Predictors of cyber-plagiarism: The case of Jose Rizal University
Abstract
Higher education is the last bastion in the fight against cyber-plagiarism. Students are trained to be ethical professionals within the university context by molding their young minds through a combination of pedagogical strategies and academic programs to preserve their morals, values and character. While technology is a catalyst for enhanced learning, it has also been used to illicit forms of academic dishonesty such as cyber-plagiarism. This paper applies the Theory of Planned Behavior and complemented by a dimension borrowed from the Big 5 Personality Theory to investigate the drivers of cyber-plagiarism in a university in the Philippines. A total of 309 responses are gathered to test the applicability of the proposed research model. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model is applied to validate the research model in this study. Although ICT attitude and peer pressure influence behavioral intention to commit cyber-plagiarism at a certain level, this cannot be supported in this investigation. On the other hand, ICT literacy and neuroticism predict behavioral intention to commit cyber-plagiarism, which subsequently predicts the performance of such act. Technological and pedagogical recommendations are discussed. © 2018 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. All rights reserved.
