The authors examined perceptions about plagiarism, correct source citation, and the evaluation of written assignments containing plagiarized material among 156 college students. Great variability existed both in the students' knowledge/recognition of citation methods and in their perceptions about the best and fairest way to evaluate plagiarized assignments. Most students indicated that grades should reflect students' time and effort and that they should be given the opportunity to redo the assignment before determining a final grade. The authors' findings concur with previous research about student knowledge of plagiarism and support the need for active-learning exercises devoted to the prevention of plagiarism.
Key findings:
· Estimated: 40% -70% have
cheated in college
· 2/3 paraphrased without citing sources
· More than 50% plagiarized text
· Students view plagiarism in a paper as a less serious infraction than
cheating on a test
University
Academic Dishonesty Policy and Student Perceptions of Cheating: An Exploratory
Content Analysis Across Fourteen Universities
Penelope J. Prenshaw, Millsaps College
Robert D. Straughan, Washington and Lee University
Nancy D. Albers-Miller, University of North Texas
Previous research on academic cheating has examined correlates of cheating, cheating methods and ways to reduce cheating. This study looks at cheating from a slightly different angle by examining the relationship between an institution's policy on academic dishonesty and the students' perceptions that cheating is commonplace. The results indicate two characteristics of academic dishonesty policies, specificity and student commitment, are negatively associated with student perceptions that cheating is commonplace. In addition, students that are younger, that choose lenient professors, that perceive themselves as good students, and that do not place great importance on the university's reputation for excellence are more likely to perceive cheating as commonplace at the institution.
Guilty in whose eyes? University Students' Perceptions
of Cheating and Plagiarism in Academic Work and Assessment
Peter Ashworth and Philip Bannister, Learning and Teaching Research
Group, Sheffield Hallam University
Studies in Higher Education, 22(2), 187-203.
The little published work on cheating
and plagiarism amongst students in higher education has, almost without exception,
used questionnaire techniques which take for granted a shared understanding
of the issues involved. The work reports the use of a qualitative methodology
which attempts to discover the student perception of cheating and plagiarism
without presupposing that students start from the same premises as academics.
Prominent among the findings are the following:
(a) there is a strong moral basis to students' views, which focus on such values as friendship, interpersonal trust and good learning. This means that some punishable behaviour can be regarded as justifiable and some officially approved behaviour can be felt to be dubious
(b) the notion of plagiarism is regarded as extremely unclear - some students have a fear that they might well plagiarise unwittingly in writing what they genuinely take to be their own ideas
(c) factors such as alienation from the university due to lack of contact with staff, the impact of large classes, and the greater emphasis on group learning are perceived by students themselves as facilitating and sometimes excusing cheating.
Understanding the student perspective
on cheating and plagiarism can significantly assist academics in their efforts
to communicate appropriate norms.
Back to Plagiarism: A Guide for ECSU Students and Faculty
Last Update: January 30, 2007.