Academic Dishonesty among Youth: Faculty and Students’ Perceptions about Plagiarism in Research Work

Dr. Riffat-un-Nisa Awan; Dr. Ghazala Naureen; Ghazanfar Ali

doi:10.36902/rjsser-vol2-iss2-2021(436-443)

Dr. Riffat-un-Nisa Awan Associate Professor, Department of Education, University of Sargodha
Dr. Ghazala Naureen Associate Professor, Department of Secondary Education, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore
Ghazanfar Ali Lecturer, Department of Education, University of Sargodha

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol2-iss2-2021(436-443)

Keywords: Plagiarism, Academic Dishonesty, Use of Turnitin Software

Abstract

Plagiarism is responsible for decline in academic integrity among scholars at higher education level that also hinders their genuine learning and development. This study intended to explore university students’ perceptions about prevalence and causes of plagiarism practices in academic work. It also attempted to explore measures for reducing the academic dishonesty as suggested by university faculty. A sample of 200 post graduate students and 40 teachers from the social sciences departments of two universities was selected conveniently. A Likert-type scale was adopted for data collection. The findings indicated that students were involved in stealing the ideas of others and using unpublished material from the internet without acknowledgment. The main causes as indicated by students included; lack of interest, poor academic skills, no obvious penalties, the fear of failure, busy schedules, easy access to internet sources, and the stress of meeting deadlines. The faculty emphasized to foster academic integrity among scholars and improve their academic skills along with strict implementation of rules and regulations regarding plagiarism. They also suggested that supervisors should develop awareness among scholars about plagiarism and its consequences along with training them in proper referencing and use of Turnitin to promote originality in research work.