Views of Education Faculty Members on Student Plagiarism

As an ethical violation, plagiarism is known to be common especially among students. Most of the current research in the literature on student plagiarism is based on student perceptions. However, this study is a phenomenological study that analyzes the views of 18 faculty members, who work in three different faculties of education in Turkey, on student plagiarism. The participants were selected to be included in the study by using the maximum variation sampling, which is a purposeful sampling method. The data were gathered by using a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher and analyzed using descriptive analysis, content analysis, and constant comparison technique. The answers to three primary questions were sought. The first question aimed at revealing faculty members' views on student plagiarism and reasons for the plagiarism. The second question focused on the practices and experiences of faculty members with plagiarism-detection programs, which have significantly increased in recent years. Finally, the third question aimed to identify the current barriers to the prevention of plagiarism, and the recommendations for the prevention of plagiarism. The study is aimed at enriching the plagiarism literature with its data collected to answer the abovementioned questions. The study concludes with some suggestions for practice by drawing attention to some key points in fighting plagiarism.