Strategies for Maintaining Academic Integrity in First-Year Computing Courses

In the actual context of a great diversity of information sources, the discipline of Ethics and Academic Integrity (EAI) was introduced recently in the first year of the Master's studies. As part of the school activity, the access to anti-plagiarism software was made available to teachers and students. The current pandemic has forced the transition from classical classes to the use of the eLearning platform. In this paper the application of the methods of antiplagiarism verification to the distance teaching and the obtained results are described. The conclusions are expressed by comparing the results obtained for the discipline developed through the eLearning platform with those obtained in the previous years in a face-toface teaching manner and with those of the EAI discipline carried out in the first semester of this academic year as well.

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Students’ awareness of the academic integrity policy at a Latvian university

International Journal for Educational Integrity ◽

10.1007/s40979-020-00064-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alla Anohina-Naumeca ◽

Ilze Birzniece ◽

Tatjana Odiņeca

Keyword(s):

Academic Integrity ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Academic Community ◽

First Year ◽

Extensive Discussion ◽

University Policy ◽

Study Results ◽

International Comparative ◽

The University ◽

Academic Integrity Policy

AbstractAn academic integrity policy usually specifies the university’s ethical principles and values, the forms of appropriate academic behaviour, the penalties for academic malpractice and the procedures for handling policy violations. However, the policy does not itself create academic integrity, but needs to be consistently and effectively communicated, implemented, and applied. This paper presents a case study investigating the extent to which students at Riga Technical University (Latvia) are informed about the university’s academic integrity policy. This quantitative research was performed by surveying two groups of respondents: domestic students in the first year of their bachelor’s studies and the heads of the corresponding study programmes. The results revealed a low level of students’ awareness of the university policy on academic integrity and a lack of systematic institutional approach to promoting academic integrity. The study results also indicated that students with a higher awareness of the university policy on academic integrity were less tolerant towards violations and perceived academic integrity as an essential aspect for both the academic community and student life. These findings establish a foundation for a more extensive discussion of academic integrity issues in Latvia. They can also serve as impetus for similar studies in other Latvian universities, as well as research taking an international comparative perspective.

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Perceptions of Academic Integrity of Students in a First-Year Engineering Program

10.18260/1-2--28736 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Irene Mena ◽

David Sanchez

Keyword(s):

Academic Integrity ◽

First Year ◽

Engineering Program

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"Opening Doors Early to Academic Integrity" – aiding the transition to and managing expectations of academic practice at University

International Journal for Educational Integrity ◽

10.21913/ijei.v8i2.806 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Judith Jurowska ◽

John Thompson

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Academic Integrity ◽

Study Skills ◽

English Language ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Learning Technologies ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

First Year ◽

Essay Writing ◽

Using Data

The Geography Department at Durham University has long recognized that Freshers/newly arrived undergraduate students are suddenly asked to juggle a whole new skills set on arrival at University, often without the level of assistance they have previously experienced at school. As Smith states: The first year is widely acknowledged as a critical period in determining a students? success at University. However, the period immediately prior to commencing University is also critical. (Smith, 2010, p. 1) This pilot project was designed to help new undergraduate students understand the differences between studying at school and reading for a degree (this British-English term is useful in this context as it refers to a requirement for students to read widely and engage critically with their "major" discipline) and to becoming active participants in a community of practice while at university. Collaboration between the Geography Department, English Language Centre, Learning Technologies and University Library developed a set of discipline specific study skills exercises, based around the concept of Academic Integrity. The study skills packages were launched within the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) on September 1, 2011 with an expectation that students would have completed the tasks by mid-October. Answers were collected using the test canvas and students received comprehensive online feedback after they submitted their responses. Postgraduate tutors and module convenors monitoring answers were able to identify areas of concern in terms of student comprehension, powers of analysis and identifying which students had not engaged with the tasks. Using data from focus groups with tutors, student surveys and comparison of essay writing performance over past years, we were able to show that cases of recorded plagiarism had fallen to zero saving staff time on plagiarism panels, whilst there was a marked improvement of marks from 2:2 to 2:1 grades.

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Resetting Integrity Through Communication on Plagiarism: University Classrooms Weaving Values into the Social Fabric

International Journal of Learning Teaching and Educational Research ◽

10.26803/ijlter.20.12.13 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (12) ◽

pp. 212-231

Author(s):

Arniza Ghazali ◽

Azniwati Abdul Aziz

Keyword(s):

Academic Dishonesty ◽

Academic Integrity ◽

Role Model ◽

First Year ◽

Source Attribution ◽

First Year Students ◽

Social Fabric ◽

The Social ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

University Classrooms

Academic dishonesty manifested in the proliferating acts of plagiarism can be eradicated by returning to value teaching. In a study involving 37 first-year students in one academic year, a single-group quasi-experimental procedure with mixed qualitative and quantitative analyses of students’ assignments was performed. The procedure involved diagnosing plagiarism by strategic manual detection and classification of occurrences and recording the frequency of occurrence. The objective was to examine the effects of communicating about plagiarism by the designed plagiarism integrity narratives (PIN) intervention on students’ integrity based on their source-attribution practices. In the first semester, an assignment was administered without any word on plagiarism as the baseline data for students’ academic integrity at pre-test. In the second semester, the post-PIN-intervention assignment set with similar cognitive demand as the first was administered. The post-PIN intervention showed 76% of students taking steps to not succumb to plagiarism, far outweighing the 5% not taking heed. Of those who acknowledged information sources, 14% showed excellent referencing skills, capturing the potential first-year role model. In terms of outsourcing and attribution combined, the PIN intervention offered a 95% transformation of moral values, hinting at the possibility of resetting academic integrity via communication and clear directives. Lifting plagiarism rules as a “litmus test” (third assignment) revealed 28% integrity-ready students applying the fundamental attribution rules. Outstanding referencing skills and honesty were portrayed by a self-regulated student who had internalized academic integrity. The findings signal the possibility of curbing plagiarism in university classrooms and nurturing students to start weaving values into the social fabric.

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13. Linking Academic Integrity and Classroom Civility: Student Attitudes and Institutional Response

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching ◽

10.22329/celt.v4i0.3277 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 81

Author(s):

Troy Brooks ◽

Zopito Marini ◽

Jon Radue

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Academic Dishonesty ◽

Academic Integrity ◽

Student Attitudes ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Students ◽

Student Behaviour ◽

Human Interactions ◽

Perceptions And Attitudes ◽

Transition From High School

This paper explores the notion that student behaviour regarding academic integrity and classroom civility are linked, and that intervention methods used to resolve classroom incivility may be used as a response to academic dishonesty. We advance the view that academic integrity and classroom civility refer to a student’s willingness to respect the rules and regulations of the institution; and that, acts of academic dishonesty and incivility refer to student behaviour in breach of institutional policy and/or not consistent with the social norms of the institutional culture (e.g., inappropriate human interactions). The perceptions and attitudes of first-year students toward academic integrity as they transition from high school to university are examined. Two hundred and thirty-nine first-year students volunteered to participate in this study. The preliminary findings of the open ended response regarding their observations and experiences with cheating and plagiarism in high school and in university are reported with a view to offer suggestions regarding institutional intervention strategies.

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Why do students plagiarize? The case of multicultural students in an Australian university in the United Arab Emirates

Integrity in Education for Future Happiness ◽

10.11118/978-80-7509-772-9-0064 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ajrina Hysaj ◽

Abeer Elkhouly

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

Academic Integrity ◽

English Language ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

First Year ◽

Student Body ◽

Culturally Diverse Students ◽

Native Speakers Of English ◽

Students Attitudes ◽

Level Of Understanding

The increase in plagiarism cases among university students is a great concern for educators and policy makers within the federal and private universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Research suggests that students’ attitudes toward academic integrity are characteristically more tolerant than the policies already in place in most universities. This assertion can hypothetically intensify the situation that most universities in the UAE are experiencing. Moreover, the presence of a very diverse student body leaves space for validation of the hypothesis, that concepts of plagiarism or academic integrity are seen differently in different cultures; nevertheless, very little research has been carried out to empirically validate such hypothesis. Moreover, current research in this area has usually been conducted in western universities, in western countries and has been focused in a comparison between international and domestic students or native and non-native speakers of English language. As yet, no studies have directly analysed culturally diverse students’ attitudes toward plagiarism in their first year of study in a western university in the UAE. This study aimed to measure the students’ level of understanding to what plagiarism is. One survey and one quiz were given to 67 students, the data from the surveys was tested against several hypothesis and some descriptive analysis was conducted. The results reveal that students understand the main concepts beyond plagiarism but confuse its application.

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Academic integrity in first-year nursing students: An intergrative review

Journal of Nursing Education and Practice ◽

10.5430/jnep.v12n3p31 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 31

Author(s):

Kolleen Miller-Rosser ◽

Jann Fielden ◽

Elizabeth Emmanuel

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

Academic Integrity ◽

Academic Misconduct ◽

Integrative Review ◽

First Year ◽

Undergraduate Nursing Students ◽

Undergraduate Nursing ◽

Policies And Procedures ◽

Student Cohorts ◽

Qualitative Literature

Introduction: Studies relating specifically to first-year nursing students’ breaches of academic integrity are not readily identified within the literature. While work has, over the years reported on breaches in academic integrity, it has done so with many disciplines and varied student cohorts. Nevertheless, those that specifically relate to first-year nursing students are sparse. First-year undergraduate nursing students are generally included with the entire student nurse cohort, and not necessarily identified independently. Therefore, the integrative review aimed to discover how or if the incidence of plagiarism/cheating, specifically within first-year undergraduate nursing students, was addressed.Methods: An integrative review of the literature, incorporating quantitative and qualitative literature was undertaken between January 2021 – April 2021 using electronic data bases.Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. From the review, six main themes were extrapolated, (1) blurred boundaries of caring; (2) navigating the ethical highway; (3) factors influencing academic misconduct (4) early intervention (5) academic integrity policies and procedures and (6) inconsistencies amongst academics.Conclusions: The integrative review has identified a shortfall in research relating to how academic integrity has been addressed in first-year nursing students.

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