Plagiarism occurs across the world. Plagiarism not only prevents the offender from improving it but also harms the credibility of the organisation. Students who are fully aware that their actions constitute plagiarism - for example, copying published information into a paper without source attribution for the purpose of claiming the information as their own, or turning in material written by another student - are guilty of academic misconduct.
There are so many reasons why a student choose to plagiarize or cheat. The most frequently stated reasons students choose to plagiarize or cheat include the following
- Desire to get a good grade
- Fear of failure or fear taking risks in their own work
- Procrastination or poor time management
- Disinterest in the assignment
- Belief they will not get caught
- Lack of research skills
- Confusion about what constitutes plagiarism or current university policies
- Instructors and institutions may fail to report cheating when it does occur, or may not enforce appropriate penalties
- Confusion about how to properly cite sources
