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Understanding Undergraduate Plagiarism in the Context of Students’ Academic Experience

Journal of Academic Ethics volume 20, pages 147–168 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Previous research has shown that student plagiarism is the product of interplay between individual and situational factors. The present study examined the relationship between these two sets of factors with a particular focus on variables linked to students’ academic context namely, their perception of peer behaviors, their experience of adversities in academic life, and their year of enrollment. So far, these situational features have received scant attention in studies of plagiarism conducted in most of Europe. A survey was carried out in a European higher education institution, involving a sample of 427 undergraduates. The data was analyzed via both conventional univariate and bivariate statistical analysis, and multivariate, multilevel modeling. The results suggest that awareness of peer plagiarizing and the experience of hardships in academic life, rather than level of academic achievement or year of study, are significantly related to plagiarizing, whereas heightened perception of the seriousness of plagiarism is associated with a lower likelihood of this type of behavior. The study also shows that students who plagiarize are more likely to be involved in other types of academic misconduct.

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Fig. 1

Availability of Data and Material

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of the Azores, Portugal; and Centro Interdisciplinar de Ciências Sociais – CICS.UAc/CICS.NOVA.UAc, R. Mãe de Deus, 9500-801, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    Jorge Ávila de Lima

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of the Azores, Portugal; and CEEAplA, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    Áurea Sousa

  3. Department of Sociology, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    Angélica Medeiros, Beatriz Misturada & Cátia Novo

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  1. Jorge Ávila de Lima
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  2. Áurea Sousa
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de Lima, J.Á., Sousa, Á., Medeiros, A. et al. Understanding Undergraduate Plagiarism in the Context of Students’ Academic Experience. J Acad Ethics 20, 147–168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09396-3

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Keywords

  • Plagiarism
  • Undergraduate students
  • Higher education
  • Europe