Plagiarism Perceptions among Undergraduates at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite universities’ increasing awareness of the importance of maintaining academic integrity, students are still involved in plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. In order to address challenges associated with plagiarism, a thorough examination of conceptions and issues associated with plagiarism is required. This article therefore explores the knowledge and perceptions of plagiarism, reasons for committing plagiarism, and forms of plagiarism found among undergraduates at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun state, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design and a multistage sampling technique were adopted for the study. A questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.89 was used to collect data from 378 undergraduates, sampled from six faculties of the selected institution. The findings reveal that the respondents have good knowledge of plagiarism ( = 3.31) and that the majority perceive plagiarism as a menace and a criminal act ( = 3.20). The findings further reveal the desire to achieve high marks, fear of failure, and poor academic planning as respondents’ major reasons for committing plagiarism. It was also found that gender does not significantly influence perceptions of plagiarism, whereas the faculty the student belongs to does influence perceptions of plagiarism. Among other things, the study recommends that university management acquire and implement good commercial plagiarism detection software and also formulate, implement, and enact regulations on plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty.

Perceptions of Academic Staff on Causes of Plagiarism in Project Writing Among Undergraduate in Southwest Nigeria

“…In a recent study conducted in Nigeria, the authors affirmed the desire to achieve high marks, fear of failure and poor academic planning as the major reasons for engaging in plagiarism [5]. Similarly, it was reported that most students plagiarize because they want to avoid lower levels of GPAs, lower levels of school identification and they also lack adequate proficiency in English Language [18].…”

“…Studies on plagiarism and other academic misconduct among students in tertiary institutions had been documented locally and internationally over the years. For instance, researchers both local and international have stressed that plagiarism and other forms of academic injustice and misconduct is a complex phenomenon and a common occurrence among undergraduates in one form or the other [2][3][4][5][6]. The ubiquity of plagiarism among undergraduates all over the world has been found to depend on information explosion that is aided by the internet and abundant media technologies which have made it very easy for undergraduates in tertiary institutions to gain access to information needed with ease anytime and whenever they need it.…”

“…Research on the knowledge, awareness, causes and effect of plagiarism have also been documented. Researchers have documented that undergraduates in tertiary institution all over the continents are aware and knowledgeable about plagiarism, it adverse effect on students, economy as well as standard of education [5][6][7].…”

“…Despite various documentation about undergraduates 'awareness, knowledge, causes and effect of plagiarism and other forms of academic misconducts as well as the fact that plagiarism is considered a criminal act, it is noteworthy that final year students who had been in the university for over three (3) years and above, depending on their course of study, and had in one way or the other been taught about plagiarism, still plagiarize most especially while writing their final year project [5][6][7]. In many university in Nigeria, plagiarism as a sub-topic had been taught in first year during the teaching of General Study Skill and ICT (GNS 102) and also as a subtopic in the university curriculum across different discipline in the university during the teaching of research methodology.…”

“…Plagiarism is a Latin word 'plagiarius' which means to forcefully take another person ideas or work and claim to be his. Plagiarism is considered as the practice of using other people's ideas and works without acknowledging the sources and passing it as one's own works [3,5]. Plagiarism is also referred to as dishonest academic behavior by taking either literal or similar characteristics of text, changing it with its synonym or reversing to both submissive and vigorous sentence without acknowledging or give credit to original authors [11].…”