Fighting the Monster Plagiarism among Postgraduate Students in Higher Educational Institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

Plagiarism is a growing concern among postgraduate students in Nigeria, posing a significant threat to the academic integrity of educational institutions. This paper examines the various forms of plagiarism such as ghost-writing, collusion, internet plagiarism/copying and pasting, paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, patch-writing and intertextuality/mosaic plagiarism, accidental plagiarism, and lazy plagiarism/verbatim plagiarism. The paper further explores the consequences of plagiarism, for individual students, academic institutions, and the larger community as a whole. Furthermore, the paper discusses strategies and interventions that can be implemented to combat plagiarism, such strategies include; education and awareness, encouraging originality, use of plagiarism detection tools, clear academic integrity policies, support for time management and research skills, encouraging collaboration and peer review, collaboration among academic institutions, regulatory bodies, and government agencies. The paper concludes that by fostering a culture of academic integrity and originality, we can empower the next generation of scholars to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of knowledge and learning in Nigeria while upholding the principles of ethical scholarship