Plagiarism: More than Meets the Eye

Abstract

Plagiarism is the euphemism for ‘academic theft’, ‘academic dishonesty’ and ‘academic misconduct in academia’; and is the taboo word among academics in academia. This paper discusses the issue of plagiarism in terms of what constitutes plagiarism, who are normally ‘the practitioners’ of plagiarism, be it un-intentionally or otherwise, factors contributing to the practise of plagiarism, effects and implications of plagiarism on the ‘practitioners’, and offers suggestions on how to reduce (if not eliminate) any involvement in plagiarism. Knowledge and awareness about plagiarism would help academics and aspiring scholars to steer away from this act, as plagiarism would have dire and long term repercussions on their career, reputation and those who come to be associated with them.