Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Medical Postgraduate Students and Medical Teachers Regarding Plagiarism

INTRODUCTION: Plagiarism had become a growing concern in medical research due to the easy access to digital information. The students are the least experienced and therefore they are most likely to commit plagiarism unintentionally. For this reason, the study regarding this has been done by various scientist abroad, although in India research in this area is very less. Keeping this in mind, the present project was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical postgraduate students and faculty members in plagiarism. MATERIAL & METHOD: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2018 to April 2019 among 280 participants—140 postgraduate students and 140 faculty members—selected by simple random sampling. A validated questionnaire comprising 24 items on knowledge, attitude, and practices of plagiarism was administered using a five-point Likert scale. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed using the Chi-square test to compare responses between the two groups. RESULT: Over 60% of participants were aware that using another’s work without acknowledgment constituted plagiarism. Faculty members demonstrated higher knowledge levels than students (p < 0.001). Regarding attitude, 60% of students incorrectly considered modifying images as acceptable, whereas 42% of faculty correctly identified it as plagiarism (p < 0.001). For practice, 60% of students admitted plagiarizing occasionally due to short deadlines, while 42% of faculty claimed they never did (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Students often justified plagiarism due to pressure or lack of writing skills, while faculty showed occasional misconceptions. Although both groups had moderate knowledge, gaps persisted between awareness and ethical conduct. These findings aligned with previous research, indicating a need for continued ethical sensitization and institutional oversight. CONCLUSION: Both faculty and students required regular training, workshops, and strict anti-plagiarism policies to strengthen ethical research behavior and uphold academic integrity. Key words: Plagiarism, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Medical Postgraduates, Faculty Members, Research Ethics, Academic Integrity.