Journal Review : Exploring University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Focus Group Study

 Name    : Dinda Riani

Class      : 4E

NPM      : 1910631060013

Journal   : Exploring University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Focus Group Study

Writer     : Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh

Publisher :  International Journal for Innovation Education and Research 

                    ISSN 2411-2933 01 January 2021

Journal Review

 

Hello everyone! Im here to present another journal review. Happy reading!

This journal entitled ‘Exploring University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Focus Group Study' by Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh, published by International Journal for Innovation Education and Research ISSN 2411-2933, 01 January 2021.

The purpose of this study was to explore university students’ perceptions of plagiarism at a tertiary institution in KwaZulu-Natal. Focus group interviews were conducted at the tertiary institution to gain information on how students perceive plagiarism. Plagiarism is less of an issue in schools because they do not require students to use existing knowledge to create overtly and clearly their own new knowledge, expressed as different kinds of arguments. However, universities do, so acknowledging others' work to build knowledge and establish your credible claims is vital.

The research present the findings from a focus group discussion on university students’ perceptions of plagiarism. In this study, the critical question is what are the university students’ perceptions of plagiarism?

The study adopted a qualitative approach. This is because qualitative research involves viewing and gaining insight into a particular world built by individuals' perceptions and beliefs. \This study used a qualitative approach to discover students’ perceptions of plagiarism to reveal the meanings of what students believe about plagiarism and why they choose to plagiarise. 

According to the participants, one cause of student plagiarism is laziness. Students show a lack of responsibility when it comes to their academic careers. From the interviews, it was discovered that students might be lazy to engage critically in the assignments given to them.

The focus group participants were asked a question of how serious plagiarism is at their tertiary institutions. They revealed that they believed plagiarism is a severe matter at universities. However, they argued that it is only severe if one has to be caught plagiarising. The participants indicated that if one is caught plagiarising an assignment or task, they would have to face the consequences of their actions. However, the participants noted that although they were made aware of the consequences of plagiarising, they had never experienced nor heard of any student facing such harsh consequences.

The focus group was asked a question on the chances of one getting caught plagiarising. The participants revealed that they believed that the chances of one getting caught plagiarising is very slim and unlikely. One of the reasons is because of the large number of students in a class.

In conclusion, the paper recommends that students be taught what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Tertiary institutions should teach about plagiarism and referencing to first-year students entering university. The main reason students plagiarise at the tertiary institution is that they lack an understanding of plagiarism. The teaching of referencing should educate students on what plagiarism is, what actions are considered plagiarism, and cite and reference using the correct referencing style. If students were educated on this, unintentional plagiarism would be limited. However, if the student has completed the course and still chooses to plagiarise, they should bear the university's consequences of plagiarism.

I choose this article because i think it might be very useful for me and my friends whom undergraduated students. As university students, i have to aware about plagiarism. It can be very dangerous if i don't know how serious plagiarism is. I hope this article will be usefull for all of my readers here.

After reading and understanding this article, i got enlighten that plagiarism is really dangerous. We have to appreciate everyone's writing by not doing plagiarism. I hope all of the readers here realized that plagiarism is a serious problem.

Dinda Riani