Abstract
Despite increasing scholarly interest in tertiary student perceptions of plagiarism, very little is known about those held by postgraduate (PG) students, although differences between undergraduate (UG) and PG students relate to both their characteristics and the demands of their studies. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research within the context of international education, where managing plagiarism is seen as a major challenge. This paper reports on a recent online survey with 207 Vietnamese (n = 72) and local (n = 135) PG students at a New Zealand university regarding their perceptions of plagiarism. The findings showed significant differences both between and within the two groups. Perception variations arose from a range of influences and prior experiences, not just the culture in which the students were initially educated. Differences related to participants’ age, gender, academic levels, disciplines, and teaching experience. This study’s findings contribute knowledge about under-researched PG students and problematize prevalent stereotypes of international students regarding plagiarism. They generate implications for higher education institutions to accommodate international and domestic PG student needs in ways that respect their diversities in detail as individuals, not as members of a homogeneous group. Further qualitative research to explore PG student perceptions in greater depth is recommended.
Highlights
Plagiarism is widely considered an intentional moral transgression (Pecorari & Petric, 2014; Sutherland-Smith, 2008) or a violation of academic integrity principles (Ehrich et al, 2016; Pecorari, 2016)
While there are very few investigations of plagiarism perceptions held by Vietnamese (Tran, 2012) and New Zealand students (Adam et al, 2016; Marshall & Garry, 2006), they focus mainly on UG students. Seeking to address this gap, this study examined the reality of PG students’ awareness of plagiarism in a New Zealand university, including two groups: participants who obtained their previous tertiary education in Vietnam (Vietnamese students) or New Zealand
The research identifies differences in PG student perceptions that arose from multiple factors rather than the system in which they were previously educated
Summary
Plagiarism is widely considered an intentional moral transgression (Pecorari & Petric, 2014; Sutherland-Smith, 2008) or a violation of academic integrity principles (Ehrich et al, 2016; Pecorari, 2016). It is a complex and multifaceted issue because of how it is defined and what it covers and how it happens. While most academics are aware of these complexities, many students understand the issue only superficially, which hinders effective plagiarism management
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