An Investigation of Regional Online Theses Plagiarism Index Levels

Dr. Josephine Mbithe Mutie – Scott Christian University, Kenya, Prof. Lazarus Ndiku Makewa – Center for Research Implications and Practice, Kenya, Prof. Stella Muchemwa – Midland State University, Zimbabwe, Dr. Wilhelmina Lyimo – Tumaini University, Makumira, Tanzania, Dr. Naisujaki Lyimo – Arusha Technical College, Tanzania &Dr. Ezekiel Omwenga, – Kisii University, Kenya.
Email: jsephinembithe50@gmail.com

Received January 23, 2020; Reviewed March 26, 2020; Accepted April 17, 2020

Abstract: This online study investigated levels of plagiarism from different regions, for example, Africa, Asia, U.S.A and Europe. Specifically, the study investigated theses similarity index according to the following indicators: Sex, University, Region, Level of thesis -Doctoral or Masters and Year the thesis was written. The paper also tested if there was any significant difference between levels of plagiarism and sex of student, regional institutions, level of thesis and year of thesis writing. The results indicate that females plagiarized more than the males, doctoral theses had highest degree of plagiarism than the masters theses, there was significant difference between the sex of student and similarity index, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to sex of student, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to region, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to the level of thesis, there wasa significant difference between the plagiarism similarity index when grouped according to the year of the thesis.The following are the recommendations shared from the study: institutions of higher learning should train students and academic staff on the importance of staying plagiarism free, academic staff should remain keen on plagiarized work and once detected, legal action should be taken,including punishing the student, each institution of higher learning should have plagiarism policy in place, student supervisors should work with students showing them how to avoid plagiarism in their academic writing.