Ignorance or Intent?

Abstract

Plagiarism among students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) remains of great concern to faculty and administrators globally, as well as in the English-speaking Caribbean. Although this Cheating Behavior (CB) has been examined in multiple disciplines, few studies have examined it from the viewpoint of Library and Information Science (LIS) students. This is an important lacuna given CB's link to workplace practices and the imminent role of LIS students as information disseminators and protectors of creators' intellectual property rights. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method approach, this small scale case study sought to acquire a better understanding of LIS students' understanding, awareness and knowledge of plagiarism. The views of first and third year undergraduates and postgraduates were analyzed and assessed. The results demonstrated the need for early pedagogical interventions on plagiarism, greater collaboration between faculty and the library, and LIS students' engagement into the Community of Practice (CoP) and profession of librarianship.