Cultural Perspectives

Student Plagiarism and National Differences across Europe

Presenter Name

Contents
Plagiarism meaning and interpretations Plagiarism and cultural differences Research aim and objectives IPPHEAE project Research methodology Progress to date and initial results Further work
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Plagiarism. Meaning and Interpretations

Historic (Latin) meaning: plagiarius
kidnapper, thief, plunderer

Many definitions and interpretations:

copy, borrow, use ideas, failure to cite properly, steal, commit literary theft...

It is not a straight forward concept Boundaries between research and plagiarism are very thin
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Plagiarism and Cultural Differences

Differences between European and International students Concept of intellectual and textual ownership comes from a Western world
Do all European students perceive plagiarism in the same Western way? Are there any differences between national attitudes towards academic dishonesty?
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Aim
To find out whether students from diverse European countries and backgrounds present dissimilar views towards plagiarism, as well as to explore the existing concept of the common European approach.

Research Title
Plagiarism and national differences. Variation in practice and attitudes towards academic dishonesty among European students.
Attitudes and Practices

Objectives
To collect data from questionnaires and interviews in order to investigate the attitudes as well as practices that lie behind the problem of student plagiarism To gather and evaluate the findings from different European Higher Educational Institutions in a form of a comparative study To analyse gathered data and investigate whether there is a relation between the approach to plagiarism and nationality of European bachelor and masters students To investigate the European approach towards plagiarism and assess its appropriateness among European students
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Connection with IPPHEAE Project

Research Assistant to the European-wide plagiarism project Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education across Europe
Focuses on policies and procedures implemented at institutional and national levels Evaluates new interventions for preventing or detecting plagiarism Helps to uphold and improve standards and quality in HE institutions across Europe and beyond Includes a survey of teachers, students and managers from various HE institutions across Europe

IPPHEAE project shares with the researcher:

wide network of partners, professional expertise of project members, access to project data, possibility to conduct studies across the whole 8 European Union

Research Methods: Surveys

Survey 1
on a group of undergraduate and postgraduate students from different HE Institutions across the European Union.

Survey 2
in the United Kingdom on a group of non-UK European students who experienced more than one educational system and were exposed to new cultures and academic codes of conduct
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Research Methods: Surveys

Survey questions are grouped in five categories:
Plagiarism Understanding and Awareness Plagiarism Occurrence Institutional Policies and Procedures Plagiarism Deterrence and Detection Citing and Referencing

Questionnaires are available online and can be accessed through the IPPHEAE project website: http://ippheae.eu/surveys
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Research Methods: Focus Groups

Part 1
Focus groups with students who experienced only one educational system Experiencing only one educational system and not being influenced by foreign methodologies, these students should represent attitudes typical for the country under analysis

Part 2
Focus groups with students who experienced more than one educational system These students should be able to recognise differences in HE systems and academic dishonesty attitudes which occur between countries they have studied in
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Progress to date
Online Surveys in 14 language versions Focus Groups with French and Polish students Results from a Pilot Survey:
Conducted at Coventry University 37 students from Nigeria (13), India (12), Great Britain (3), Poland (2), China (1), Libya (1), Pakistan (1), Sri Lanka (1) and UAE nations (1). Two participants did not specify their nationality (N/N).
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Initial Results: Example 1

Before bachelor: 2/2 Polish, 1/3 British, 1/1 Chinese, 2/12 Indian and 2 people N/N During bachelor: 2/3 British, 1/1 Libyan, 1/1 UAE nations, 2/13 Nigerian, 1/12 Indian, 1 N/N During masters: 11/13 Nigerian, 10/12 Indian, 1/1 Sri Lankan and 1 person N/N
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Initial Results: Example 2

Strongly disagree: 2/13 Nigerian, 1/12 Indian and 1/1 Pakistani Disagree: 5/12 Indian, 4/13 Nigerian, 1/3 British and 1/2 Polish Not sure: 3/12 Indian, 2/13 Nigerian, 1/1 UAE nations, 1/1 Sri Lankan, 1/1 Pakistani, 1/1 Chinese, 1/3 British and 1 N/N

Agree: 7/13 Nigerian and 1 person N/N Strongly agree: 2/13 Nigerian Not applicable: 1/3 British
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Initial Results: Example 3

Disagree: 1/3 British, 1/2 Polish and 1/13 Nigerian Not sure: 2/13 Nigerian, 2/12 Indian, 1/3 British, 1/1 Pakistani and 1 person N/N Agree: 5/13 Nigerian, 4/12 Indian, 1/1 Sri Lankan, 1/1 Libyan, 1/1 UAE, 1/3 British, 1/2 Polish Strongly agree: 5/13 Nigerian, 5/12 Indian, 1/1 Chinese and 1 person N/N 15 Not applicable: 1/12 Indian

Initial Results: Example 4

Strongly disagree: 1/3 British and 1/1 UAE nations Disagree: 1/1 Pakistani, 1/12 Indian, 1/13 Nigerian Not sure: 1/3 British, 1/1 Libyan, 1 person N/N Agree: 5/12 Indian, 3/13 Nigerian, 2/2 Polish, 1/1 Sri Lankan, 1 person N/N Strongly agree: 9/13 Nigerian, 6/12 Indian and 1/1 Chinese Not applicable: 1/3 British
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Initial Results: Example 5

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Further Work
Collect data from all surveys across Europe Compare answers from different countries and HE institutions Gather data from focus groups Create an in-depth view of each country Bring the results from different questions together Answer issues regarding plagiarism awareness, occurence and detection

Thank you!