Conceptual Review of Literature on Student Plagiarism: Focusing on Nigerian Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual review on student plagiarism focusing mainly on International postgraduate Nigerian students. The aim of this review is to provide an insight to issues that relate to the concept, which will present information for the Higher Education Institutions in Nigeria and those overseas where the students decide to further their studies. The paper reviews studies on eight themes: the origin of plagiarism, forms of plagiarism, possible consequences of student plagiarism, general views on student plagiarism, possible causes of student plagiarism, Methods of detecting, deterring and mitigating student plagiarism, and proposed solutions.

The author concluded that a lot of Nigerian students struggle with the right perception of plagiarism and in most cases, do not understand the long-term consequences, besides the implementation of a holistic approach at managing student plagiarism, the higher institutions need to monitor and evaluate results and adapt measures to the institutional context. Also, there is a need for overseas universities to adjust their management framework in a way that will cater for international students. In addition, there is needfor more empirical studies to be carried out in Nigeria and other African Higher institutions.