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Plagiarism awareness in post-graduate students: case study
Zivar Sabaghinejad1, Parastoo Parsaei-Mohammadi2, Narges Khanfari3
1Knowledge & Information Science, Department of Medical Library and Information Science, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. Saba.darya@gmail.com.
Scientific Reports
|June 14, 2026
Summary
Academic plagiarism awareness is higher in PhD students than Master's students, and increases with each academic year. Male and female students showed similar awareness levels, despite initial differences.
Area of Science:
- Academic integrity
- Scholarly publishing ethics
- Higher education research
Background:
- Plagiarism poses a significant ethical challenge in academic publishing, affecting both faculty and students.
- Understanding student awareness is crucial for developing effective academic integrity policies.
- Previous research indicates varying levels of plagiarism awareness across different academic levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess and compare the awareness of academic plagiarism among postgraduate students.
- To investigate the relationship between academic level and plagiarism awareness.
- To identify factors influencing plagiarism awareness in higher education.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive study utilizing a survey method with a questionnaire.
- Stratified random sampling of 291 postgraduate students.
- Data analysis using independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and correlation coefficients in SPSS (version 26).
Main Results:
- PhD students demonstrated significantly higher awareness of academic plagiarism compared to Master's students.
- Plagiarism awareness increased significantly with each academic year of study.
- A positive and significant correlation was found between academic level and plagiarism awareness.
- No statistically significant difference in awareness was observed between male and female participants.
Conclusions:
- Academic progression is strongly linked to increased understanding of plagiarism concepts and instances.
- Targeted educational interventions may be necessary to enhance plagiarism awareness, particularly at earlier academic stages.
- Further research could explore the impact of specific educational strategies on plagiarism awareness and academic integrity.
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