An Investigation into plagiarism among Saudi EFL students in writing research projects

Plagiarism is a pervasive issue among university students all over the world. Concerns about plagiarism are salient for improving the academic writing of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). There are intertwined contextual and situational factors influencing students' plagiaristic behaviors, but the amount and intensity of these factors can vary across cultures and communities (Maloshonok & Shmeleva, 2019). However, the literature on Arab EFL students' issues with plagiarism is still scarce especially in the context of Saudi EFL students (AL-Dossary, 2017). To this end, the present study aims to diagnose the extent of plagiarism in Saudi EFL students' research projects by implementing a plagiarism-detection system, explore their knowledge of what constitutes plagiarism, and thereupon identify the principal causes prompting plagiarism among them. Employing qualitative and quantitative methods, the data of the study were collected from one hundred sixty-eight (n=168) EFL senior students over one academic year at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. The results demonstrated a general tendency toward plagiarism, given the high levels of textual plagiarism (57%) in EFL students' research projects. Despite having a conceptual understanding of what constitutes plagiarism, students pointed out several factors that prompted them to plagiarize intentionally, mainly due to the availability of information and communication technology (79%), lack of self-competency (51%), positive attitudes toward plagiarism (48%), and lack of control over plagiaristic behaviors (46%). Qualitative analyses of students' interviews further supported the quantitative findings. Several practical implications are presented for the field of foreign language teaching.