Student Insight on Academic Integrity

Abstract

Prior researchers have used surveys to identify frequencies and types of academic integrity violations among students and to identify factors correlated with academically dishonest behaviours. Some studies have also explored students’ justifications for their behaviors. Comparatively little work, however, has explored students’ opinions on academic integrity using more nuanced and conversational, but still rigorous, methodologies. To address this gap in the literature, we gathered written and oral comments from 44 Canadian undergraduate business students who participated in one of four year-specific computer-facilitated focus groups. Specifically, we analyzed students’ responses to questions about the general attitudes among themselves and their peers with respect to academic integrity. We also analyzed students’ suggestions of steps that both they and faculty could take to improve the culture of academic integrity in their program. Our contributions to the field of academic integrity were three-fold. First, we gave voice to students in an area in which historically their opinions had been lacking, namely in the generation of specific actions that students and faculty can take to improve academic integrity. Second, we connected students’ opinions and suggestions to the broader literature on academic integrity, classroom pedagogy, and organizational culture to interpret our findings. Third, we introduced readers to an uncommon methodology, computer-facilitated focus groups, which is well suited to gathering rich and diverse insights on sensitive topics.

Impact of institutional and individual factors on students' academic integrity

“…Also, there have been very few previous studies on the impact of students' URL: www.onlinesciencepublishing.com | February, 2024 courses or subjects of study on their academic integrity. Most of the extant literature on students' academic integrity focused on students from a particular subject or course area, such as Packalen and Rowbotham (2022) who considered students in a business programme; San Jose (2022) who studied 66 selected students and nine faculty members of an educational institution in the Philipines; and the widely acclaimed longitudinal study by McCabe (2020) which did not consider the course of study of the students. However, Eshet, Grinautsky, and Peled (2012) in a study of 1,574 student samples selected from institutions in the USA and Israel, found that the type of course a student is studying significantly impacts their academic dishonesty.…”

What Are ESL Students' Academic Integrity Challenges and How Can Universities Help?

“…Academic Integrity Violations by Course Level (Renee & Anderberg, 2020) Besides, rather than simply punishing students for breaching academic integrity policies, a new trend has commenced to educate students about academic integrity and prevent plagiarism (Liang & Maddison, 2021;Pecorari, 2015Pecorari, , 2016Tilley et al, 2021), but exactly what support students need remains unknown. As Packalen and Rowbotham (2022) point out, there is a lack of student-generated advice on improving the school AI culture. To contribute to needed research in academic integrity and plagiarism prevention, this paper reports on a study that examines ESL student perspectives on (1) academic integrity challenges, and (2) effective pedagogical and institutional strategies to help students avoid plagiarism.…”

“…Despite the findings of previous and ongoing research, for universities to offer adequate assistance to prevent plagiarism, more is needed to understand what ESL students consider to be their problems and challenges regarding academic integrity and what they think universities and instructors can do to best help them deal with the challenges (see also Packalen & Rowbotham, 2022). It would be ideal if teachers understood what students need and how to assist students in avoidingplagiarism.…”

TESOL in the New Era: Introduction to the Special Column for the 2022 Global English Education China Assembly

“…Turnitin and Grammarly Premium) and "simultaneous oral-written teacher feedback" (Hu, 2019). Notwithstanding the findings from previous and ongoing studies, in order for universities to provide assistance for student plagiarism prevention, more studies are needed to understand what ESL students consider to be their problems and challenges concerning academic integrity and what kinds of intuitional support they need (Packalen & Rowbotham, 2022). Hu and Yu's paper represents a useful and timely addition to this line of studies.…”