Attitude toward plagiarism among Chemistry and Biology students in Algeria

Abstract

Improvements are needed in promoting scientific integrity and ethical practices in academic work, particularly in recognising the contributions of other authors. And wherever academics use other authors' work, they are faced with the possibility of engaging in plagiarism. Therefore, it is essential to know the different attitudes of students towards it. Therefore, in the current study, a quantitative descriptive method was adopted to identify attitudes towards plagiarism of chemical and biological students. We randomly sampled 252 students studying at the Chemical and Biological Departments of Boumerdes University in Algeria in the first semester of the academic year of 2022-2023. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, and average), t-test and ANOVA were carried out using SPSS software. To compare the data, the significance level was accepted at a .05 level of significance. In addition, ATP (Attitudes Toward Plagiarism) questionnaire, after being translated and adapted to the Algerian context. The findings of this study revealed that students generally displayed a favourable attitude towards plagiarism. Gender was found to have no significant impact on attitudes and subjective norms concerning plagiarism. However, educational level was observed to play a role, as higher levels of education correlated with decreased positive attitudes and increased negative attitudes. Moreover, subjective norms have been identified as a powerful predictor of attitudes. It was, therefore, recommended that the importance of universities in addressing the issue of plagiarism among students.