Organising research on university student plagiarism: a process approach

Abstract

This article examines the management of the seemingly ubiquitous problem of plagiarism by students in higher education. An integrated review of the conceptual and empirical literature to date is undertaken in the pursuit of two objectives. First, to provide structure to the scattered knowledge about the topic, which is achieved by developing a process framework of plagiarism management. Second, to identify, group and locate the determinants of each of the major events of the plagiarism management process: the occurrence of a plagiarism instance, its detection and the subsequent actions undertaken in response. Moreover, the framework incorporates the roles of the different actors involved (students, professors and the university) and the importance of the cultural, legal and technological context in which the instances of plagiarism may take place. This process approach aids in the identification of more integrated avenues for further research.