Academic Integrity

Student plagiarism is a pervasive issue at all levels of study in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world. Plagiarism is considered as a cultural phenomenon and students from certain cultures are often stereotyped as ‘persistent plagiarists'. This chapter reports the findings of a research project and examines the issues of academic dishonesty reported by Chinese students in New Zealand universities. Four lecturers and six university graduates participated in the interviews and the focus group discussion. The study has identified seven forms of disguised plagiarism deriving from four interrelated variables: inadequate language proficiency, lack of discipline knowledge and conventions, issues of assessment, and situational variables. The university is morally responsible to teach the students the concept of Academic Integrity (AI) and plagiarism, discipline conventions and rules of games in academic writing, and develop their language, writing, and research skills to help them avoid the traps of plagiarism.

Ignorance or Intent?

Plagiarism among students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) remains of great concern to faculty and administrators globally, as well as in the English-speaking Caribbean. Although this Cheating Behavior (CB) has been examined in multiple disciplines, few studies have examined it from the viewpoint of Library and Information Science (LIS) students. This is an important lacuna given CB's link to workplace practices and the imminent role of LIS students as information disseminators and protectors of creators' intellectual property rights. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method approach, this small scale case study sought to acquire a better understanding of LIS students' understanding, awareness and knowledge of plagiarism. The views of first and third year undergraduates and postgraduates were analyzed and assessed. The results demonstrated the need for early pedagogical interventions on plagiarism, greater collaboration between faculty and the library, and LIS students' engagement into the Community of Practice (CoP) and profession of librarianship.

Academic Misconduct and the Internet

This chapter provides a general background on the problem of plagiarism, how the Internet has been implicated as a negative influence on Academic Integrity (AI), empirical study data on the influences of the Internet on plagiarism, reasons why students may conduct plagiarism, and best practices in the use of plagiarism detection. Within the first section, three empirical studies are highlighted to indicate the actual occurrence of plagiarism in graduate education and the role the Internet may play in influencing AI. In the second section, a description of both how and why students conduct plagiarism is presented. Existing literature on the topic is explored to better inform stakeholders on the ‘why' component with suggestions for potential mitigating solutions. The subsequent section describes plagiarism detection software that is commonly in use across the globe including best practices on how to interpret detection results. Lastly, recommendations and calls for future research are provided.

What Is Cheating?

The Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT) is one of a growing number of private providers partnering with universities to attract international students early in their commitment to tertiary studies. EIBT offers diploma programs that comprise the equivalent courses as the first-year of a Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Technology (IT), or Engineering at the destination Higher Education Institution (HEI). EIBT provides a period of academic acculturation for international students whose English proficiency and/or previous academic results are below direct entry requirements. In 2015, 200+ ‘new' students were required to complete a mandatory online questionnaire during orientation. First-person narrative data was derived from students' responses to the open-ended question: What is cheating and why is it wrong? The findings provide insight into their understandings, which has helped facilitate opportunities for faculty to mitigate opportunities for academic misconduct in the context of this Institute.

Students' Perceptions of Cheating and Plagiarism

There has been much discussion about the phenomenon of cheating in the system of education in general and in Higher Education (HE) in particular. Current research has analyzed this aspect from various viewpoints noting either the factors leading to such a phenomenon or the appropriate measures conducive to its elimination or diminution. As a result, the authors considered the moral side of the phenomenon explaining it as a fraudulent activity that should be corrected by means of rules and regulations established by each institution. Another aspect discussed in this chapter is an analysis of the existing norms regarding cheating at the academic level, by comparing various policies and procedures adopted by several Romanian universities. The purpose of such an enterprise consists in finding out the best solutions to the issue of dishonest behavior in universities in order to promote Academic Integrity (AI) among university staff and students.

A Clear Pathway

The educational institution participating in this research is a pre-university pathway college in South Australia. Specific to this study are the international students who enter this educational organization to undertake a Diploma in Business, Information Technology (IT) or Engineering, which constitutes the ‘first-year' of a Bachelor's degree at the partner university. In response to a mandatory online questionnaire, 106 responses were gathered from new students to the open-ended question—What is the difference between ‘group work' and ‘collusion'? Faculty are taking greater responsibility for elucidating the ‘line' between authorized and unauthorized collaboration. Deep(er) understanding of students' views/notions of these two concepts are indispensable if institutions with diverse student populations are to develop effective policies and procedures for increasing Academic Integrity (AI) among all members of the teaching and learning community.

International Students and Academic Misconduct

The incidence of academic misconduct among students at institutions of Higher Education (HEIs) is rising to epidemic proportions. Technological advancement makes it easier for students to engage in acts that violate Academic Integrity (AI), yet the same technology does not necessarily make it easier for instructors to detect misconduct. Compounding the problem is the apparent difficulty in establishing a general description for acts that constitute academic misconduct. Creating a consistent definition has been fraught with issues, although cheating and plagiarism are seen as common behaviors that violate AI. The literature indicates that international students are particularly prone to acts of academic misconduct such as plagiarism. Theories have been espoused to gain further understanding and clarity on why misconduct may be prevalent among international student populations. This chapter explores literature on the personal, cultural, and situational variables that are often implicated in international student's academic misconduct and reviews initiatives used to curtail such behavior.

Academic Integrity and International Students

The pressure to excel, peer perceptions, and the lack of faculty enforcement are among several factors that lead students to cheat in general. When circumstances of Academic Integrity (AI) among international students were examined, findings revealed prevalence of academic misconduct behaviors due to several factors. When admitting several academic dishonesty behaviors as accepted practices, a sweeping majority of international students denounced cheating as opposed to their own cultural, ethical, and religious beliefs. Several forms of academic misconduct behaviors are more frequent among international students than others. These included unauthorized help, cheating on online tests and utilizing Internet paper mills. Suggested strategies for minimizing misconduct practices of international students included: orientation training, a focus on learning outcomes, alleviating the social pressure, raising students' awareness about academic expectations, and building on the students' ethical backgrounds.

Plagiarism vs. Pedagogy

Plagiarism research has demonstrated the prevalence of this practice as well as its relationship to various individual and contextual factors. This research has been conducted in traditional educational contexts emphasizing teacher authority and knowledge acquisition with limited student autonomy, voice and choice. In this chapter, the authors explore the possibility of changing the educational context in order to diminish plagiarism. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is suggested as a way not only to reduce plagiarism, but to also teach for deep understanding and promote students' acquisition of 21st Century Skills. PBL emphasizes building a team-centered learning culture, using authentic and creative projects presented to an audience, and changing classroom norms to encourage positive student behavior. We discuss the implications for the classroom roles of staff and students, and the need for preparing teachers to use PBL instructional methodologies in their classrooms.

Strategies on Addressing Contract Cheating

Contract cheating is becoming a real challenge to many universities. Not only is it a relatively new phenomenon, but also it is difficult to prove as the work is often original and unlikely to be detected using standard anti-plagiarism text-matching services such as Turnitin or Erkund. Using a literature review approach, this chapter examines why students in general would take risks to engage in contract cheating and what strategies could be implemented to prevent or lower the chance for them to be engaged in this type of academic misconduct. An Australian regional university, which is also a leader in distance learning in the country, was used as a case for this study. The findings and recommendations provide insights for Australian university policy-makers when developing strategies, procedures and policies to face this issue. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.