Plagiarism amongst research students in the University of Moratuwa (UoM) in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Plagiarism has become a major issue in learned societies with the advent of sophisticated software and information via digital media, though the scholars should practice qualities of honesty, ethics and professionalism. Under this circumstance, it is obligated to explore the concerns on plagiarism in the University' of Moratuwa (UoM) as information professionals. Therefore, this research focuses on investigating the state of affairs about plagiarism of the research students in the UoM. The survey research strategy was adapted and a structured questionnaire was distributed among 181 stratified random sample of final year students and the postgraduate students in the UoM. Results reveal that even though most of research students suppose that they are knowledgeable about plagiarism, they do not have a complete knowledge of plagiarism. Further the eight significant factors affecting plagiarism were extracted using the principal component analysis. The key factor to lead plagiarism was the lack of awareness about plagiarism. Therefore, the recommendations were composed to make research students aware of plagiarism via specific programs.