Australian and Indonesian University Students’ Attitudes toward Plagiarism

 

Bambang Yudi Cahyono

 

 

Plagiarism has become an increasingly complex issue. The problematic definition of plagiarism, the difference between the Western perspective on plagiarism and that of other cultures, the obscurity of the ownership of ideas on the Internet, and the debate over the educational and disciplinary approaches to avoid plagiarism have heightened the complexity of plagiarism. The fact that plagiarism is treated differently in universities across Australia and Indonesia has made the issue even more complex. Situated within these complexities, this study explores and compares Australian and Indonesian university students’ attitudes toward plagiarism, their understanding of plagiarism, and their understanding of university policy on plagiarism.

 

This study involved 120 Australian students from a university in Australia and 120 Indonesian students from a university in Indonesia. The students completed a set of questionnaires designed to measure the research variables. Out of the total number of surveyed students, 32 Australian and 34 Indonesian students also attended focus group interviews where they discussed hypothetical scenarios and answered questions exploring their understanding of the notion of plagiarism and its related aspects.

 

The results of the comparative analysis showed that, in general, the Australian students were less tolerant of plagiarism, had a better understanding of plagiarism, and had more awareness of university policy on plagiarism than the Indonesian students. The Australian students felt more strongly that plagiarism was wrong and were less likely to plagiarise than the Indonesian students. Whilst the Australian students understood their university’s policies regarding plagiarism, the Indonesian students were unsure about whether or not their university had rules and information concerning plagiarism. The Australian students were familiar with the notion of plagiarism prior to their university study. In contrast, very few Indonesian students had heard of plagiarism or had had it explained to them when they were in secondary school.

 

 

It was apparent that the difference between the Australian and Indonesian students’ attitudes toward plagiarism, their understanding of plagiarism, and their understanding of university policy on plagiarism was attributed to the difference in the cultural and academic contexts of the students. Australia is a country where the academic tradition embodies the Western values which cherish originality in the creative work. In contrast, the notion of authorship in the writing work has not been widely understood by the Indonesian community. Moreover, in Australian universities, plagiarism is seen as a part of a code of ethics and treated explicitly, whereas, plagiarism has not been treated explicitly in most Indonesian universities.

 

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Cahyono, B. Y. (2005). Australian and Indonesian university students’ attitudes toward plagiarism: Abstract. Unpublished PhD Dissertation. The University of Melbourne, Australia.

 

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