| The problem researched in this study is plagiarism as perceived in higher education in a multicultural society. This purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of 69 higher education faculty in 8 countries as to their definition of plagiarism, attitudes toward plagiarism, and the effect of the Internet on plagiarism. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain participant characteristics and to analyze faculty definitions of plagiarism. Inferential statistics in the form of correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze attitudes towards plagiarism and the effect of the Internet on plagiarism. Responses to open ended questions were analyzed for emerging themes and codes were assigned to meaningful segments of text. Inductive coding based on the vocabulary of the participants was the goal. An attempt was made to quantify the data using enumeration. Of the respondents, 62% believe plagiarism is defined differently in different cultures. They used language such as ''more flexible'' and ''group learning'' in place of the term plagiarism. Of the respondents 88% believe easy access to information on the web has led to increased student plagiarism. The research showed a positive correlation between being under 40 years of age, r = .267, and a more lenient attitude toward plagiarism. A negative correlation exists between being in the sciences, r = -.241, and a more lenient attitude towards plagiarism. This study provides faculty a global perspective on plagiarism as education and particularly online education becomes global, multicultural and more open to those of previously excluded racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds. This study contributes to positive social change by initiating a global discussion by higher education faculty of attitudes towards plagiarism. |
