Students’ and supervisors’ knowledge and attitudes regarding plagiarism and referencing

Abstract

BackgroundReferencing is an integral part of scientific writing and professional research conduct that requires appropriate acknowledgement of others’ work and avoidance of plagiarism. University students should understand and apply this as part of their academic development, but for this, it is essential that supervisors also display proper research integrity and support.MethodsThis study used an online educative questionnaire to understand the knowledge and attitudes of students and supervisors at two institutes in Europe and Africa. The results were then used to create discussion around education of students and faculty in workshops and lectures.ResultsOverall, 138 students and 14 supervisors participated: most were Swedish (89) and Kenyan (11). Overall, 98% had heard about plagiarism, and 35% believed it was common. Only 45% had heard about self-plagiarism, and when explained what it was, 44.5% considered it morally wrong. Europeans and North Americans had more knowledge than other nationalities. Most (85%) had received some training on referencing, but there was little consensus about principles, with more than 30% considering it acceptable to cite a reference in a paper they had not read. Discussing these results and the questions in workshops was helpful; it was also clear that there was no consensus among supervisors on what constituted correct behavior.ConclusionsThis survey shows a need for greater consensus on appropriate referencing, and that there is need for more discussions and training on the topic for both students and faculty.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s41073-018-0054-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Polish and Ukrainian University Students’ Perspectives on Academic Writing: A Comparative Overview

“…One recent comparative study conducted among students and their supervisors with the aim of assessing knowledge and attitudes concerning referencing and plagiarism has revealed that responses of the students reflect their differing backgrounds. In particular, Western Europeans and North Americans showed better understanding of the nature of plagiarism than did other nationalities (Lindahl & Grace, 2018).…”

MooSciTIC: Training of trainers in West African research and higher education

“…This early training enables students to be progressively involved in "real life" research work through projects and publications and to start building their professional network. By contrast, mentoring from experienced colleagues is not always available at institutions in low-income countries, resulting in a wide variation in research quality and visibility [3]. This is especially true in French-speaking West Africa where research is highly fragmented and collaborative work culture is lacking, including at the national and regional levels.…”

How to write “references” in scientific journal articles

“…Failure to 'cite' is cheating, which may be either intentional and unintentional. 5 The accuracy of content cited must match the content in the reference. Citation based on title and abstract, without reading the original article for the details of design, and process of their findings may result in errors and it is irritating when one cannot find the information in cited reference.…”

“…Appropriate referencing, and need for more training is necessary for both students and faculties. 5,7,8 Rapid growth of science has led to proliferation of scientific journals contributing to medical literature. With various referencing styles, manually referencing is labor intensive.…”