This research seeks to analyze the relationship between university students' information competencies and academic plagiarism. It aims to determine students' information skills levels and evaluate how a lack of skills relates to plagiarism. The researcher will administer surveys and interviews to students in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Spain to understand the extent of plagiarism and its causes. The goal is to develop a training program to strengthen information competencies and reduce plagiarism by improving students' ability to transform information into knowledge.

1. THE ETHICAL USE OF INFORMATION DURING
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT
Sandy Antonio Gutiérrez InterAction and eLearning Research Group of the University of Salamanca,
University of Salamanca, Paseo Canalejas, 169. 37008 Salamanca, Spain. sgutierrez@usal.es
Erla M. Morales-Morgado InterAction and eLearning Research Group of the University of Salamanca,
University of Salamanca, Paseo Canalejas, 169. 37008 Salamanca, Spain. erla@usal.es
ABSTRACT
THESIS RESEARCH CONTEXT AND MOTIVATION
METHODOLOGY
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK SECTION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES
Information
Society
Information Skill:
Is the ability to manage information and turn it into knowledge, has thus become one of the
fundamental goals of university teaching-learning. It is necessary to train students to use
information adequately, so they are competent when using the information.
University Student:
Teaching practices in university classrooms do not prompt students to make effective use of
information and learn to convert it into knowledge.
Competency-based education also requires that university students be able to integrate and
appreciate the axiological element of university work, a necessary element for a society in
constant change.
Academic plagiarism:
Is the use of ideas and words from sources without giving due acknowledgement as imposed
by academic principles (Meuschke & Gipp, 2013, p. 51)
HYPOTHESES
OBJECTIVES /
RESEARCH
GOALS
General
objectives:
Identify and assess the development of
university students’ informational competencies
and how they are related to the practice of
plagiarism at the Universidad Católica del Cibao,
the Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo and
the Universidad de Salamanca
Formulate a training program designed to
prevent plagiarism and to foster the efficient and
correct use of information consulted by students
at the Universidad Católica del Cibao, the
Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo and the
Universidad de Salamanca.
Specific objectives
To review the state of the art on university student
academic plagiarism and informational
competencies.
To determine university students’ level of informational
competencies.
To evaluate the impact of plagiarism in university
students’ learning process.
To establish whether there are links between lack of
informational skills and academic plagiarism.
To discover the causes of plagiarism by university
students.
The focus of this research is
quantitative and based on a non-
experimental design since there
will be no intentional
manipulation of variables and the
problem will be studied in
context, in the aforementioned
universities. The study’s design
is of a relational-causal cross-
sectional type, where the
relationship between
informational competency and
academic plagiarism will be
established in the chosen
population; the sample will be
non-probabilistic, as it depends
on the characteristics of this
research. A qualitative approach
will also be used to understand
the causes of the problem, and
participants’ opinions will be
taken into account.
This research seeks to
analyze and observe the
relationship between
variables, such as training
in informational competency
and academic plagiarism, in
addition to socio-
demographic characteristics
of the samples in relation to
the practice of plagiarism
and informational
competency
The sample data will be
collected through surveys,
using a questionnaire
validated by researchers in
the field; interviews will be
conducted to learn more
about the problem under
study. These sample data
will be collected in the
Faculties of Education of
the Universidad Católica
Tecnológica del Cibao
(Dominican Republic), the
Universidad Nacional de
Chimborazo (Ecuador) and
the Universidad de
Salamanca (Spain).
To date, a shortage of studies on the subject
has been observed using an instrument
validated and adapted to the Ibero-American
reality. Therefore, this created and validated
instrument will be one of the contributions of this
research. Some instruments have been made
for investigations, which express the need for
validation for future research.
RESULTS TO DATE
STATE OF THE ART
This poster outlines the research plan to develop the PhD Program in Education in the Knowledge Society by
strengthening our understanding of academic plagiarism among university students and how technology has led to its
increase. Information overload and easy access to information make it more likely to steal intellectual property and
increases the unethical use of information. Problems related to the effective use and management of information persist
and lead students to academic plagiarism. The intention therefore, through this research, is to discover whether
improvements in the development of information competencies help tackle this problem. A mixed research methodology is
proposed, to better understand the extent of the problem based on a quantitative analysis; a qualitative assessment will
also be used to understand its causes. Data collection instruments, i.e. university student questionnaires and interviews
will be designed to fulfil the objectives set out in this research: to analyse whether university students have developed
information competencies or not, and whether these competencies lead to academic plagiarism. The data obtained will be
used to create a training program aimed at tackling the problem. The program will be based on resources used from
students’ very first year at university, thus achieving significant changes in the learning process.
Research on academic plagiarism reveals an alarming increase in
number of cases.
There are no validated instruments to analyze academic
plagiarism in the Spanish or Latin American context
The practice of academic plagiarism by
university students is related to the lack of
informational skills, ignorance of
intellectual property and citation rules.
The development of information
skills helps students transform
information into knowledge.
Students are not aware of the
institutional and legal regulations that
penalize academic plagiarism.
The ability to transform information into
knowledge helps improve the students’
ability to learn.
This research work has been carried out within Education in
Knowledge Society PhD Program of the University of Salamanca.
This research is supported by a grant awarded by the Ministry of
Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Dominican
Republic (MESCyT).
We hope that these
training actions will be
reflected in workshops,
courses, seminars,
discussion and analysis
tables.
Do a
Doctoral
Stay in
Ecuador.
Complete a
Systematic
Literature
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