Table 2 Themes and subthemes

Lack of interest or effort into the assignment

Lack of preparation

Lack of effort

Low self-efficacy

Poor study techniques

Convenience of internet sources

Pressure of time with competing priorities

Misplaced priorities

Competing interests

Procrastination

High workloads

Poor planning

Perception of availability of time at the start of the semester

Poor time management

Lack of understanding of the policy on academic honesty

Lack of awareness of plagiarism

Lack of awareness of acceptable similarity

Conflicting messages from tutors

No experience with referencing

Confusion with high school learning

Lack of insight about plagiarism

“The determined students”

All effort made to reduce plagiarism but remained high

Use of another language other than English

Poor paraphrasing techniques

Lack of resources for English Language editing