Perceptions of Postgraduate Students Specializing in English at Myanmar Universities towards Research Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the postgraduate students'
knowledge about research plagiarism, the degree to which they are
knowledgeable about plagiarism, and the factors leading them to plagiarize,
and to determine the information regarding postgraduate students’ exposure
to knowledge, practices, and their awareness of the repercussions and the
policies, systems, and procedures of the regarding plagiarized matter. A
study was conducted at Myanmar universities where volunteers answered
questionnaires anonymously. A mixed-methods approach was adopted in
the study. The qualitative data were collected by conducting interviews with
27 academic staff and the quantitative data were collected by distributing
questionnaires to 91 postgraduate students from English specialization.

There were following four sections in the questionnaire: (a) demographic
data; (b) five statements regarding knowledge; (c) five statements regarding
referencing styles that students adopted and (d) three statements regarding
practice. With the help of the questionnaire, the knowledge, attitude, and
practice of the students were determined regarding research plagiarism. The
teacher volunteers’ interview results display that although students have a
positive attitude, they might plagiarize due to a lack of good academic
writing skills, time constraints, and lack of knowledge about research
plagiarism. The questionnaire survey also found that despite students having
a conceptual understanding of plagiarism, most of them might commit
plagiarism, mainly due to a lack of good academic writing skills and poor
time management.