnection between interpretivist paradigm and qualitative methods in Education. American Journal of Educational Science, 1(2), 24-27.
Thomas, A. (2017). Faculty reluctance to report student plagiarism: A case study. African Journal of Business Ethics, 11(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15249/11-1-148
Vardi, I., 2012. Developing students' referencing skills: a matter of plagiarism, punishment and morality or of learning to write critically?. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(6), pp.921-930. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2012.673120
Wilkinson, J. (2009). Staff and student perceptions of plagiarism and cheating. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(2), 98-105.
Yeo, S. (2007). First‐year university science and engineering students’ understanding of plagiarism. High Education Research & Development, 26(2), 199-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360701310813
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyrights for articles published in IJIER journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author for more visit Copyright & License.
How to Cite
Accepted 2020-12-21
Published 2021-01-01