Student Plagiarism Has Been Determined to Be on the Increase - Research Proposal Example

Research Project: Plagiarism By [Presented to] of CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1: Introduction The 21st century is witness to phenomenal changes sweeping the world with magnanimous developments. One of the most benefitted sectors has been education. During the post-globalisation era, it ushered in a completely new phase for education, research and development. Globalisation opened newer avenues which facilitated interchange of knowledge amongst regions and nations of the world. This expanded reach and spread of knowledge which helps in forming a strong foundation of better understanding and has a profound impact on the learning population of the country. Along with the rise in academic status there have also been increases of a number of malpractices. One such malpractice is the prevalence of plagiarism amongst the students which is making the education system hollow from inside. 1.2: Research Aim The major aim of this paper is to study the extent of plagiarism which prevails amongst the students. Plagiarism is a recent problem posing considerable threat to genuine study of research paper and thereby affects the related study. It is also destroying the quality of education. 1.3: Research Objectives Based on the research, a couple of objectives have been decided. The objectives are: Examine the current status of plagiarism among the students. Introspect into the adverse impacts of plagiarism. Study the reasons for the increasing cases of plagiarism among the students. 1.4: Research Questions In line with the aims and objectives and number of research questions have been formed to complement the research. The research questions are as follows: What is current situation of the plagiarism among the students of this country? Why are the students so much resorting to plagiarism? How is plagiarism affecting education and the allied elements? 1.5: Background of the Research According to Carroll and Appleton (2001) with the revolution and the vast spread of internet one of the major problems which are crippling the education system is plagiarism. According to the observations of Sharma (2007) the problems of plagiarism has been causing trouble for the world of academics for a long time. It has only intensified with the rapid use of internet. According to the study conducted by Mac Donald and Carroll (2006) the college students were the ones found to plagiarise more than other students. Academic works are not only important for scoring marks but they are also treated as major reference materials and reports for documenting breakthroughs in numerous fields. The research works are expected to lead to new discovery which would bring about development when the outcomes are applied into practices. Levin (2006) points to the gravity of the situation when such research papers are plagiarized. It would mislead the entire developmental process and generate false theories. The growing use of plagiarized information in the research papers is posing a threat to the originality of the study which is a crucial sources material for a number of related researcher and also a mean to review policy, plan future developmental projects and serve mankind for its development. The increasing number of plagiarized project forms the background of this paper. 1.6: Scope of the Research Based on the subject that this paper deals with, it could be said that the paper has a promising scope. Majority of the paper would be based on the study and analysis of secondary data. However, the researcher would try to maintain a balance in the research by incorporating considerable primary data. It is expected that the outcome of this paper would have higher implications and use to the society. Hence, it could be said that the paper has potential scope. 1.7: Proposed Methodology As stated earlier that this paper is majorly driven by secondary research, data and information along with adequate support of primary research, data and information. For this paper, anti-positivism research philosophies along with inductive research approach are best suited to support the needs and requirements of the paper. Along with this, the research needs to be complimented with a quasi-qualitative research design. These proposed research methodologies are best suited to achieve the stated aims and objectives of the paper. 1.8: Outline of the Dissertation In order to have a systematic approach to the research, the entire paper has been divided into five major chapters which are again sub-divided into sub-topics each dealing with specific issues. A brief outline of the dissertation is: Chapter 1: Introduction In this chapter the subject of the research paper is stated along with aim, objectives, and research questions, background, scope, proposed methodology and a brief outline of the paper. Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter a detailed and critical study of the available and relevant literatures is conducted which would form a strong theoretical base of the paper. Chapter 3: Research Methodology In this chapter, the methodologies which would be adopted for the paper, their components are stated along with logically reasoning their selection. Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis In this chapter, the findings of the paper are presented and analysed in order to form a better understanding of the subject and complement the paper with ground realities. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations In this chapter, conclusion for the entire paper is drawn based on the findings and observations along with few recommendations. 1.9: Summary In this chapter, the subject that this paper deals with is introduced along with stating the aims and objectives, the research questions, background of the paper, its scope, proposed methodologies and a brief outline of the entire paper. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1: Introduction In this chapter, a wide number of available and relevant literatures are studied from a critical perspective. This chapter forms the strong theoretical base of the paper based on which the entire research work would proceed and develop. With the help of the available and relevant literatures the concept of plagiarism would be studied. The current status of student plagiarism would be studied and even the potential reasons which are responsible for the current status of student plagiarism would also be studied in detail in order to form a profound understanding of the subject and issue in hand. 2.2: Concept of Plagiarism According to the study and observations of Sharma (2007) plagiarism has been there in the system for a long time. The intensity of plagiarism is what has increased over the years. Plagiarism is ideally defined by Sharma (2007) as the practice of using others ideas and texts and claiming them to belong to the author without even acknowledging the source. Plagiarism is a form of academic theft where the ideas, texts and one’s original work get stolen by some other author who claims the authority of the same. Bhattarai (2007) stated that though it has been a common practice yet it is the increase in the intensity of the same which has raised the concern of the academic fraternity. Collins and Rickman (2005) pointed out that with technological development; large volume of information is available over the internet which is also called the “information superhighway” for the very reason. This makes it easier for student to refer to work by other authors and directly use the same claiming it to be theirs. This is a complete violation of one’s right to their work which gets intruded. Plagiarism continues to bother the academicians. 2.3: Current Status of Student Plagiarism The study and observations of Lepi (2013) points towards the fact that living in a more digitized world it is only evident that sharing data and information with one or a group and even claiming them to be belong to one does not need much of effort. The author further illustrates that ample information is available over the internet. The volume of information is such that it becomes difficult to make out whether one is looking for information through the normal course of one’s research or one is directly copying the information without acknowledging their source. To this Snowden (2005) adds that the ample availability of information created overcrowding of information which makes it difficult to find out the copied work. It was only due to the availability of plagiarism checking software that one could become sure whether their work is plagiarized or not. Ha (2004) stated that this availability of excess information over the internet also makes a researcher reluctant to use one’s own work. Using another person’s work is seemingly easier and needs to employ less hard work. Collins and Rickman (2005) stated in their study that in the recent years the rate of plagiarism is steeply increasing. It is not only the rate of plagiarism which is increasing but also its intensity. The intensity of plagiarism is such that it has nearly become a menace in the academic circle to prevent such crime. According to Lepi (2013) between 2010 and 2011 around 32 million copies were submitted at turnitin.com and among these submitted copies 128 million copies were found to have similar content from the web. This means that there are over 3.7 content matches from these available papers on different number of websites. Tennant and Rowell (2010) pointed to the high volume of copied works and alongside states that this is a trend now where individuals hardly conduct their original work and highly become dependent on these sources from the internet which are already copied from some unknown sources. 2.4: Potential Reasons for the Current Status of Student Plagiarism According to the study and observations of Sharma (2007) the increase in the incidences of plagiarism is to be blamed onto a number of reasons. Firstly according to the observations of Snowden (2005) it is the cultural background of the students. It was particularly after globalisation that students from one country travelled to some other countries for better education facilities. This led to the mixing of cultures and more than that it led to the increasing instances of plagiarism. It was observed by Yakovchuk (2007) that the students of the West (that is, United Kingdom and United States of America) blame their Asian counterparts of plagiarizing their work. The cultural difference is blamed to be the reason for such a, outrageous behavior. Ha (2004) however, dispels the claims that plagiarism is caused due to the cultural differences among people. The author further said that the cultural difference is a limited factor while some other factors played a more dominating role in it. According to Bhattarai (2007) one of the most dominating factors which lead to increased incidences of plagiarism is the laziness of the students to conduct their own study. It is one of the most common factors. The ready availability of the information over the different websites has made it too easy for the students to put the efforts of conducting their own research. The students have become extremely dependent on these available sources of information and de motivated to work on their own. According to Yakovchuk (2007) one of the other reasons which have facilitated the increasing incidences of plagiarism is the lack of adequate and stringent laws of copyright. Less stringent law makes it easier and less threatening for the students to copy other’s work and add to their texts. This also makes them pay less heed to law and does not discourage them from committing such outrageous crimes. When summed up, ample availability of information, laziness of the students and lack of stringent copyright laws facilitates plagiarism. 2.5: Summary In this second chapter, a wide number of literatures have been studied from a critical perspective in order to form a clear understanding of the subject and state the same. Through the study, the concept of plagiarism was stated; the current status of plagiarism was elucidated along with stating the potential reasons for the very status of student plagiarism. The chapter following this one would state the methodologies which would be followed to complete this paper successful and obtain the relevant data. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1: Introduction In this chapter, the methods of the research and its components adopted for the paper are stated along with the reasons for adopting the same. A correct set of methodology is very important for a research paper to complete successfully; hence this chapter is one of the most important chapters. 3.2: Research Philosophy According to Carr (2006) research philosophy is the particular mindset of the researcher according to which the researcher conducts the research work. The authors further stated that research philosophies were divided into two types – one is positivism and the other is anti-positivism. Positivism research philosophy states that reality is static and does not change with the situation. While on the other hand, anti-positivism research philosophy stated that the realities are driven by and affected by the perception and beliefs of people who have been affected by the changes in the business or social environment. For this paper the anti-positivism research philosophy was chosen to best suit the needs and requirements of the paper. 3.3: Research Approach According to Saunders et al., (2007) research approach is a particular way the researcher deals with the research issues and questions. It is again divided into two types – one is inductive and the other is deductive. Inductive research approach is based on the personal interpretation of the social realities based on the assessment of others’ views and opinions in a critical manner. Deductive research involves the use of statistical tools. For this paper inductive approach is used. 3.4: Research Design According to Bryman and Bell (2011) research design is basically of two major types, qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative research design is based on the theoretical presentation of data and information while the quantitative research design is based on the statistical analysis of the data and information. Both of these research designs have been used in this paper. Qualitative research is carried through study of different secondary sources and for the primary research interviews and survey are used. 3.5: Data Collection Methods Carr (2006) stated that data is a very important element for a research paper because they present the ground realities of the project. Data comprises of primary data and even secondary data. Primary data for the paper have been collected through primary research, that is through interviews and surveys while for secondary data extensive study of secondary sources have been carried out. This would help the research in collecting larger number of relevant facts and figures. 3.6: Sampling According to Saunders et al., (2007) sampling is the technique of collecting identifying key research participants by selecting few people from the available set of population to form the sample size. Different methods of sampling are used such as snowball sampling, convenience sampling and random sampling. For this research snowball sampling method is best suited because it ensured relevant people were approached and no time was wasted in convincing people to respond to the survey. 3.8: Ethical Considerations Ethics is of high regard for a research paper because it does not only serve the purpose of the research is attaining his or her objective of completing the paper but also serve as resource material for a number of other researches and reference point for taking crucial decisions. The researcher, under no circumstances should manipulate with the information or data to serve one’s personal interest but should present the obtained information and data in its entirety. This research paper has been conducted high ethical values. True and honest information and data are presented in the paper. 3.10: Summary This chapter mentioned the methodologies and its components which have been adopted for carrying on the research work of the paper. Logical reasons for making the considerations have also been mentioned. The chapter following this one would present the findings of the research work and analyse them at the same time. References: Bennett, R. (2005), Factors Associated with Student Plagiarism in a Post-1992 University, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education Bretag, T and Green, (2009) Determining outcomes for academic misconduct: Is it more important to be consistent or fair? Paper presented in the refereed stream of the ATN Assessment Conference: Engaging students in assessment, University of South Australia, 20-21 November. Responding to plagiarism: The need to engage with students’ ‘real lives’, Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011) Business Research Methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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(2002) Beyond Gotcha!: Situating Plagiarism in Policy and Pedagogy, College Composition and Communication. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., andThornhill, A. (2009) Research Methods for Business Students, Harlow: Pearson education. Sharma, B.K. (2007) Plagiarism Among University Students: Intentional or accidental? Journal of NELTA Snowden, C. (2005) Plagiarism and the Culture of Multilingual Stduents in Higher Education Aborad, ELT Journal Scalon, P.M. and Neumann, D.R. (2002) Internet Plagiarism Among College Students, Journal of College Student Development, Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, Malaysia Tennant, P. and Rowell, G. (2010) Plagiarism Reference Tariff. Presented at 4th International Yakovchuk, N. (2007) Why Students Plagiarize: Developing Plagiarism Prevention Strategies among International Students, Harrogate Conference Selections Read More