“The ultimate academic sin”: Students’ awareness and perceptions of plagiarism

Plagiarism is one of the main ethical issues affecting higher education in the digital age. One area of academic writing that students struggle with is their ability to synthesize and integrate information gathered from disparate sources using the appropriate conventions, which can ultimately lead to academic misconduct. Academic dishonesty has become a growing concern for faculty in colleges and universities. Despite many efforts by educational institutions to implement policies that discourage the occurrence of academic misconduct, many students have been found guilty of not adhering to universities’ policies and codes of conduct. This paper examines students’ perceptions of plagiarism at two Jamaican universities, discusses an academic literacy approach to plagiarism and outlines strategies that can be used to minimize and deter such practices. Data were collected from 160 students, comprising 115 females and 45 males. The results showed that most participants could not identify plagiarized text and did not view some types of plagiarism as serious. The limited ability to identify plagiarism and the downplaying of its severity highlight a critical need for improved academic literacy programs that equip students with the skills to recognize and avoid plagiarism and promote a culture of academic integrity.