Plagiarism: A Complex and Controversial Form of Academic Misconduct

The increasing complexity of life in today’s world sheds new light upon academic life in general and on individual and institutional integrity in particular. For this reason, episodes of academic misconduct should be a matter of utmost concern for individuals, groups, and institutions. Plagiarism represents a complex and often controversial form of academic misconduct. Beyond its intricacy, dealing with the detection and elimination of plagiarism could be used as a tool in ethical training for people in academia, starting with students and ending with any other professional from the academic institutions, including management. Herein, the complexity of plagiarism is approached by identifying the causes that could explain it in terms of human habits and institutional concerns. Peculiarities of plagiarism and self-plagiarism in research, teaching, and student assignments are highlighted to explain the any form of plagiarism are discussed, and guidelines are suggested to encourage personal upright behavior and institutional action to discourage such incidents in the future.