Hidden Reasons behind the Plagiarism of Iranian TEFL University Students in Their Written Studies: A Qualitative Study

In recent years, the issue of plagiarism has received a lot of attention from the academic world. However, few studies have been conducted in the area of detecting why students will be drawn into such a hateful action. The factors that overtly or covertly contribute to the growth of plagiarism among graduate TEFL students in Iran were investigated in this study. In order to accomplish this, the researchers employed a qualitative approach by conducting a semi-structured interview with 20 graduate students studying English language teaching (ELT) to ascertain their perceptions of the underlying causes of plagiarism. The participants were selected through convenience sampling strategy and they varied in age from 26 to 55. Based on the data collected from the content analysis procedure of the transcribed interviews, the main causes of plagiarism among TEFL students were decoded which included ‘low English proficiency’, ‘lack of time’, ‘lack of support from the instructor’, ‘lack of interest in the topic, ‘laziness or a lack of motivation’, and ‘the use of science as a market for money making. The current study is of high significance since it has vital implications for academics teaching in higher education, TEFL university students, curriculum developers, and EAP/ESP specialists.