Abstract:

This paper shows the results of an investigation seeking to better understand plagiarism in the university context and the differences between students according to what degree level they are studying. The sample consisted of 62 students in the first year of the Degree in Primary Education and 60 on the Master’s in Secondary School Teaching in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alicante (Spain). The study uses a mixed method of research in which the information contributed is submitted to a descriptive, a comparative and an interpretative analysis. The data collection instrument comprises a total of ten questions: seven closed and three open. Generally speaking, they associate plagiarism more with the wholesale copying of documents and not so much with the copying of excerpts used to complete their essays. For this reason, most of the participants have never plagiarised complete documents, but they have indeed copied excerpts from the internet or from other bibliographical sources, sometimes without citing. Applying a Student’s t-test shows that there are statistically significant differences in how often they plagiarise, depending on what degree level they are studying. Among the reasons that lead them to plagiarise, the most common include work overload, the ease with which information can be found on the internet, bad time management and the difficulty of the task. Significant differences can also be seen between Master’s students and degree students as regards the reasons leading them to plagiarism. As far as the qualitative analysis is concerned, most of the students also insist that they have received little if any guidance on the subject of plagiarism, while those that have received training say they are very satisfied with it. Finally, they propose that different training initiatives should be developed to be carried out in the course of their studies. The results lead us to conclude that more attention should be given to training students in the correct use of documentary sources, thereby enabling them to correctly produce academic work. It would also be interesting to consider the differences found among students on the basis on their current studies, to ensure that training initiatives meet their specific needs.

Keywords:

Plagiarism, academic work, documentary sources, training strategies, mixed methods.