Digital Disruption of Academic Integrity: How Information Technology mediates the relationship between plagiarism awareness, practice, and Academic Integrity among postgraduate students
Apr 8, 2026Abstract
Academic integrity forms the basis for research being treated as trustworthy and reliable. Postgraduate research in this regard should therefore exhibit high standards of academic integrity. Digital disruption has significantly reshaped ethical scholarship, creating new challenges while opening new opportunities to protect and preserve academic integrity. Plagiarism, an aspect of academic integrity, has become a challenge due to digital disruption. The basis of this study was to understand the correlation between plagiarism awareness and practice among postgraduate students and academic integrity. Additionally, establish how information technology in the form of digital content and Artificial intelligence mediates this relationship. Comprehension and maintenance of academic integrity by postgraduate students is essential at this level, where postgraduate students are expected to be producers of evidence-based scholarly research. Despite evidence from the literature indicating an increase in plagiarism among postgraduate students, limited research has examined the behavior and disruptive nature of information technology. Study participants were therefore derived from 496 students within 3 public universities in Kenya. At the time, the students (PhD/Master's) must have been undertaking their thesis/dissertation. The research used a correlational research design. A standardized questionnaire was administered to participants. Analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS software by means of regression and correlation. Findings indicate that while IT can provide instructional materials and plagiarism-detection mechanisms, it has also created several loopholes in traditional guidelines on academic integrity, and advances in technology have facilitated more sophisticated forms of plagiarism through AI-assisted content changes. A multi-faceted, orientation-based curriculum is proposed to address the complex technological landscape of contemporary academic work and current academic integrity policies.
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