PLAGIARISM IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES

Plagiarism has become a serious threat to academic integrity nowadays, as in the digital age, where users easy access to online information increases the risk of copying and presenting others intellectual work as one s own. This paper explores the meaning, historical background, types, causes, consequences, and preventive strategies of plagiarism in higher education. It gives special attention to both intentional and unintentional plagiarism constitutes to research misconduct. The study discusses major forms such as direct, mosaic, self-plagiarism, outsourced, and secondary source plagiarism, highlighting their ethical implications. It also examine s the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2018, which establish a structured framework and categorize penalties if misconduct is found on the basis of similarity levels. Key causes include lack of awareness, academic pressure, poor research skills, technological misuse, fear of failure, and institutional gaps. The paper concludes that promoting ethical practices and originality is essential for sustaining research credibility.