UOT_______

AYGUN MAMMADOVA
Instructor of Human and Professional Development, ADA University
[email protected]
CHEATING, HONESTY AND PROFESSIONAL ME: PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS ON
FACTORS AFFECTING PLAGIARISM IN AZERBAIJANI UNIVERSITIES AND
IMPLICATIONS OF THESE PERCEPTIONS ON FUTURE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Key words: plagiarism, academic integrity, senior students, factors affecting plagiarism, writing skills
Introduction
Integrity is one of the underlying values for building a democratic society. Academic integrity is
the underlying value to build a base for healthy exchange of ideas, achievements, and solutions. ‘We
view academic integrity as a harbinger of things to come, a reflection of the general mores that society is
passing on to the next generation.’ (5, p.3) The situation with academic integrity worldwide is a cause for
concern among educators in both secondary and higher education. This concern applies to cheating and
plagiarism instances not only among students but educators and scholars as well. Though the reasons for
such behavior can vary from country to country, some cultural and social underpinnings may affect the
increasing rate of fraudulent acts. The rampant development of technology and accessibility to internet
resources seem to play a crucial role as well. In addition, the recent shift to online mode of learning
related to COVID-19 restrictions limits the school and university administration from closer proctoring at
the exams.
Azerbaijan has been experiencing an identical scenario since late 90s of the 20 th century, and the
need to address this issue is as acute as in other parts of the world. Azerbaijan and its education system
still carries the heritage of Soviet approach to learning, teaching and freedom of expression in academic
context. The recent social and economic developments in Azerbaijan have led to increased opportunities
for education and professional perspectives among present day youth. Processes such as joining the
Bologna process, applying for exchange semesters, or even pursuing full degrees in renowned universities
across the globe increase the potential of Azerbaijani students to tap into international academic circles
and seize lucrative employment opportunities. The national job market requirements reveal the need for a
competent and educated workforce. According to the World Economic Forum, critical thinking,
creativity, originality, and initiative along with leadership and social influence have been listed among top
15 employability skills for 2025 (18). Development of strong communication skills, including writing
and inquiry competencies is of prime importance for managerial and scientific activities (16).
Understanding student perspectives on plagiarism can serve a long-term purpose of addressing effective
ways to prevent its further spreading and ‘significantly assist academics in their efforts to communicate
appropriate norms’ (17, p.201) since ‘the college years are a critical period for ethical development’ (5,
p.201).

Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting acts of plagiarism from a perspective of
senior undergraduate students, recent graduates, and current graduate students. In addition, this study
aims to know if the target group understands the importance of academic writing skills for their future
careers and implications of a lack of these skills. In their attempt to communicate ethical norms,
academics can widely benefit from having a clearer picture on students’ perspectives on fraudulent
behavior (3) and take necessary steps to enhance importance of such norms (5). ‘Plagiarism’ has been
defined by the APA Ethics Code (2) as ‘… the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as
your own; it denies authors or creators of content the credit they are due. Whether deliberate or
unintentional, plagiarism violates ethical standards in scholarship’.
Since most writing classes and plagiarism awareness workshops are expected to be taken during
freshmen years, senior students should have accumulated sufficient understanding of harm that plagiarism
can cause towards the quality of their education and their future career. The vast majority of studies in
this regard have addressed academic integrity as a rising issue in North American universities (3). Few
studies have been found that addressed this topic in Azerbaijan. None among the existing ones reveal this
issue from the perspective of students.

Literature Review
Perception on Definition of Plagiarism
Despite being widely used not only in academia but other walks of life such as showbusiness,
media, business world, plagiarism as a socially constructed behavior does not have one generally
accepted definition. Moreover, students themselves are confused about conceptualization of this
phenomena; and confusion ranges ‘from some misunderstanding to total misunderstanding’ (10, p.469).
In her research on the morality aspect of plagiarism, Mullholand (13) echoes the question ringing in the
minds of students whether all copied works can be treated as stealing. Respondents differentiate between
fraudulent behavior of appropriating someone else’s ideas based on the intentional or deliberate actions
(13). On the other hand, Howard advocated for use of ‘more specific, less culturally burdened terms’ (7,
p.475) such as ‘fraud, insufficient citation, and excessive repetition’(7, p.489).

Factors Affecting Plagiarism

The research body has revealed several factors affecting the choice of students to plagiarize.
These factors differ based on cultural, psychological, educational and socio-economical context. Ramzan,
et al (16) mention society and family pressure as one of the main reasons for lack of academic integrity
among graduate and post graduate students in Pakistan as they face harsh job competitions and need to
maintain a high social status. Fatima, et al (8) see the reason for the increase of plagiarism in academia in
lack of personal morality education that can help students see their personal responsibility in this matter.
On the other hand, Power (15, p.660) advocated the term ‘unfinished learners’ who attempt to become the
part of large academic body but lack the necessary skills. They are yet to develop their skills in proper
paraphrasing and inquiry. To reveal more on perception of plagiarism and reasons for such acts, students’
understating of this phenomenon have been addressed in Ashworth, et al’s article (3). The authors point
out that plagiarism, and correspondingly academic integrity, are far from being top priorities for students.
The same source underlines the importance of presenting the avoidance of such unethical practice not as
a prohibition but an opportunity to become ‘junior members of a scholarly community’ (3, p.201). In
addition, the authors warn about possible unseen reasons for raising levels of cheating and plagiarism
such as lack of interest in the presented material, inadequate assignments, poor quality of teaching and
assessment. Once these reasons are recognized and accepted, the level of unethical behavior may drop as
well (3).

Importance of Writing Skills on Future Professional Development

Early writing skills are being taught during the freshmen years at university. Courses addressing
these skills cover paraphrasing, citation, information literacy and inquiry skills and primarily address the
writing situations to be encountered in various university disciplines. However, these skills can also be
transferred to post-university life. Therefore, the perception of students on incorporating their writing
skills at workplace environment has been addressed in the previous research. Guerrero-Dib, et al (9) see
acquisition of transferrable skills for future professional use and taking ethical sound decision as main
reasons for raising awareness about academic integrity among university students. College years are seen
as training ground for forming, adjusting, and strengthening of underlying moral values for post-
graduation period of life (5). The author reminds that the discussions of various cases, including the real-
life scenarios, during and after class hours facilitate the development of these values (5).

Methods
To order to collect the required date exploratory cross-sectional research has been carried out
incorporating mixed research method. Online survey was conducted through Google Forms. The
questionnaire consisted of 30 questions out of which 8 were open-ended questions requiring short opinion
writing, 18 multiple choice (1 was a contingency question) and 4 multiple choice questions. The results
of this survey cannot be considered as final. To prove the findings future researchers may decide to
implement replication and test-retest. The survey was conducted in three languages –Azerbaijani,
English, and Russian as these are the languages of education in Azerbaijan. The total number of
participants was 193 (130 respondents in Azerbaijani, 24 in English and 38 in Russian). The respondents
(116 female and 77 male) were the 3rd-4th year students, recent graduates or currently studying graduate
students (master’s degree) from 22 government run and private universities (both in the capital city of
Baku and regional universities) with 33 majoring areas. The respondents were selected through snowball
sampling method. They participated on voluntary basis.
Limitation of the Methods
Not all universities functioning in Azerbaijan are represented in the current survey. More time
should be allocated for data collection (in this case only one week was given). In some cases, the links to
the surveys were sent out through the instructors and this circumstance might have influenced the
sincerity of some answers. No comparison was drawn between the answers given by the respondents who
study in Azerbaijani and in Russian or English.

Analysis of Findings/Results
Perception on plagiarism
Out of 192 respondents only four responded that they cannot provide an explanation to the word
‘plagiarism’. All the rest of the respondents were able to provide a definition that included such
statements as ‘borrowing without acknowledgement’, ‘violating author’s rights’, ‘copying ideas’,
‘stealing ideas’, ‘using someone’s ideas without indicating sources’, ‘conscious appropriation of others’
works.
While answering the question on what best describes the rightness or wrongness of plagiarism,
over half of respondents accept that such acts are always wrong and see them as theft and fraud, however,
around 24% consider such behavior as acceptable in some situations. In addition, over 30% of the
respondents answered that the decision on copying from a text or the work of another without
acknowledging it depends on a given situation.
More than 43 out 192 respondents do not consider asking someone else to write the assignment
on their behalf as an example of plagiarism.
 Factors Affecting Plagiarism

Fig. 1 Training in 1st Year of Study

20%
Took traning on academic writ-
ing
Never took any training in
40% academic writing
Only indicated about awareness
about academic writing

30%

Despite availability of trainings on academic writing, only around 22% of respondents

participated in such sessions. Over 40% of participants were not sure whether their university checks the
papers of students in any anti-plagiarism programs, however, over 80% indicated that referencing of
borrowed sources in the written assignments were required by their instructors. Answering the questions
on whether the acts of fraudulent behavior should be penalized around 30% agreed and over 13% strongly
agreed, however close to 40% choose neutral and over 20% strongly opposed this approach. Regarding
the existing penalty rules on plagiarism in their higher education institution, close to 50% of the
respondents indicated failure of the assignment as an existing measure. Roughly the same proportion of
students believe that this measure is sufficient. Over 50% were not sure if the Code of Ethics for students
addressed the matter of plagiarism.

As an answer to the
Fig. 2 Reasons for Fraudulent Behavior question on why students opt for
plagiarism nine possible reasons for
such behavior were offered. Over
40% answers accounted for lack of
referencing skills, more than 50%
showed easy access to the ready
Low interest
to field of study materials from the internet as a
15%Lack of referencing skills reason, and close to 30% came from
38% too many assignments and deadlines.
Too many assignments and In addition, over 30% think that lack
deadlines of interest in the chosen field of
23%
study contributes to fraudulent acts.
Easy access to ready materials Only around 20% answers were
from Internet
23% given to the option of availability of
essay/assignment writing services.
Among other reasons, the
respondents indicated lack of
sources, inability to generate new ideas, lack of readiness for scientific activity, difficulty to produce
quality work with too many assignments and deadlines to meet and need for individual approach by
instructors.
Answering the questions about possible ways to stop plagiarism among university students, 41
respondents believe that manageable number of assignments and more directions and motivation from the
instructors can be a solution. Need for more trainings and raising awareness on this matter were indicated
by 35 participants. Other answers included the need for more sources in the language of instruction
(namely, Azerbaijani), stricter grading and improving the reading skills among students.

Importance of Writing Skills on Future Professional Development

Over 55% of respondents believe that academic writing skills are of importance for their future
professional activity. Application of writing skills at workplace (24 answers), further academic career (18
answers) and personal development (29 answers) were indicated as the main reasons for importance of
these skills. The rest of the respondents who do not see much of value or applicability of these skills in
their future professional field.

Discussion
In the current study, the factors affecting acts of plagiarism among senior students and their
perspectives on importance of writing skills for the future academic career have been researched. The
data has been collected only among HEIs in Azerbaijan. The results of the survey revealed that the overall
majority of the respondents view plagiarism as an immoral act and named such behavior as theft and
fraud. However, close to a quarter of the total number of respondents do not consider such asking another
student for writing services or using commercial essay mill companies as acts of plagiarism. They claim
than in certain situations plagiarism is justifiable and depends on the given situation. These results may
indicate that the definition of the given phenomena needs more clarification.
In order to infer on the factors affecting plagiarism among university students, the respondents
were inquired about any prior trainings regarding academic writing skills and their awareness about
university requirements and policies regarding academic integrity. Despite the opportunities provided by
their respective educational institution, only small number used such chance and participated in trainings
or workshops related to academic writing. Less than half of the respondents know whether their papers
are added to any plagiarism checking programs. Since Azerbaijan is yet to form its own national
electronic content and create an anti-plagiarism program (1), it is not easy to detect most forms of
plagiarism in the submitted papers. Nevertheless, the prevailing majority reported that their professors
require to reference external sources incorporated in the assignments. These results coincide with the
finding of The Project on Academic Integrity in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Turkey (PAICKT)
commissioned by the Council of Europe as one of the activities of the ETINED (Ethics, Transparency and
Integrity in Education ) platform (4).
Figure 3: Azerbaijan AIMM Radar Chart AIMM score 15.97 / 36

The radar chart also reflects that trainings provided are lower than communication regarding the
importance of adhering to the ethical principles of academic integrity (4). The students have an awareness
about wrongness of fraudulent behavior, however, they lack sufficient training. The sanctions might exist
at the educational institution but they are poorly communicated and hardly reinforced. In the given study
close to 40% of respondents are neutral about importance of any possible sanctions, and half considered
failure of the assignment with detected plagiarism as a sufficient penalty. Moreover, 50% are not sure if
the Code of Ethics at their university even address the cases of cheating and plagiarism.
According to the survey results, the most frequented reasons for plagiarism are the
lack of referencing skills, easy access to ready resources and overload of graded written assignments with
strict deadlines. Respectively, responding to the question about the possible ways to prevent fraudulent
behavior among students, manageable number of assignments, and more directions and motivation from
the instructors were offered as possible solutions. Only 35 respondents out of total 192 see a need for
more trainings and raising awareness.
As writing is considered to be of transferable nature and one of ‘the primary communication
skills’ (19), this study aimed to reveal the overall perception of the respondents on importance of written
communication for their future professional activity. Since the respondents were students or recent
graduates of HEIs, they were asked about the important of studying academic writing skills. More than
half of the responses indicate that these skills are important for their further professional life. However,
only 24 respondents could indicate direct application. It is interesting to note that close to 30 respondents
see the value of these skills for their personal development as well. However, close to half of the
respondents could not explain how they might apply these skills with regards to professional career. The
reason why many could not see a direct connection might be in their lack of clear understanding of what
skills and tasks they might be assigned in future at their workplace. In addition, the academic writing
might be understood by the respondents as being vital for the period of their study at HEI. However, Egan
(6) advocates for teaching academic study of writing for business students reasoning that basic writing
skills are build on the ability of supporting one’s knowledge and judgements by proper use of referencing
and quoting.

Conclusion
The present study sought to answer two questions on main factors affecting plagiarism among
students in Azerbaijani universities and perception on importance of writing skills for professional
activity in post-graduation period. The results revealed that majority of the respondents view fraudulent
behavior as unethical, however, do not exclude the cases when such acts are acceptable. Only half of the
respondents see the value of acquiring academic writing skills for their future careers. Such approach
prevents them from putting personal efforts and seeking more opportunities to enhance writing skills and
possibly increase their chance for career growth.
The results of this study can be of use for further improvement in raising the awareness among
students and in teaching undergraduate students one of the vital transferrable skills that can help them
succeed academically and professionally. ‘When students fraudulently complete their education, they are
not only negatively impacting themselves, but potentially society as well.’(12, p.291).
Further study is required for development of more structured approach to smooth integration of
academic writing skills and of clear guidance on academic integrity in HEIs of Azerbaijan. In-depth
personal interviews involving the managers responsible with hiring and training along with human
resources and talent development specialists in national Azerbaijani government and business entities can
help reveal whether there is a need for strong writing skills both for beginning and mid-career specialists
in the national labor market.
References
1. Əliquliyev, R., Alıquliyev, R. & Mahmudov R. (2018, 14 dekabr) Plagiatlıqla mübarizə
informasiya təhlükəsizliyinin mühüm komponenti kimi. İnformasiya təhlükəsizliyinin
aktual multidissiplinar elmi-praktiki problemləri IV respublika konfransı
2. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.)

3. Ashworth, P., Bannister, P. & Thorne, P. (1997). Guilty in whose eyes? University students'
perceptions of cheating and plagiarism in academic work and assessment. Studies in
Higher Education Volume 22, No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079712331381034

4. Dlabolová, d. (2019, November 29). Project on Academic Integrity in Armenia, Azerbaijan,

Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey [Report presentation]. ETINED 3rd Plenary Session
https://rm.coe.int/project-on-academic-integrity-in-armenia-azerbaijan-georgia-kazakhstan/
1680992c0b

5. Donald L., McCabe K., Butterfield, D. & Treveno L., (2012). Cheating in college: Why students
do it and what educators can do about it. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
6. Egan, M. (1998). A new approach to business writing. Journal of Workplace Learning, 10(1),
46-52. DOI:http://dx.doi.org.ada.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/13665629810370049
7. Howard, R. (2000). Sexuality, textuality: The cultural work of plagiarism. College English, 62(4),
473-491. doi:10.2307/378866
8. Fatima, A., Abbas, A., Ming, W., Hosseini, S. & Zhu, D. (2019). Internal and external factors of
 plagiarism: Evidence from Chinese public sector universities. Accountability in Research,
26:1, 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2018.1552834
9. Guerrero-Dib, J., Portales, L. & Heredia-Escorza, Y. (2020) Impact of academic integrity on
workplace ethical behavior. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 16:2.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-020-0051-3
10. Gullifer, J. & Tyson, G. (2010). Exploring university students' perceptions of plagiarism: a focus
group study. Studies in Higher Education, 35:4, 463-481, DOI: 10.1080/03075070903096508
11. Jacobs, P. (1998, July 6). Strong writing skills essential for success, even in IT.
InfoWorld. Vol.20, Iss.27
12. Ison, D. (2018) An empirical analysis of differences in plagiarism among world cultures.
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 40:4, 291-304,
DOI: 10.1080/1360080X.2018.1479949
13. Lee, A., Vivienne, A., Spronken-Smith, R. (2017) It's not fair': Policy discourses and students'
understandings of plagiarism in a New Zealand university. Higher Education;
Dordrecht Vol. 74, Issue 1

14. Mulholland, M. (2020) Honor and shame: Plagiarism and governing student morality. Journal of
College and Character, 21:2, 104-115, DOI: 10.1080/2194587X.2020.1741394
14. Power, L. (2009). University students' perceptions of plagiarism. The Journal of Higher
Education Vol. 80, No. 6
15. Ramzan, M. Munir, M., Siddique, N., Asif,M. (2011) Awareness about plagiarism amongst
university students in Pakistan. Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
DOI: 10.1007/s10734-011-9481-4
16. Shekhawat, S., & Bakilapadavu, G. (2017). Teaching soft skills to engineering students: A case
study of BITS, Pilani. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 11(1), 29-34.
17. Whiting, K. (2020, October 21). These are the top 10 job skills of tomorrow – and how long
it takes to learn them. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/top-10-
work-skills-of-tomorrow-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-them/
18. Yate, M. (2018, February 19 ). The 7 transferable skills to help you change careers. Forbes.
Retrieved from https://rb.gy/jkyttd

Xülasə
 Aygün Məmmədova

Aldatlma, dürüstlük və mənim peşəkar mənliyim: tələbələrin Azərbaycan universitetlərində

tələbələr arasında müşahidə oluna bilən plagiat hallarına təsir edici amillərə münasibəti və bu
münasibətin onların gələcək peşəkar fəaliyyətlərinə təsiri

Tədqiqatın məqsədi Azərbaycan universitetlərində tələbələrin arasında müşahidə oluna bilən plagiata
qarşı münasibəti əhatə edir və əsas iki sualı qaldırır. Birinci sual yuxarı kurslarda təhsil alan tələbələr
arasında saxtakar davranışa təsir edici amillərin hansı olduğunu araşdırır. İkinci sual isə akademik yazı
bacarıqlarının gələcək pesəkar fəaliyyətə vacib olub-olmamasını müəyyənləşdirir. Cavablar anonim
şəkildə keçirilən sorğu vasitəsi ilə toplanılıb. Sorğuda 192 nəfər iştirak edib. İştirakçıların arasında yuxarı
kurs bakalavr və magistr səviyyəsində təhsil alan tələbələr və həmçinin yaxın müddətdə universiteti
bitirən məzunlar olub. İstirakcılar ümumi sayda 22 ali təhsil müəssisəsi təmsil edib. Sorğu açıq və qapalı
növlü suallardan ibarət idi. Verilən cavablar aşkar etdi ki, iştirakçıların əksəriyyəti ümumilikdə plagiatı
əxlaqsız davranış kimi görürlər, lakin vəziyyətdən asılı olaraq başqasının fikirlərini mənimsək hallarına
haqq qazandırmağı mümkün bilirlər. Plagiat aşkar olunubsa, müəllim tərəfindən tapşırığın qəbul
olunmaması kifayət dərəcəli cəza kimi görünür. Plagiata aparan coxsaylı amillər sırasında istinad vermə
bacarıqlarının kifayət qədər yüksək səviyyədə olmaması, hazır materialların internetdən asanlıqla əldə
olunması, verilən tapşırıqların həddindən artıq olması, tapşırıqlarıın təhvil verilməsi üçün qoyulan son
tarixlərin qısa olması, seçilən təhsil sahəsinə qarşı marağın aşağı olması, esse və referat tipli hazırlanma
xidmətlərin mövcudluğu kimi variantlar bildirilib. İştirakçıların yalnız yarısı akademik yazı bacarıqlarının
gələcək peşəkar fəaliyyətlərində vacib olmasını görür. Yazı bacarıqlarının vacib olması barəsində
bakalavr və maqistr tələbələrin arasında maarifləndirmənin vacibliyi aydın şəkildə aşkar olunur. Bu
məqsəd üçün əlavə seminarların və təlimlərin keçirilməsi məsləhət görünür.
Açar sözlər: plagiat, akademik dürüstlük, yuxarı kurslarda təhsil alan tələbələr, plagiata aparan amillər,
yazı bacıarıqları

Резюме

Айгюн Маммадова

Обман, честность и мое профессиoнальное я: восприятие студентами факторов, влияющих

на плагиат среди студентов азербайджанских университетов, и влияние этого восприятия на
их последующую профессиональную деятельность

Данное исследование затрагивает проблему восприятия плагиата среди студентов университетов и

задает два главных вопроса. Первый вопрос заключается выяснении факторов, оказывающих
влияние на акты академического мошенничества среди студентов старших курсов в высших
учебных заведениях в Азербайджане. Второй вопрос является попыткой выяснить восприятие
важности академических навыков письма для дальнейшей профессиональной деятельности
студентов. Ответы были собраны посредством анонимного опроса, в котором приняло участие 192
студента старших курсов, студентов-магистров и graduate students and выпускники, недавно
закончившие университет. Респонденты представляли общей численностью 22 высших учебных
заведения. Опрос состоял из вопросов открытого и закрытого типов. Данные ответы выявили, что
большинство участников рассматривают плагиат в целом как аморальное поведение, но тем не
менее, в зависимости от ситуации считают, что присвоение чужих идей возможно оправдать. Если
плагиат обнаружен, непринятие работы преподавателем считается достаточной мерой наказания за
такой поступок. В качестве факторов, приводящих к плагиату, среди многих вариантов чаще всего
были отмечены недостаток навыков цитирования, легкость доступа к готовым материалам в
интернете, избыточное количество заданий и сжатых сроков сдачи этих заданий, отсутствие
интереса к выбранной области обучения, наличие услуг по написанию эссе, рефератов, и так
далее. Лишь половина опрошенных считают навыки академического письма важным для своей
дальнейшей профессиональной деятельности. Вырисовывается необходимость повышения
осведомленности о важности навыков письма среди студентов-бакалавров и студентов-магистров.
Для этой цели следует предлагать большее количество обучающих семинаров.
Ключевые слова: плагиат, академическая честность, студенты старших курсов, факторы,
приводящие к плагиату, навыки письма