Awareness and Perception of Plagiarism among Postgraduate LIS Students in South – East University Libraries, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined awareness and perception of plagiarism among the postgraduate students of Library and Information Science in South-East University Libraries, Nigerian. In carrying out this study five research questions were formulated. The study sample population comprised 246 postgraduate registered students of the libraries. (2018/2019) academic session. The instrument used for data collection in this study was questionnaire. Research questions were answered using frequency and percentages. The findings show average level of awareness of plagiarism among postgraduate students, lack of understanding of the concept, uses of the materials without referencing the materials, lack of seriousness on plagiarism, improper citation among other. The study recommends that management should approval and adoption of plagiarism detective software such as Turn tin, Copycat, Eve2, Plagium, See sources, Plagiarism Detect and Plagiarism Checker etc. in Nigerian Universities for effective and efficiency protection of intellectual property among others.