Exploring Awareness and Attitude on Plagiarism among Research Scholars: A Case Study of Panjab University, Chandigarh (India)

The purpose of the study is to explore the awareness and attitude on plagiarism among research scholars of Panjab University, Chandigarh (India). A structured questionnaire was designed and distributed among research scholars from various academic disciplines at Panjab University, Chandigarh (India). The survey examines level of awareness and attitudes of respondents on various aspects of plagiarism based on a five point Likert Scale. A total of 152 valid questionnaires were analysed with the help of Excel and SPSS. Results of the study revealed that research scholars were aware about plagiarism issues in academia. “Cut copy paste of text” was top ranked awareness statement with 4.2 ± 1.28 as Mean ± SD value whereas, the lowest awareness (3.42 ± 1.33) was observed with regards to the statement “Collusion is helping someone else to plagiarise”. Overall, the poor attitude was observed among the respondents. Accurate referencing, plagiarism checking before submission of paper or thesis and discussion with guide and fellow researchers were found the top most steps which can be helpful to research scholars in diminishing plagiarism. The survey findings will certainly help university authorities to work out a strong action plan and its implementation to combat prevalent academic plagiarism and related issues