Abstract:
This study was conducted in order to elicit responses from postgraduate (PG) students who
are also lecturers about their unique experiences and perspectives about plagiarism. The issue
of plagiarism is current and one that is far from clear-cut in settings where a second/ foreign
language is the medium of instruction. This small scale study sought to explore attitudes of
academics toward plagiarism in two Asian countries, that of Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The
research tool comprised a two part structured interview schedule which elicited responses
regarding each participant‘s views and experiences of plagiarism as both a lecturer and PG
student. The sample for the study was limited to five participants from each of the countries.
The findings from the study revealed that the two groups of lecturers from different countries
shared similar experiences and attitudes about plagiarism. Both groups reported that
plagiarism is common and even a habitual practice among undergraduates and PG students.
They likewise viewed it as an offence to be addressed. Plagiarism was observed to be a result
of a variety of reasons. However, the Indonesian participants felt that student writing being in
a foreign language was definitely a factor which needed to be considered before branding
their work as plagiarized, while the Sri Lankan participants did not present such responses;
rather, they felt that plagiarism took place even in first language writing as well. Interesting
views that arose from the study include a questioning of ‗originality‘ and ‗controlling‘ of
knowledge. Regarding plagiarism in spoken discourse, responses were ambivalent as it was
felt that it could take place unconsciously. The study also found that in both countries that
there is no clear or consistent national stance on plagiarism and that there are no real policies
in place to educate students about plagiarism or how lecturers should deal with plagiarism.
