Table 1 Mean scores and standard deviations of scales
From: Hungarian university students’ perceptions of plagiarism
Scales | Mean | Standard deviation |
|---|---|---|
Scale 1: Factors that exacerbate plagiarism | 2.80 | 0.77 |
1. Short deadlines or a heavy workload give me the right to plagiarise a bit. | 2.47 | 1.22 |
2. A plagiarised paper does no harm to the value of a university degree. | 2.80 | 1.22 |
3. Those who say they have never plagiarised are lying. | 3.78 | 1.24 |
4. Plagiarism can be justified if I currently have more important obligations or tasks to do. | 2.27 | 1.12 |
5. Sometimes, it is necessary to plagiarise. | 3.24 | 1.16 |
6. I am tempted to plagiarise if I have permission from a friend to copy his or her work. | 2.84 | 1.21 |
7. I am tempted to plagiarise if I currently have more important obligations or tasks to do. | 2.85 | 1.20 |
8. I am tempted to plagiarise because, even if caught, the punishment will be light (the reward outweighs the risk). | 2.17 | 1.12 |
Scale 2: Justification for plagiarism | 3.58 | 0.69 |
1. Sometimes you cannot avoid using other people’s words, because there are only so many ways to describe something. | 3.95 | 0.95 |
2. It is justified to use previous descriptions of a concept or theory, because they remain the same. | 3.51 | 1.02 |
3. Self-plagiarism is not punishable because it is not harmful (you cannot steal from yourself). | 4.03 | 1.08 |
4. Undergraduate students, because they are just learning the ropes, should receive milder punishment for plagiarism. | 3.57 | 1.20 |
5. It is justified to use your own previous work, without providing citation, in order to complete the current work. | 3.42 | 1.21 |
6. Since plagiarism is taking other people’s words rather than tangible assets, it should not be considered a serious offence. | 3.00 | 1.18 |
Scale 3: Severity and penalty | 3.27 | 0.63 |
1. Plagiarised parts of a student’s paper should be ignored if the paper is otherwise of high quality. | 3.03 | 1.10 |
2. Self-plagiarism should not be punishable in the same way as plagiarism is. | 4.10 | 1.04 |
3. If you cannot write well because of unfamiliarity with the topic area, it is justified to copy parts of a paper already published in that area in order to accurately represent those ideas. | 2.92 | 1.25 |
4. Given a commonly perceived decline in moral and ethical standards, it is important to discuss issues like plagiarism and self-plagiarism. | 3.76 | 1.02 |
5. Plagiarism is as bad as stealing an exam. | 3.39 | 1.17 |
6. Plagiarism undermines independent thought. | 2.90 | 1.24 |
7. Since plagiarism is taking other people’s words rather than tangible assets, it should not be considered a serious offence. | 3.00 | 1.18 |
8. Plagiarism is not a big deal. | 3.10 | 1.11 |