Knowledge and attitude towards plagiarism: a comparative study of students from medical and non-medical fields

Abstract

# Background Research has become a crucial part of restorative sciences. Yet, research ethics are sometimes bypassed. One of the research ethical misconducts, plagiarism has always been prevalent. Studies published on plagiarism have seen an increase recently but mostly they are from the developed part of the world and output from developing countries like Pakistan is low. This study, therefore, aims to compare the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of students from medical and non-medical fields towards plagiarism from different institutions in Karachi, Pakistan. # Methods We conducted an eight-week cross-sectional study in January 2017 in Karachi, Pakistan with 412 undergraduate students of ages 18 and above, using convenience sampling to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding plagiarism. The questionnaire was divided into three parts, each focusing on knowledge and its source, attitudes, and practices of an individual towards plagiarism. Chi-squared tests were applied to compare the aforementioned factors of participants belonging to the medical field with those from non-medical fields. # Results A majority of individuals (n=288, 74.6%) were aware of the research ethics and had heard about the term plagiarism (n=353, 91.5%). More than half of the individuals (n=235, 60.9%) had experience with researches. An overwhelming majority of individuals (n=365, 94.6%) considered it important to discuss issues like plagiarism in research ethics. Almost half of them (n=186, 48.2%) plagiarized unintentionally due to lack of knowledge and learned about it later. Majority of the individuals (n=332, 86%) thought plagiarism could be avoided and many (n=303, 78.5%) believed that authors who plagiarize deserve punishment. Statistically significant differences were found to exist when knowledge, attitude, and practices were compared between medical and non-medical students. Medical students were more aware of the research ethics than non-medical students (*P*=0.001). Significantly more medical students considered it important to discuss issues like plagiarism in research ethics than non-medical students (*P*=0.011) and did not believe that plagiarism is justified for short deadlines (*P*\<0.001). More medical students had experience with research than non-medical students (*P*=0.003) and a majority of medical students considered plagiarism as stealing (*P*\<0.001). # Conclusions Majority of the individuals were aware of plagiarism and showed a negative attitude towards its practice. The practice of plagiarism was associated with a lack of knowledge and awareness regarding this misconduct. Medical and non-medical students had differing opinions with medical students having a more negative attitude towards plagiarism owing to their greater knowledge and experience with researches. Academic integrity, provision of plagiarism detection tools and emphasis on research ethics are some of the areas that institutions should work on to reduce plagiarism.