Factors affecting cases of Unintentional plagiarism among students at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Plagiarism is among one of the most serious academic violations, especially unintentional plagiarism which has yet been thoroughly acknowledged by students of University Economics Ho Chi Minh city. This research studies whether and how group factors including Conceptual understanding, accessibility to WEB/ICT, Regulation, Students’ Attitudes and Authorial Identity, academic skills can have impact on unintentional plagiarism of students. We used a quantitative method by conducting surveys at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh city, targeting students from first to final years with a total of 224 responses; together with a qualitative method through combining data from lecturers, books, internet and the former research papers. Our results show that conceptual understanding, accessibility to web/ICT and regulation has an impact on the plagiarism of university students. Results also reveal that most students do not know exactly what plagiarism means and those who see plagiarism as a serious problem will less tend to unintentionally plagiarize. Considering these factors, we suggest some pedagogical methods that UEH can implement to help students be well aware of the far-reaching implications of unintentional plagiarism, hence assisting them in adjusting their behavior, ensure their academic integrity in any academic setting