How do Master Level Students in Computer Science Perceive Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a serious problem in computer science. This paper reports the analyses of data about plagiarism that was gathered from master level students in computing. We have identified how students perceive plagiarism, how they choose to respond when faced by a scenario involving plagiarism, and what drives them to take a particular stance or adopt an action. The data-driven analyses show complex understanding of plagiarism and a range of motives that could lead students to plagiarize. We have found discrepancies between how students understand plagiarism and how they argue they would act when facing a dilemma involving plagiarism. The implications of these perceptions and motives for computer science educators are discussed. A number of questions for discussion and further investigation are raised. Keywords-plagiarism; computing education research; computer science education; academic integrity