Awareness and Perception of Plagiarism of Postgraduate Students in Selected Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria.
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Date
2016-02
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Digital Commons (UNL)
Abstract
Plagiarism undoubtedly constitutes a seemingly imperceptible threat to the growth of genuine
global scholarship. The understanding of various perspectives of the phenomenon is critical to
finding a lasting solution. It is against this background therefore, that the study investigated
awareness and perception of plagiarism of postgraduate students in selected Universities in Ogun
State Nigeria. Survey research design was used while adopting stratified and random sampling
methods to select 338 respondents from federal, state and private Universities for the study. The
findings revealed average level of awareness of plagiarism among postgraduate students, level of
training influenced their level of awareness; pressure to meet deadlines, inadequate writing skills
and lack of knowledge of what constitutes plagiarism were found to be responsible for the malaise.
The study also revealed a significant positive relationship at r = 0.294 and p < 0.05 implying that
as awareness increases, the positive perception of plagiarism would also improve. However, it
revealed a significant difference in perception of plagiarism at f(2,327) = 25,000 and p < 0.05
implying that what postgraduate students perceived as plagiarism differ across the types of
institution. The paper concluded that plagiarism is a heinous academic crime which negates the
main objective of research to discover new facts and expand the frontiers of knowledge. The paper
recommended the intensification of awareness and sensitization programmes on plagiarism by
various institutions; that the National Universities Commission should enforce the use of Turnitin
in all Nigerian Universities and the introduction of information ethics as a compulsory course of
study in the tertiary institutions.
Description
Keywords
Plagiarism, Postgraduate students, Nigerian Universities, Ogun State, plagiarism awareness, Plagiarism perception
Citation
Idiegbeyan-ose, J., Nkiko, C., & Osinulu, I. (2016). Awareness and Perception of Plagiarism of Postgraduate Students in Selected Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria.