Students' Involvement in Academic Dishonesty and Their Attitudes towards Copying in Exams and Academic Papers

Abstract

Cheating in academia is described in the literature like an epidemic, and one which crosses geographic and cultural boundaries. Academic dishonesty hurts the reputations of institutes of higher education, and carries implications for the job market as well. Some studies have attributed the spread of this phenomenon to technological advancements, which have made it much easier to locate academic content and to copy it. Our study examined students' attitudes to various forms of academic dishonesty, and the connection between demographic, personal and situational variables and the attitudes and behaviors associated with academic dishonesty. Seven hundred and seventy-nine students of business management, psychology and education completed questionnaires regarding their attitudes towards academic dishonesty and their personal involvement in academically dishonest behavior. The results showed that the infractions that were perceived as most severe were cheating on exams and in final term papers. Other acts were viewed with less severity, like letting a friend copy a paper, and referencing sources in a paper that the student has not actually read. Education and psychology students perceived cheating as more severe than did students of business management. The latter were more likely to justify copying in certain situations, like when a course is not taught clearly or an exam is hard. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the best predictors of attitudes and behaviors are the situational factors (i.e. the characteristics of the student's academic environment). Classroom norms and the severity with which the institute treats dishonesty were found to be the factors that most strongly influenced students' attitudes and behavior. Demographic and personal variables proved less reliable as predictors.