Perception of Plagiarism Among Medical Postgraduate Students: An Observational Study

Introduction Plagiarism is appropriating another person's ideas, words, results, or processes without giving appropriate credit and usually claiming them to be one's own. Thus, plagiarism is a dishonest act of fraud or cheating. Objectives The objective of this study is to assess the perception of plagiarism among medical postgraduate (PG) students. Materials & Methods: An educational observational study was conducted among second-year PG students about the perception of plagiarism by using pre-test and post-test questionnaires after an orientation session on plagiarism and data analysis before the start of dissertation analysis. Questions included were on awareness and attitude towards plagiarism.  Results A survey involving 91 PG students assessed their understanding of plagiarism. Remarkably, the majority (97.7%) demonstrated awareness of plagiarism, yet only 18.6% had authored a published article. It was discovered that about 30% of the students had resorted to plagiarism at some point during their academic pursuits. Approximately 70.9% of the PG students were acquainted with the University's plagiarism policy. The survey highlighted a notable enhancement in plagiarism awareness among PG students, with their attitudes toward plagiarism evolving after participating in the session. Conclusion Plagiarism can be avoided by implementing rigorous guidelines, ensuring strict policy adherence, and providing comprehensive training before commencing work. Training, retraining, and strict institute policies will help increase awareness about plagiarism and reduce the percentage of plagiarism in scientific writing.