Reasons Why Students Violate Academic Integrity Rules in a University Setting
Poster Number
3
Session Title
Poster Session 1
Faculty Mentor
Kat West, Ph.D.| Sarah Reiland, Ph.D.| Duha Hamed, Ph.D.| Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.| Lori Van Wallendael, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Abstract
A person’s lack of clarity as to what constitutes “cheating” can lead to both the occurrence and the severity of academic dishonesty behaviors. It was hypothesized that participants would be more successful at identifying academic integrity violations involving another person than violations done alone. Further, it was predicted that a participant’s school size would determine the success of identifying academic integrity violations. Participants from a small school (Winthrop University; n=73), a large school (the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; n=125), and other schools (n=26) in the Southeast United States were asked to indicate whether they thought a particular scenario or statement was a violation of academic integrity. Next, participants indicated whether various statements (adapted from a nearby university’s honor code) were violations. Finally, participants rated ethical behaviors and rated the severity of statements related to academic integrity using a previously validated scale. Results found differences in students’ ability to identify types of academic integrity violations with academic violations done alone (ex. self-plagiarism) being correctly identified less often. Additionally, students from a smaller school had a slightly lower rate of correctly identifying academic integrity violations.
Honors Thesis Committee
Kat West, Ph.D., Sarah Reiland, Ph.D., Duha Hamed, Ph.D., Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D., Lori Van Wallendael, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
Previously Presented/Performed?
Winthrop University Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, Rock Hill, SC, April 2023.
Type of Presentation
Poster presentation
Start Date
15-4-2023 12:00 PM
Reasons Why Students Violate Academic Integrity Rules in a University Setting
A person’s lack of clarity as to what constitutes “cheating” can lead to both the occurrence and the severity of academic dishonesty behaviors. It was hypothesized that participants would be more successful at identifying academic integrity violations involving another person than violations done alone. Further, it was predicted that a participant’s school size would determine the success of identifying academic integrity violations. Participants from a small school (Winthrop University; n=73), a large school (the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; n=125), and other schools (n=26) in the Southeast United States were asked to indicate whether they thought a particular scenario or statement was a violation of academic integrity. Next, participants indicated whether various statements (adapted from a nearby university’s honor code) were violations. Finally, participants rated ethical behaviors and rated the severity of statements related to academic integrity using a previously validated scale. Results found differences in students’ ability to identify types of academic integrity violations with academic violations done alone (ex. self-plagiarism) being correctly identified less often. Additionally, students from a smaller school had a slightly lower rate of correctly identifying academic integrity violations.
