INTERNET USE AND PLAGIARISM: A STUDY OF NNAMDI AZIKIWE
UNIVERSITY LECTURERS
Abstract
The usefulness and importance of the internet cannot be
overemphasized. But it has some negative sides as it is seen to
have been the cause of the high level of academic unprofessionalism
in most Nigerian Universities. This research work studied Nnamdi
Azikiwe lecturers on internet use and plagiarism. The study had a
non-probabilistic choice population of 98 lectures and a sample
size of 50 lecturers. The study found out that all the lecturers
are computer literate, they use the Internet as a research source
and that the Internet use in research has increased the level of
plagiarism.
INTRODUCTION
In an age when improvement in technology brought one of the best
developments in the world, which is the Internet, research has
become a lot easier for researchers (students, teachers, doctors,
engineers etc.). Researchers who have access to the internet are
exposed to a plethora of information on the web which enable them
make proper findings for their research works. Even as they make
the findings and write, they upload such works (their findings)
online, thereby adding to the uncountable number of written works
on the internet.
Harris (2004, p.4) notes that Plagiarism is using another
persons words or ideas without giving credit to the other person.
When you use someone elses words, you must put a quotation around
them and give the author or writer credit by revealing a citation.
As writers make research, it is expected they will not plagiarize
by not; turning in other peoples works as their own, copying words
or ideas without giving credit, failing to put a quotation in
quotation marks, giving incorrect information about the source of a
quotation, copying the sentence structure of a source without
giving credit, copying so many words or ideas from a source that it
makes up the majority of their work whether giving credit or not,
etc. (www.du.ac.in/.../06122014turnitin-).
The big question is, have researchers done some, if not all the
do-nots listed above? Onuoha and Nkechi (2013), and Yusuf (2006)
provide the answer as they agree that some researchers do so. And
this work is set to finding out if internet use in researching has
increased the level of plagiarism among academics in Nnamdi Azikiwe
University.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Internet has been widely embraced and welcomed all over the
world among the developed and developing countries. As it is used
in our homes, Schools and society at large, it has made some
information a few clicks away. In the contemporary world,
information is an important ingredient to success. And the saying
that information is power is true and effective in every sector
where humans thrive and pursue their different goals towards making
a living. Ogunrewo and Odusina (2010, p. 380) say availability of
the right information at the right time can make all the difference
between failure and success in all levels of human endeavours. In
fact, the Internet plays a major role in the lives of people. Every
aspect of our day to day life is affected by the Internet. Whether
it is shopping, business, banking, communication, paying bills,
social gathering, partying, learning, education etc. Internet is
everywhere, knocking at our door, making our life easier and
smooth. Moreover, when it comes to education and research, Internet
is paving way for a great leap and sure library and information
centers (Aqiul and Ahmed 2011). With the Internet, information
concerning every aspect of our lives is on our finger tips.
In an attempt to appraise Internet usage among academic staff of
Joseph Ayo Babolola University, Ogunrewo and Odusina (2010) opine
that, the slogan publish or perish has become popular and a reality
among the academics. That the idea of publish or perish has
encouraged the academics to go on research and get scientific,
useful information through the internet or visit the library that
is capable of providing access to various data bases and online
journals or materials that help researchers write and publish. In
the findings of their work, they reveal that more academic members
indicated that they had access to the net and had at least three
years of exposure to the net. And the mostly used means through
which they surf the net is through their own personal computers.
This suggests a high use of the Internet by the University
academics through their personal computers to access materials they
use in writing and publishing their works (Anyira, 2011and Oghuvwu,
2010).
As these researchers (lecturers) write and publish, they upload
their works online thereby making their works available and
accessible for other researchers. Thus, Manir (2008) says that the
use of the Internet for the exchange of research materials gives
rise to the concept of electronic resource sharing. This has
reduced the shortage of information resources in Nigeria and
consequently increased the output of research publications. He
writes that the internet has provided Nigerian scholars,
researchers, individuals, and institutions with an opportunity to
present their ideas, research findings and also as an alternative
for publishing materials. Nget'ch (2003, p.11) asserts that
electronic publishing on the Internet has provided a greater
opportunity for scholars and researchers to publish and present
their ideas and research findings.
But the surplus availability of journals and books that are
accessible through the internet and the researchers laziness has
increased the level of plagiarism in Nigerian Universities. Onuoha
and Nkechi (2013, p.102) in their work titled dealing the plague of
plagiarism in Nigeria say the term plagiarism has received much
attention in recent times as incidents of plagiarism seem to be on
the increase. With the advent of the Internet, information is more
easily accessible without geographical constraints; hence
researchers can now lay their hands on documents in any part of the
world. Unegbu, Ikonne, Onuoha and Madukoma simply explain
plagiarism as an academic dishonesty which has gained recent
attention due to what some authors refer to as cut and paste nature
of the Internet. In their effort to examine plagiarism in higher
institutions, they write citing Saint, Harnett and Strassner (2003)
who affirm that incidents of plagiarism concerning academics adorn
pages of Nigerian newspapers, and also Enogholase (2008), who
reports about the suspension of a dean of the faculty of Social
Sciences of the University of Benin over allegation of plagiarism.
Students are even guiltier of this crime as the copy write works
the get online when writing their assignments and term-papers
(Olutola 2014).
Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty and a theft or fraud
because it involves copying another persons work without
recognizing him or her. In so many countries the expression of
original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected
by copy right laws (turnitin.com and research resources). In
Nigeria, infringement of the copy right law is a punishable
offence. Ali (www.yusufali.net//the Nigeria), in his overview of
the copy right act, states that An infringement of the rights
conferred by section 9 of this Act is actionable as a breach of
statutory duty owned to the person entitled to the right. In
proceedings for infringement of the rights conferred by the said
section 9 of this Act, the person whose rights have been infringed
shall be entitled to an award of damages, injunction and any other
remedies as the court may deem fit to award in the circumstance.
There are different reports of Lecturers who were severely punished
by being dismissed from the Universities where the lecture due to
their involvement in plagiarism. Olatunji on May 22, 2013 writes on
Punch Nigeria on publication, that Federal university of
Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state, sacked an associate Professor
and an assistant lecturer over alleged plagiarism.
(www.punchng.com/.../funaab-fires-prof-). Bioreports (an online
daily publication), on May 8, 2013 also reported that the Vice
chancellor of University of Calabar justified the decision of the
institution to sack five(5) lecturers who were found guilty of
plagiarism (www.bioreports.net/.../university-of-calabar-). From
Daily Independent came the report that the Vice Chancellor of
University of Uyo said the institution has turned to softwares to
detect cases of plagiarism in dissertations and theses of
post-graduate students and that those found guilty will be severely
punished by the institution
(www.pulse.ng/.../it-must-end-plagiarism-). And so has the warning
bell rung in virtually all the Universities in Nigeria about the
penalties of plagiarism. This work will try to find out if the use
of internet has reduced or increased plagiarism among University
lecturers.
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
This work will be anchored on two theories which are; the uses
and gratification theory and the absolutist ethical theory.
The uses and gratification theory: Many research works on uses
of the internet has been anchored in this theory. The theory is
also called the function theory and concentrates on the audience of
media usage (Littlejohn, 1992 in Obijiofor, 2009, p. 4). The uses
and gratification theory supports the assumption that audience
members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy their needs.
So, the emergence of the Internet and the range of choices
available to those that use it, make the uses and gratification
approach very relevant for this work, which tries to find out if
the Internet has encouraged plagiarism because of the variety of
choices (books) gotten from it.
Absolutist theory: This is an ethical theory which presupposes
that ones actions should be right at all times. The theory
propounds that good morals are good and should be accepted by
different people across the world. Okunna (2003, p. 27) in
explaining the absolutist theory, opines that a moral universal is
an ethical value or principle that is accepted and adhered by
people all over the world With this, any ethical and un-ethical act
should be praised or condemned everywhere. This is why plagiarism
is seriously frowned at as an act which is un-ethical and attracts
punishment in virtually every country in the world.
STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
Recent studies have shown a growing tendency among researchers
to plagiarize, especially from online information sources. This
unpleasant phenomenon has a far- reaching impact on the scientific
world and academic society. It has continued regardless of much
campaign against it. The need therefore arises to study lecturers
view towards acts of plagiarism from Internet sources, and to find
out if the Internet has helped in reducing or increasing the rate
of plagiarism.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of this study were to discover the
following:
The level of use of the internet for research purposes by Nnamdi
Azikiwe University lecturers.
The lecturers view on the influence of the Internet on
Plagiarism.
The Level of plagiarism among Nnamdi Azikiwe University
lecturers.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the level of use of the internet for Nnamdi Azikiwe
University lecturers?
2. What are the lecturers views on the influence of the Internet
on plagiarism?
3. What is the level of plagiarism among lecturers of Nnamdi
Azikiwe University?
RESEARCH METHOD
This study used the survey method. The survey method allows the
collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in
a highly economical way and often produces results which can be
generalized. It is a form of planned collection of data from humans
for the purpose of description, prediction or for the purpose of
analyzing relationships between related variables.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The universe for this study is the lecturers in the fourteen
faculties in Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The researcher made a
non-probabilistic choice to arrive at the population of the study
which is the lecturers in the faculty of social science. And
according to faculty officer, they are 98 in number.
SAMPLE SIZE
The sample size used for this study is 50. The researcher chose
this number due to proximity, time factor, and the nature of the
study.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The researcher adopted a non-probability sampling method known
as convenience sampling. Convenience sampling method is the most
common of all the sampling methods. It is mostly used for research
works where the respondents or the subjects are accessible to the
researcher. It is cheap to conduct and least time consuming.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
Questionnaire was employed for this survey as the research
instrument. The questionnaire was used for this study because it
was presumed proper and convenient for the respondents and the
researcher.
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
The researcher used SPSS for data analysis in this study. SPSS
is the acronym for statistical package for the social science, it
is a software package used for statistical analysis. The researcher
cued-in all his respondents data and the software did the
mathematical analysis.
DATA PRESENTATION
Table 1: Respondents' Sex
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Male
36
72.0
72.0
72.0
Female
14
28.0
28.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
The table shows that among the 50 respondents of this study,
36(72%) are male while 14 (28%) are female.
Table 2: Respondents' years in Service
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
2-10
8
16.0
16.0
16.0
10-20
36
72.0
72.0
88.0
20 and above
6
12.0
12.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Table 2 shows that 8 (16%) of the respondents have 2-10 years of
experience, 36 (72%) have 10-20 years of experience as lecturers
while 6 (12%) have 20 and above years of experience.
Table 3: Respondents level of computer literacy
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
Table 3 shows that all the respondents are computer literate. 50
(100%) of them are computer literate.
Table 4: Respondents that have their personal computers
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
This table shows that all the respondents have their personal
computers. 50 (100%) of them have their personal computers.
Table 5: Respondents that have office Internet facility
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
No
20
40.0
40.0
40.0
Yes
30
60.0
60.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Table 5 shows that among the 50 respondents, 20 (40%) do not
have Internet facility in their offices, while 30 (60%) have
internet facility in their offices.
Table 6: Respondents that have mobile Internet (MODEM)
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
This table shows that all the respondents have mobile Internet.
50 (100%) have mobile Internet
Table 7: Respondents' rate of surfing the net for research
purposes
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Always
30
60.0
60.0
60.0
Few times
18
36.0
36.0
96.0
Seldom
2
4.0
4.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Table 7 shows that 30 (60%) of the respondents always surf the
Internet, 18 (36%) surf the net few times while 2 (4%) seldom surf
the net.
Table 8: Respondents' thoughts on relevance of the Internet
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
Table 8 shows that all the respondents are of the view that the
Internet is more relevant in research than the library. 50 (100%)
agree that the Internet is more relevant.
Table 9: Respondents' view on the Internets free access to
books/articles
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
This table shows that all the respondents are of the view that
the Internet provides a free access to books and articles than
libraries. 50 (100%) of them believe so.
Table 10: Respondents' view on if the internet has encouraged
plagiarism
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
50
100.0
100.0
100.0
Table 8 shows that 50 (100%) the respondents believe that the
Internet has encouraged plagiarism.
Table 11: Respondents that have been plagiarized
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes
20
40.0
40.0
40.0
Don't know
30
60.0
60.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
This table shows that 20 (40%) of the respondents have been
plagiarized while 30 (60%) do not know if they have been
plagiarized.
Table 12: Respondents that know about cases of plagiarism among
their colleagues
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
No
20
40.0
40.0
40.0
Don't know
30
60.0
60.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Table 12 shows that among the respondents, 20 (40%) said that
there colleagues dont plagiarize while 30 (60%) dont know if their
colleagues plagiarize.
Table 13: Respondents' view on the level of plagiarism among
their colleagues
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Low
31
62.0
62.0
62.0
Very-Low
19
38.0
38.0
100.0
Total
50
100.0
100.0
Table 13 shows that 31(62%) of the respondents are of the view
that the level of plagiarism among UNIZIK lecturers is low, while
19 (38%) that the level of plagiarism is very among UNIZIK
lecturers.
DATA ANALYSIS
Demographic representation; tables 1 and 2 provide answers from
the respondents to the questions on their Sex and years of
experience. From these two tables, it can be deduced that among the
50 respondents, 36 (72%) are men while 14 (28%) are females. And
that 8 (16%) of the respondents have lectured for 2-10 years, 36
(72%) have lectured for 10-20 years and 6 (12%) have lectured for
20 years and above.
Research question 1; what is the level of use of the internet
for Nnamdi Azikiwe University lecturers? Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
provide the answer, that 50 (100%) of the respondents are computer
literate, 50 (100%) of them have their personal computers, 20
respondents (40%) do not have internet facilities in their offices
while 30 (60%) have internet facilities in their offices. And that
50 (100%) have mobile internet facility while 30 (60%) of the
respondents always surf the net, 18 (36%) surf the net few times,
and 2 (4%) seldom surf the net. The answers from this research
question depict that there is a high level of use of the internet
by Nnamdi Azikiwe lecturers, which they do through their personal
computers. And that some lecturers do not have the University
provided internet facility in their offices.
Research question 2; how does the target population see the
influence of the Internet on plagiarism? Tables 8, 9, and 10
present the answers suggesting that 50 (100%) of the respondents
agree that the internet is more relevant to researchers than
libraries, all of them (100%) agree that the internet provides
researchers with better accessible means of getting research
materials than libraries and 50 (100%) of them are of the view that
the internet has encouraged plagiarism in Nigerian Universities.
These answers mean that the internet has and would continue to be a
good research source that provides a better and easier means of
accessing books/ materials for research than the libraries but has
indirectly increased the level of plagiarism.
Research question 3; what is the level of plagiarism among
lecturers of Nnamdi Azikiwe University? Tables 10, 11, and 13 show
that 20 (40%) of the respondents have been plagiarized while 30
(60%) of the respondents dont know if they have been plagiarized.
20 (40%) of them are of the view that none of their colleagues have
plagiarized while 30 (60%) do not know. And that 31 (62%) of the
respondents are of the view that the level of plagiarism amongst
their colleagues in UNIZIK is low while 19 (38%) believe that the
level of plagiarism amongst them is very-low. The answers from
research question 3 mean that some of the lecturers in UNIZIK have
been plagiarized while they do not plagiarize.
FINDINGS
The findings of this research work have shown that there is a
high level of the use of the Internet by lecturers (in UNIZIK)
through their personal computers, which has reinforced the previous
research findings by Anyira (2011), Oghuvwu (2010), Onuoha and
Nkechi (2013), and Yusuf (2006) as earlier mentioned in this study.
Also, that the Internet has encouraged plagiarism in higher
institutions just like Onuoha and Nkechi (2013), and Olutola (2014)
posited in their different research works.
The work also revealed that some lecturers in UNIZIK do not have
internet facility in their offices and that they (lecturers) do not
plagiarize.
CONCLUSSION
Knowledge, they say is power and knowledge is acquired by
authentic learning. Plagiarism is inhibitive of true knowledge and
has been exacerbated with the advent of the Internet. Researchers
should learn to be original and admit the critical need to
eradicate plagiarism. All stakeholders within the academic
community such as the governing bodies, lecturers and students must
identify their roles and works towards maintaining an academic
environment free from the plague of plagiarism.
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