Exploring the Factors That Influence Plagiarism in Higher Education: A Study among School of Information Science Students in Sarawak

  • Suhaida Halamy
  • Nurfaizah Kamarudin
  • Mohsinin Mohsin

Abstract

Plagiarism, a form of academic misconduct and dishonesty, is prevalent in higher education. This problem has become more pronounced with the rise of technology, which has made it simplified for students to find, use, and misuse information. A study was conducted at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Samarahan Campus in Sarawak, using a quantitative approach. The study focused on students enrolled in the School of Information Science, College of Computing, Informatics, and Mathematics, involving 108 participants who completed questionnaires. This study aimed to understand the factors contributing to plagiarism in higher education. The findings revealed that students were aware of various forms of plagiarism, including copying and pasting from online sources and presenting the work as their own. The research identified that the main reason for plagiarism was the students' inability to conduct proper research. The study recommended further research to delve deeper into the factors influencing plagiarism and to develop strategies for preventing it in the future. This research is a valuable resource for combating academic dishonesty and plagiarism among university students. It emphasizes proper referencing and citation skills through study and writing courses. By doing so, universities can effectively discourage plagiarism while enhancing the quality and credibility of students' research efforts.

References

Anqi, Y., Stockwell, S., & McDonnell, L. (2019). Writing in your own voice: An intervention that reduces plagiarism and common writing problems in students' scientific writing. IUBMB, 47 (5), 589-598.
https://doi-org.ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/10.1002/bmb.21282
Aziz, Z. A., Silfiani, & Mustafa, F. (2020). Plagiarism among junior lecturers in Indonesia: How and why? Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8 (3), 86-94, https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8310
Dasar Plagiarisme UiTM Dan Pelaksanaannya. Retrieved from https://kelantan.uitm.edu.my/images/directory/hea/DASAR_PLAGIARISME_UiTM_DAN_PELAKSANAANNYA_VERSI_20.pdf
Ehrich, J., Howard, S. J. , Tognolini, J., & Bokosmaty, S. Measuring attitudes toward plagiarism: Issues and psychometric solutions. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 7(2), 243-257, 2015. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JARHE-02-2014-0013/full/html
Eisa, T. A. E. (2022). Plagiarism detection of figure images in scientific publications. International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management, 14(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJDMMM.2022.122036.
Fadlalmola, H. A., Elhusein, A., Veerabhadra Swamy, D., Hussein, M., Mamanao, D., & Mohamedsalih, W. (2022). Plagiarism among nursing students: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Nursing Review, 69(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12755
Farahian, M., Avarzamani, F., & Rezaee, M. (2022). Plagiarism in higher education across nations: A case of language students. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(1), 223-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-09-2020-0309
Hamed Arabi, & Mehdi Akbari. (2022). Improving plagiarism detection in text document using hybrid weighted similarity. Expert Systems with Applications, 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2022.118034.
Harvey, L. (2020). Research fraud: a long-term problem exacerbated by the clamour for research grants. Quality in Higher Education, 26(3), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2020.1820126
Ismail, I. R., Pauzi, S. F. M., & Abd Hadi, K. A. (2012). Students Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement: A Malaysian Legal Perspective.
Jereb, E., Perc, M., Lämmlein, B., Jerebic, J., Urh, M., Podbregar, I., & Šprajc, P. (2018). Factors influencing plagiarism in higher education: A comparison of German and Slovene students. PLoS ONE, 13(8), e0202252. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202252
Koirala, P. K. , Dema, Y., Malik, H, & Berglund, A. A study on Bhutanese IT engineering students' perceptions of plagiarism, 2022 7th International STEM Education Conference (iSTEM-Ed), Sukhothai, Thailand, 2022, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/iSTEM-Ed55321.2022.9920878.
Madaan, D., & Chakravarty, R. (2020). Factors influencing higher similarity and plagiarism amongst research scholars: A comparative case study of two Indian Universities- Centers of Higher Education. Library Philosophy and Practice. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4287
Memon, A. R., & Mavrinac, M. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of plagiarism as reported by participants completing the AuthorAID MOOC on research writing. Science and Engineering Ethics, 26(2), 1067–1088. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00198-1
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (2020). Corporate. https://www.mohe.gov.my/en/corporate/aboutus/introduction.
Mohamed, K., Abdul Samat, N. H., Abd Aziz, A. S., Mohd Noor, N. A., & Ismail, N. (2018).Academic plagiarism in Malaysia higher education institutions: A legal perspective. International Journal of Law, Government and Communication, 3(13), 245-253.
Mohd Zain, M. I., Rahmat, N. E., Zulkarnain, M. N., & Awasthi, S. (2021). Plagiarism of academic writing in Malaysian universities: A legal analysis. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 6(16), 197-202. https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.2709
Muluk, S., Habiburrahim, H., & Safrul, M. (2021). EFL students’ perception on plagiarism in higher education: Triggering factors and avoiding strategies. JURNAL ILMIAH DIDAKTIKA: Media Ilmiah Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, 22, 20. https://doi.org/10.22373/jid.v22i1.8944
Park, C. (2003). In other (People’s) words: Plagiarism by university students—literature and lessons”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5), 471-488.
Valdivia, V. E. R., Goycochea, H. A. B., & Dávila, F. A. D. Factors associated with academic dishonesty in Peruvian engineering students, 2020 IEEE International Symposium on Accreditation of Engineering and Computing Education (ICACIT), Arequipa, Peru, 2020, pp. 1-5, doi:10.1109/ICACIT50253.2020.9277689.
Yusof, D. S. M. & Masrom, U. K. (2011). Malaysian students’ understanding of plagiarism.The International Journal – Language Society and Culture, 33, 1-7.
Published
2023-10-31
How to Cite
HALAMY, Suhaida; KAMARUDIN, Nurfaizah; MOHSIN, Mohsinin. Exploring the Factors That Influence Plagiarism in Higher Education: A Study among School of Information Science Students in Sarawak. International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 3, p. 472-477, oct. 2023. ISSN 2682-8138. Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijares/article/view/24570>. Date accessed: 15 feb. 2025.
Section
English Section