An Investigation of the Reasons for Committing Plagiarism in the Iranian Academic Community: Editor-in-Chiefs, Professors, and Student's Perspective

This research investigated the views of the editor-in-chiefs, professors, and post-graduate students about the reasons for committing plagiarism in Iran and the ways it can be prevented. Twelve editor-in-chiefs, 41 professors, and 112 post-graduate students of English-related majors took part in the study by answering two essay-type questions and a modified version of iThenticate questionnaire through email. The results indicated that lack of proper training and consciousness-raising from the early stages of education, prevalence of laziness and cheating among Iranian students, pressuring professors and university students to publish papers to gain higher degrees, ranks and promotions, and the ease of admissions to the universities at the post-graduate level were among the main reasons for committing plagiarism in Iran. Appropriate awareness-raising, training and educating students from the very beginning, and laying down strict regulations to seriously punish plagiarizers were among the most important strategies suggested by the participants to avoid and deal with plagiarism.