The Impact of Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Test Software on Postgraduate Students of Economics Education Integrity in Intellectual Pursuits

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of Turnitin plagiarism detection software on postgraduate students of economics education integrity in intellectual pursuits in State owned universities in South-East, Nigeria. The study was carried out in the South-East of Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions and two hypotheses. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 185 (75 males and 110 females) and it covered all the postgraduate students of Economics Education in all the 3 state owned Universities offering Economics Education as a course at the postgraduate level. The study’s sample consisted of 126 postgraduate students of Economics Education, including 51 males and 75 females. The researcher used a proportionate random sampling technique to ensure that the sample size of each school accurately reflected its percentage representation in the overall population. The data gathering tool used in this study was a researcher-developed questionnaire entitled Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Software Integrity in Intellectual Pursuits Questionnaire (PDSIIPQ). The data that was gathered was subjected to analysis utilizing the mean and standard deviation measures for the research questions while t-test for the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significance difference in the mean response rating of male and female postgraduate students of Economics Education on the impact of plagiarism detection test software on academic integrity in intellectual pursuit. Conclusion was drawn and the study recommended that Turnitin account should be given to students so that they can check their work before submission to the appropriate authority in the university.

Keywords: Turnitin, Plagiarism, Integrity, Intellectual Pursuits, Gender.