Academic dishonesty: definitions, types, causes, and prevention

Academic Dishonesty can formally be defined as rewriting the author's sentences as your own; adopting a particularly sentence as your own; paraphrasing someone else's idea as your own or presenting someone else's link of thinking as your own. Academic dishonesty is known as a form of literary dishonesty, otherwise known to college students as cheating. It is looked down upon highly by academics and it carries with it many serious consequences. Over the past five years, the Internet has emerged as a cheater's dream and a professor's worst nightmare. it's because of a variety of web sites that give students access to entire papers for a nominal fee and sometimes even for free. As a result of the widening accessibility of the Internet, as well as the new medium's lack of regulation, a student can click a few computer buttons and in a matter of minutes, they can download a well-crafted term paper without having to pick up a single book. It seems as though the Internet has totally changed the meaning of the word 'research'. This paper will explore academic dishonesty, the types of academic dishonesty, reasons why students would engage in academic dishonesty, the effects of academic dishonesty and discuss some ways to prevent all forms of cheating.

Types of Academic Dishonesty

There are several types of academic dishonesty. It can include one or more of the following types: plagiarism, deception, cheating, sabotage and fabrication. Each one of these ways of academic dishonesty is considered unethical and could cause many problems for the student.

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Plagiarism is very common on college campuses around the United States. It is considered to the be process of where the writer copies the words and thoughts of another writer. Plagiarism can be committed by copying someone else's work word for word or it can be by copying someone else's idea. With all of today's technology and the internet, many students are tempted to turn to websites with good information and simply cut and paste the information into their paper. Due to copyright laws, this is actually illegal. Even though the information is published on the internet for public reading; others are not allowed to use it as their own words. The information can be used if placed in quotations and properly sited, but without quotations and a citation to the reference, it is considered to be plagiarism. (Bushway and Nash)

Deception is another way of academic dishonesty. Deception is similar to lying. It is the process of providing false or misleading information to a teacher on a paper or in person. It is the process of where the student lies in order to get a better grade or to get out of a tough assignment. One very popular line deception line that has been used throughout history is "My dog ate my homework." When a student says that their dog ate their homework, they are really saying, "I did not do my homework and I am looking for a legitimate excuse to avoid getting a bad grade." Sometimes it is hard for a teacher to determine if a student is sincere or is lying about the situation. Therefore, some teachers will give the student another opportunity, while others will simply say, "Too bad." (Bushway and Nash)

Cheating is the next way of academic dishonesty. Cheating can be defined as copying from another student's work. There are hundreds of ways students can cheat on Academic Dishonesty 3 homework and on a quiz or test. Some students simply look at another student's paper and copy the answers. Others will write the answers on their hand or leg. They may have it on a small sheet of paper that is hidden but where they can clear see it and copy it. When caught, many teachers will give the student a zero on the assignment or test for cheating. Sometimes a teacher will even kick a student out of class for cheating. Cheating is unfair and very unethical. (Bushway and Nash)

Sabotage is a situation where one student prevents or stops another student from doing their work. This could be a simple case of one student talking to or disrupting another student. It could also be a situation where one student threatens another student and as a result, the threatened student feels intimidated in the classroom. In many sabotage cases, the teacher is not fully aware of what is going on and it appears as if the students are not doing their work. Sabotage can also be done in a discrete manner. This would include things such as destroying school property. For example, a student purposely erases a program or information on the computer or they rip pages out of a library book or magazine. These types of destruction to school property may help one student, but will prevent other students from using the same materials. Therefore, sabotage is considered to be a form of academic dishonesty. (Bushway and Nash)

Fabrication is the act of creating data to back an argument. In situations of fabrication, a student will create fake resources to make it look as if they did the research for a paper. It could also include a situation where a student changes information or numbers to make something work better for them. Fabrication is considered to be the creative way to engage in academic dishonesty. However, as creative as it may be, it is Academic Dishonesty 4 still unethical and could cause the student a lot of problems with the teacher. (Bushway and Nash)

Why Students Engage in Academic Dishonesty

Students in colleges around the United States engage in academic dishonesty on a daily basis. It is something that has grown immensely since the invention of the internet and other forms of technology. However, why would a student want to engage in academic dishonesty? There are several reasons. Here are some common reasons that students would jeopardize their academic careers and engage in a form of academic dishonesty.

Kleptomania and the Need to Cheat

Many studies have been done on students of all ages and in all levels of education. Some psychologist actually believe that some students have a natural urge to cheat (1). It is a psychological problem that they really cannot control. In these types of cases, the student feels as if they are very incapable of completing the assignment or test on their own and they constantly look for ways to cheat just to complete the assignment and get it done to pass the class. These types of students usually are already suffering from anxiety and other forms of depression. They also may students who have addiction problems and have no time to study and prepare properly for the class. Some psychologist even go as far as comparing the student's urge to cheat with kleptomania. Kleptomaniacs always feel the urge to steal things. So, with some students who always feel the urge to cheat, it may be safe to say that they suffer from a form of kleptomania. (Pope)

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There are many reasons why students choose to engage in academic dishonesty. Studies have shown that there is no background associated more or less with academic dishonesty. Rich students are as likely to cheat as poor students. White students will cheat as much as black students (McCabe). Overall, the pressure to perform in a rapid and stressful society is what prompts the majority of the students into academic dishonesty.

The Effects of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty may seem innocent in the beginning, but in the long run could cause a lot of problems in one's career. For example, if a student cheats on a test or an assignment, receives a passing grade and is not caught by the teacher the student passes the class. However, the student has not really learned the materials and the materials may have been important building blocks for the next chapter or upcoming assignments. Above all, the information that the student cheated could be important skills that they will need to understand for their future career. If they cheated, then they did not learn the materials as they should have learned it. Therefore, it may appear to be harmless at the present time, however, it could prove to be devastating in the future.

Academic dishonesty also affects the teachers. "In economic terms, cheating causes an underproduction of knowledge, where the professor's job is to produce knowledge. (Bunn, pg. 199) Moreover, a case of cheating often will cause emotional distress to faculty members, many considering it to be a personal slight against them or a violation of their trust. Dealing with academic misconduct is often one of the worst parts of a career in Academic Dishonesty 7 education, one survey claiming that 77% of academics agreed with the statement dealing with a cheating student is one of the most onerous aspects of the job." (Whitley pg. 252). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty#cite_note-58)

Preventing Academic Dishonesty

Today, many things are being done to prevent academic dishonesty. The punishment for academic dishonesty will depend on the age of the student and the degree to which the cheating occurred. Sometimes, academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the class. In other cases, it could be expulsion from school. Sometimes, teachers could even lose their jobs if it is discovered that students had been plagiarizing in their classes. Many schools will not only punish the students for academic dishonesty, but all parties involved in the incident. No one wins with cheating.

In conclusion, academic dishonesty is one thing that all students should avoid. Not only does it make the student look very bad, it also could cause the student to fail the class or even ruin their future career. No matter if you are copying a few simple words, or creating resources for research not performed, academic dishonesty is dishonest. It is not the answer. All students should think twice before engaging in such risky behavior.

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