How academic librarians combat student plagiarism

Abstract

Plagiarism is one of Academia's most widely discussed topics, as it is considered severe academic misconduct. Academic librarians can become pioneers on the path to academic integrity and play a tremendously important role in combating student plagiarism. Using a quantitative approach, the present study attempts to investigate academic libraries' plagiarism preventive and detection role from the perspective of public university librarians in Greece. For the study, a five-faceted conceptual framework for the role of librarians was developed and evaluated. Results indicate that librarians have actively taken the lead in raising awareness of plagiarism and providing plagiarism education, support, and counselling. Yet, their participation and contribution to developing institutional plagiarism strategies could have been higher than the other roles. Similarly, the results showed low participation of library professionals in plagiarism detection services, underscoring the need for effective collaboration with other academic stakeholders. Analysis of differences based on demographic factors suggests that individuals with higher levels of education are more closely involved in various roles and activities related to plagiarism management. Implications of the findings are discussed.