A STUDY ON THE PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ABOUT PLAGIARISM

Abstract

Gradually more students are enrolling in graduate school. They must complete their thesis and research in order to graduate. However, some students frequently get caught plagiarizing when writing their theses. In order to analyze students' perspectives about plagiarism in thesis completion, the researcher put up two research questions: (1) What are students' perceptions about plagiarism in thesis completion? (2) The reasons why the students plagiarized. The research outcome was ascertained by a qualitative study. Interviews were used by the researcher to collect the data.  Twelve students who are finishing their final thesis took part in the investigation. This study's findings indicated that students had varying opinions regarding plagiarism. Nine of the twelve participants said that it is neither a good nor a bad habit, but three of them also said that it is not necessarily negative. Plagiarism can sometimes be used positively or negatively because it allows students to finish their assignments when they are unsure how to paraphrase the claims or beliefs. The disadvantage is that they cause harm to the original owner of the work they trace. The lack of sources and references, bad ideas for paraphrasing or summarizing, laziness in paraphrasing and summarizing, lack of motivation to read some journals and references, time constraints for completing assignments and theses, and the quick way to complete theses and assignments are other reasons why students plagiarized.