Ethnicity, Acculturation, and Plagiarism: A Criterion Study of Unethical Academic Conduct

Abstract

Ethics have received increased attention from the media and acadernia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct-plagiarism-is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnrclty. Considerations and implications for training and managins1 international students and workers are discussed. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Full Text Turn on search term navigation Headnote Ethics have received increased attention from the media and acadernia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct-plagiarism-is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnicity. Considerations and implications for training and managinq international students and workers are discussed.

Chinese University Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism

“…This culturally essentialist explanation, however, has been roundly rejected by other academics (e.g., Evans & Youmans, 2000;Flowerdew & Li, 2007b;Lei & Hu, 2014;Liu, 2005;Phan, 2006) who view plagiarism as consequential on a complex of factors such as different conceptions of plagiarism, limited knowledge of illegitimate intertextuality, insufficient command of the target language, pedagogical practices, and various other situational variables. This nonessentialist perspective is supported by a growing stream of findings from recent studies (e.g., Hyland, 2009;Martin, 2012;Martin et al, 2011) that Asian and other ESL students do not plagiarize more than their Anglo American counterparts.…”

“…Several empirical studies took an enculturational perspective to understand changes in students' beliefs about, knowledge of, attitudes toward, and/or practice of plagiarism (e.g., Chandrasegaran, 2000;Deckert, 1993;Gilmore, Strickland, Timmerman, Maher, & Feldon, 2010;Lei, 2010;Martin, Rao, & Sloan, 2011;Song-Turner, 2008;Wheeler, 2009). These studies produced a number of noteworthy but unsurprising findings.…”

“…These studies produced a number of noteworthy but unsurprising findings. One finding is that with increasing enculturation into a Western(ized) academic community, students from non-Western cultural backgrounds may develop perceptions and practices that increasingly approximate to Anglo American conceptions of plagiarism and intertextual practices (Lei, 2010;Martin et al, 2011;Song-Turner, 2008). Another finding is that advancement in higher education is associated with more knowledge about inappropriate intertextuality and greater ability to recognize or avoid various forms of plagiarism (Chandrasegaran, 2000;Deckert, 1993;Gilmore et al, 2010).…”

A comparison of Chinese and Australian university students' attitudes towards plagiarism

“…To date, there is little empirical evidence to establish the credibility of this stereotype of Chinese students as having 'softer' attitudes or a greater propensity to plagiarise than Western students (Martin, Rao, and Sloan 2011). Although a number of cross-cultural studies have found that Asian university students tend to have more permissive attitudes towards plagiarism than their Western counterparts (Egan 2008;Introna, Hayes, Blair, and Wood 2003;Marshall and Garry 2006;Pickering and Hornby 2005), there is also evidence suggesting no cross-cultural differences in plagiarism attitudes between these two groups (Martin 2011;Martin et al 2011) or even higher rates of plagiarism in Western than Asian countries (Maxwell, Curtis, and Vardanega 2008).…”

“…Although a number of cross-cultural studies have found that Asian university students tend to have more permissive attitudes towards plagiarism than their Western counterparts (Egan 2008;Introna, Hayes, Blair, and Wood 2003;Marshall and Garry 2006;Pickering and Hornby 2005), there is also evidence suggesting no cross-cultural differences in plagiarism attitudes between these two groups (Martin 2011;Martin et al 2011) or even higher rates of plagiarism in Western than Asian countries (Maxwell, Curtis, and Vardanega 2008). As such, whilst stereotypes of Asian students as having less serious attitudes toward plagiarism (or a greater propensity toward academic misconduct) than their Western counterparts persist, the evidence to sustain such viewpoints remains contentious.…”