Iranian Postgraduate Students Perception of Plagiarism’

Abstract. The present study was an attempt to explore Iranian postgraduate perception of plagiarism and the difference between males and females in this regard. The required data for the study were collected in two universities which had postgraduate programs. A total number of 102 postgraduate students (47 males and 55 females) took part in the study. The data were collected through a 13-item self-report questionnaire developed by Mavrinac, Brumini, Billic, and Petrovecki (2010) aiming to explore the perception of students regarding plagiarism as well as the reasons why students plagiarize. Results indicated that most of the participants work up to the last minute to finish a report. A large number of students also reported that they do not understand what they have to do for their report. Some of the respondents also believed that they do not need to learn the material and that they just need to pass the course. Students also reported a list of reasons including time constraints, lack of ideas, desire to achieve a better grade, lack of understanding the assignment, lack of respect for the course or the instructor, and lack of interest in the topic. The study also aimed to seek the difference between males and females in terms of plagiarism. Results indicated that plagiarism is more common among males than female students.