Attitudes Towards Plagiarism among Post-Graduate Students and Faculty Members of A Teaching Health Care Institution In Telangana - A cross-sectional questionnaire based study.

Aims: The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes towards plagiarism among post-graduate students and faculty members in a teaching health care institution in Telangana. Methods and Material: Post-graduate students and faculty members completed the Attitude Towards Plagiarism Questionnaire which consists of 29 statements measuring three attitudinal factors: Positive attitude, Negative attitude and Subjective norms towards plagiarism. The statements are marked on a five point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree(1), disagree(2), neither agree nor disagree(3), agree(4) to strongly agree(5). Results: A total of 162 individuals participated in the study. Results revealed moderate positive attitude, negative attitude and subjective norms towards plagiarism, both among post-graduate students and faculty members. The mean scores for questions under positive attitude, negative attitude and subjective norms towards plagiarism among post graduates were 36.31, 21.84, 29.60; and 34.51, 23.65, 27.41 among faculty members respectively. Conclusions: The moderate attitudes of post-graduate students and faculty members towards plagiarism reflect the lack of its awareness which may have detrimental repercussions in the health care field. There is a need for highlighting the issue of plagiarism among students and the provision of training programs in scientific ethical writing.