AUSTRALIAN AND INDONESIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF PLAGIARISM

This article is part of a larger report of research which explored and compared Australian and Indonesian university students’ attitudes toward plagiarism, understanding of plagiarism, and understanding of university policy on plagiarism. It focuses on whether or not Australian and Indonesian students differed in their understanding of the notion of plagiarism and its various forms. Data of the Australian and Indonesian subjects’ understanding of plagiarism were gained using a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The results showed that the Australian students were more knowledgeable of the notion of plagiarism and its various forms than the Indonesian students. The differences may be attributed to the academic context of the study. The Indonesian students were not familiar with the Western norm in academic writing, the norm which is regularly practiced in the Australian context. This study strongly recommends that the Indonesian students’ awareness of plagiarism be increased in order to avoid plagiarism. Keywords: understanding of plagiarism, definition of plagiarism, academic context, focus group interviews, university study