Awareness and Use of Anti Plagiarism Methods by Faculty Members and Research Scholars of Select Central Universities of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are known for research and innovation in their respective domain. The quality of research work generated by its researchers and faculty members brings fame and laurels to the parent institutions as well as to the nation which will subsequently serve humanity. In the contemporary academic environment, the unethical practice followed in research has been discussed enormously, posing a serious concern globally. Plagiarism is one such practice that has been reported and discussed in the recent past. As per the academic and scholarly literature on plagiarism, the primary reason for plagiarism proliferation is the unawareness, misconception, and attitude of the research scholars and faculty members toward it. The present study is an attempt to measure awareness of plagiarism in academics, methods, tools and techniques adopted to counter plagiarism among faculty members and research scholars of three central universities in Uttar Pradesh viz. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow (BBAU). The study followed the survey method using a structured questionnaire for data collection using a random sampling method. The study aims to identify and analyze the different aspect under awareness including the requirement of anti-plagiarism software before submitting a research paper or thesis for submission, the source of plagiarism awareness, the difference between similarity and plagiarism. The study reveals and reports the methods, tools and techniques used to avoid plagiarism like paraphrasing, similarity detection tools, reference managers, using quotations wherever required, attending awareness programs, etc. The study finds that despite awareness of plagiarism there is a need to conduct more awareness and training programs.