Avoiding Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement in Research Publications in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria: A Case Study of Colleges of Education in Edo State and Delta States

This study was carried out to investigate researchers awareness and their perception about research publications. The study covered 4 Colleges of Education. With 2 each from Edo and Delta States of Nigeria. The study also adopted the survey method using self-designed structured questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. The population of the study consisted of 113 researchers randomly selected in the Colleges of Education. Out of 113 copies of questionnaire distributed to the respondents, 89 (78.8%) useable copies were returned to the researchers. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics particularly frequency counts and percentage are represented in the table. The findings of the study showed that most of the researchers working in the Colleges of Education in Edo and Delta States do not know about copyright infringement and the consequences in research publications. As a result of this, an awareness and perception of this act need to be given. The study further showed that plagiarism, copyright infringement is serious academic offences. The study brought to an understanding of the penalties for plagiarism and created awareness.