Abstract: Our objective was to identify the understanding of theoretical aspects and the interpretation of practical situations that a sample of 3,623 graduate students (Population = 22,438) at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) have regarding academic plagiarism. The survey used an electronic questionnaire containing 30 multiple choice questions developed from the literature concerning the concept and definition of plagiarism, occurrence modality, types of plagiarism, reasons for occurrence, standards and preventive actions adopted. We identified that the fact of respondents agreeing or disagreeing with the theoretical-conceptual characteristics of plagiarism did not make a difference in their capacity of correctly assessing practical situations characterizing plagiarism. Moreover, the agreement or disagreement responses regarding the concepts of plagiarism were observed not to differ among the respondents who had been trained to use references and citations. However, the same respondents correctly interpret practical situations characterizing plagiarism. Therefore, this study suggests that there is a gap between theoretical and practical knowledge regarding plagiarism for graduate students. Although the technical training related to the correct use of research sources is an important prerequisite in the capacity-building process, it does not seem to be enough to prevent plagiarism practices.

Este estudo visa identificar diferentes abordagens sobre o plágio; comparar as abordagens das melhores universidades mundiais com as universidades brasileiras; apresentar uma proposta de enfrentamento do plágio no Brasil. Realizou-se uma pesquisa descritiva documental com uma amostra não probabilística intencional extraída do Webometrics Ranking of World Universities. Constatou-se que nas universidades da Oceania, Europa e América o plágio é abordado de forma diversificada e abrangente, envolvendo medidas institucionais, preventivas, diagnósticas e corretivas. Verificou-se que nas universidades brasileiras o assunto praticamente não é abordado. Propõe-se as seguintes ações: atuação institucional no desenvolvimento da integridade acadêmica; definição e divulgação de política institucional; apresentação de conteúdo relacionado ao plágio nas home page das universidades brasileiras; integração do estudo sobre escrita acadêmica e plágio em matéria específica da grade dos cursos superiores.

This study aims to identify different approaches to plagiarism, to compare the approaches of the best universities in the world with Brazilian universities, submit a proposal for coping with plagiarism in Brazil. We conducted a descriptive research document with a non-probability sample drawn from the intentional Webometrics Ranking of World Universities. It was found that the universities in Oceania, Europe and America plagiarism is tackled diverse and comprehensive, involving institutional arrangements, preventive, diagnostic and corrective. It was found that in Brazilian universities, the subject is not approached. Proposes the following actions: institutional performance in the development of academic integrity, definition and dissemination of institutional policy, presentation of content related to plagiarism in the home page of the Brazilian universities, integrating the study of academic writing and plagiarism on the grid of specific courses higher.

Este estudio tiene como objetivo identificar los diferentes enfoques al plagio, para comparar los enfoques de las mejores universidades del mundo, con universidades de Brasil, presentará una propuesta para hacer frente al plagio en Brasil. Se realizó un documento de investigación descriptiva con una muestra no probabilística extraídas de la Webometrics Ranking intencional de Universidades del Mundo. Se encontró que las universidades de Oceanía, Europa y América del plagio se aborda diversa y amplia, con inclusión de arreglos institucionales, preventivas, de diagnóstico y correctivo. Se encontró que en las universidades brasileñas, el tema no se aborda. Propone las siguientes acciones: el desempeño institucional en el desarrollo de la integridad académica, definición y difusión de la política institucional, la presentación de los contenidos relacionados con el plagio en la página principal de las universidades brasileñas, integrando el estudio de la escritura académica y el plagio en la parrilla de cursos específicos más alto.