THE EFFECTS OF PLAGIARISM ON PROJECT WRITING IN LIBRARIANSHIP PROFESSION IN UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the effect of plagiarism on project writing in the librarianship profession at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised students, lecturers, and librarians within the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the sample size was determined using Yamane’s (1967) sample size determination formula: = 1 + () 2 where N represents the total population and e is the level of precision (0.05). Based on this formula, a sample size of 130 respondents was selected using a simple random sampling technique, ensuring fair representation across the respondent categories. Out of the 130 questionnaires distributed, 119 were successfully retrieved and analyzed using frequency and percentage tables. Findings revealed that plagiarism is highly prevalent among LIS students and is mainly caused by poor referencing skills, the copy-and-paste culture from the internet, limited access to academic resources, inadequate supervision, and pressure to meet submission deadlines. The results further showed that plagiarism reduces originality, weakens academic integrity, lowers research quality, and negatively affects the credibility of the librarianship profession. Although plagiarism detection tools and institutional policies exist, their level of implementation and enforcement was found to be insufficient. The study also established that librarians play a vital role in combating plagiarism through awareness campaigns, information literacy instruction, and training on proper citation techniques. The study concluded that plagiarism poses a serious threat to research quality, knowledge development, and professional standards in the library and information science field. It recommended integrating plagiarism education into the curriculum, enforcing consistent use of plagiarism detection software, improving project supervision, and organizing regular training on referencing and academic ethics. Strengthening the role of the library in academic integrity promotion and improving institutional policies was also recommended to foster honesty and originality among students. Keywords: Plagiarism, Project Writing, Librarianship profession,, University of Ilorin, Kwara State.