A Descriptive Study: Investigation of Plagiarism among Undergraduates in a Sino-US Cooperative University

Abstract

Plagiarism is prevalent all over the world, especially in higher education. This quantitative-descriptive study investigated the reasons and gender differences for plagiarism among undergraduate students at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU). To collect quantitative data, the random sample of 102 undergraduates at WKU answered questions about plagiarism in the online questionnaire. The results revealed that the development of technology and the Internet is the main reason for plagiarism. Surprisingly, the study found that students are confident with their citation skills. The participants reported that using additional materials to help with their online testing is easy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has become another significant reason for plagiarism. In terms of gender differences, the results showed no significant difference in attitudes and behaviors toward plagiarism among WKU undergraduate students by gender. The study advises educational institutions like WKU should use both traditional solutions (e.g., failing the plagiarized assignment, giving suspension to student) and new solutions (e.g., using plagiarism tracking system) to deal with plagiarism.