This study examined faculty perceptions of plagiarism in the classroom using a qualitative case study methodology. A single university was used for the case study to locate all data under a single institutional culture. A purposive sample of eleven faculty were interviewed and content analysis was conducted on the data. The data were analyzed using Lave and Wenger’s theory of legitimate peripheral participation, a learning theory which proposes that all learning takes place in a community of practice and that learning takes place as a result of interactions between members of the community of practice. Because the data were analyzed using legitimate peripheral participation, faculty were asked to reflect on how they learned to write in their discipline, how they view their role in working with students as they become proficient in writing in their discipline, and what happens when students violate community practices. This study attempted to reframe scholarship that approaches plagiarism as a right vs. wrong issue and recast scholarship on plagiarism as an issue of students moving toward full participation in the community of practice of academic scholars under the tutelage of faculty members. Research participants saw themselves as mentors to students as they developed their academic writing standards and abilities, a philosophy in keeping with the tenets of legitimate peripheral participation. Research participants attributed violations of community standards to institutional constructs such as grades, social constructs such as culture or generation, or individual constructs such as moral character or upbringing.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that international undergraduate students are engaging in academically dishonest behavior on an increasing basis (Marcus, 2011; McGowan & Lightbody, 2008). In other words, they are found to occupy more time and resources than domestic students in the promotion of academic integrity and in administering punishments for academic dishonesty. This study explores international undergraduate student perspectives on issues related to academic integrity at a large, Western-Canadian university. Hofstede’s (1980) six cultural dimensions are used to learn to what extent, if any, culture and academic integrity are intertwined. Participants of the study were international undergraduate students in various faculties, years of study, and from various countries of origin: Azerbaijan, China, Hong Kong, India, Malta, Pakistan, South Korea, and United States of America. The findings of this study indicate that international undergraduate students have the impression that their group is more susceptible to engaging in academic dishonesty. Conversely, international undergraduate students are also found to possess a more advanced understanding of moral behavior, although they are sometimes unable to translate this fully to their academic lives. Implications for practice include: shifting to a taxonomy that frames positive or desired behaviors as opposed to the negative, sharing the burden of dealing with academic dishonesty, and better supporting faculty in relaying the message of academic integrity at the university using a bottom up approach. / October 2016

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The current program of research investigated factors that influence students’ perceptions of everyday moral violations, as well as their own inclinations to engage in immoral behaviours. In Experiment 1, I demonstrated that participants’ evaluations of a hypothetical student who contemplated plagiarizing an assignment depended on both the choice that was ultimately made and the length of time spent deliberating about it (cf., Tetlock et al., 2000). Specifically, when participants were informed that the student ultimately elected to refrain from cheating, the length of time that this individual spent considering the decision had no impact on their subsequent behavioural or character evaluations. However, when participants were informed that the student had succumbed to the temptation to cheat, they evaluated the individual more harshly if the decision to cheat had been made after a period of deliberation than if the decision had been made blithely, without any forethought. Experiment 2 extended this program of research by showing that stable and transient variations in construal level interact to influence participants’ perceptions of students who engage in acts of plagiarism. Specifically, participants with low levels of personal agency evaluated a hypothetical student who had plagiarized an assignment relatively charitably, regardless of how they were prompted to construe the situation. Furthermore, these participants felt a greater affinity for the student after being induced to construe the student’s actions in low-level terms. On the other hand, participants with high levels of personal agency who were induced to construe the student’s actions in high-level terms were less positive in their evaluations, and also felt less of an affinity for the student. Experiment 3 assessed the extent to which stable and transient variations in construal level interact to predict actual cheating behaviour during an evaluative task. The results of this investigation revealed that priming participants with low levels of personal agency to adopt high-level construals lessened the incidence of cheating among members of this group. In sum, the results associated with the current program of research suggest that transient shifts in construal level interact with stable levels of personal agency to influence students’ perceptions of peers who engage in academic dishonesty. Furthermore, they provide evidence that these two factors play a role in the extent to which students behave dishonestly in evaluative settings themselves. Potential applications that could be derived from the current findings and possible avenues for future research are discussed. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-01-12 12:56:11.965

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Academic dishonesty is a major dilemma for institutions of higher learning. Cheating behaviors among students have been documented as early as 1941 when Drake conducted a study that indicated that 23% of students cheated. Since then percentages of students involved in cheating and academic dishonesty have increased. Students are now cheating at an alarming rate as evidenced in a study by McCabe and Trevino (1993) where 52% of 6,000 undergraduate students surveyed admitted cheating on an exam by copying from another student. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which academic integrity policies, standards, and programs differ by institutional type. Specifically, the study focused on the academic integrity policy of each institution, the promotion of standards, and the academic integrity program. Data were collected using the Academic Integrity Survey originally developed by Kibler (1993) and modified for use in this study. The survey consisted of 48 questions designed to measure the differences between academic integrity policies, standards, and programs by institution type. The findings revealed significant difference in three of the five areas. These findings suggest that private institutions are developing honor code systems, training faculty more, and seeing better results from their academic dishonesty initiatives than private institutions. / Master of Arts

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Physical separation of students and instructors creates the gap of anonymity. The ability of academic institutions to authenticate students and their academic work at various points during a course is necessary for preserving not only the perceived credibility but also for public safety. This study examines the question of what measures universities with large distance education programs employ to align identity of learners with the academic work they do, as well as examines effectiveness, challenges and barriers to their implementation. The research is undertaken using a multiple case approach and analyzes survey data collected from academic administrators at five officially accredited post secondary institutions in three countries. They are: Athabasca University, Open University UK, Penn State University World Campus, University of Maryland University College and eConcordia– Concordia University's distance learning facility. This study is not an exhaustive attempt to examine all aspect of academic integrity, but rather to create awareness about various learner authentication strategies and also outline challenges and advantages that these measure entail. This study confirms that secure learner authentication in distance education environment is possible. A combination of technology and administrative procedures may facilitate a secure testing environment. Furthermore, with greater pressure to enhance security of learner authentication, the openness of open learning is challenged and may change as we know it. / 2013-05

The researcher of this quasi-experimental 2 x 2 factorial design study investigated the impact of an academic integrity module and Turnitin on undergraduate student similarity index scores. Similarity index scores were used to measure suggested plagiarism rates of student papers. The purposive sample was made up of 96 undergraduate education students enrolled in four sections of the same course in a Southeastern university. One main factor was submitting assignments through Turnitin, with two levels: yes or no. The second factor was completing the academic integrity module, with two levels: yes or no. The four intact groups were randomly assigned to the main factors. Although the findings from this study indicated that neither main factor nor their interaction were statistically significant at the .05 alpha level, the mean similarity index score of participants who submitted their paper through Turnitin was lower than the mean similarity index score of participants who did not submit their papers through Turnitin. Similarly, the mean similarity index score of participants who completed the academic integrity module was lower than the mean similarity index score of participants who did not complete the academic integrity module. Although not at the statistically significant level, the plagiarism rate as measured by the mean similarity index score of the group of participants who completed the academic integrity module and submitted papers through Turnitin was the lowest followed by the group of participants that completed the academic integrity module but did not submit papers through Turnitin, then the group of participants that did not complete the academic integrity module and did not submit papers through Turnitin. The group of participants who did not complete the academic integrity module but submitted papers through Turnitin had the highest mean similar index score suggesting a higher plagiarism rate as compared to the other groups. Finally, the researcher acknowledged the limitations of this study and made recommendations for future consideration. Other variables such as gender, demographics, major, and credit hours completed could be investigated. Replication of the study is recommended. Also, a qualitative approach could enhance future studies.