Academic Integrity Issues Research Articles

From How Much to Whodunnit

The arrival of ChatGPT and other generative AI (genAI) tools has ushered in a new era in education and presented significant challenges to academic institutions. It has also delivered new concerns for educators who seek to support, and to certify, students’ learning. In addition, the potential and in some cases the necessity for students to learn to engage these new tools in preparation for future work in a professional or research context is emerging apace. This raises important questions for the form and focus of student learning in higher education. It also calls for guidance for educators, especially those who may not be familiar with the operation or implications of these new technologies for their teaching. This paper presents an innovative typology for designing assessment in this context, and that offers language to discuss academic integrity issues and to authorise AI use. The typology draws on and extends scholarship related to groupwork, considering the role of the genAI as a ‘group member’. It provides examples of related approaches to assessment design, and of level descriptors that educators may use as a basis for rubrics to recognise and define the qualities of good student use of genAI tools in this context.

How Online Learning Has Changed the Accessibility of Higher Education

It has become more accessible, flexible, and affordable than ever before as it completely does away with geographical and time barriers as have persisted in traditional education. This aspect accelerated not just in presence but also with identifying strengths and weaknesses in online learning during the pandemic. An advantage of online education has been low cost, based on reduced physical infrastructure. Another is flexibility in learning that learners enjoy as it balances personal responsibilities with their educational needs. Additionally, access for disabled students exists through assistive technologies. Many institutions have embraced this hybrid model where both the traditional learning experience and the online learning experience can give personalized educational experiences. On the other hand, it has posed such problems as the digital divide: students from lower-income backgrounds and those residing in rural areas often cannot access the internet and its other technological tools, which remain inaccessible to a high number of students with disabilities. This contributes to the isolation and disengagement of the online learners, who feel much more at home within the face-to-face learning setting. A further drawback relates to the issue of academic integrity in an online virtual learning environment, where there are no guarantees that students would be self-regulatory.The study examines how these challenges affect the accessibility of higher education and explores gaps in current research, such as the digital divide, inclusion of marginalized students, and the emotional and social impact of online learning. Online education has broadened access to higher education, but there is a need to ensure that all barriers are addressed so that equitable, high-quality learning opportunities are offered to all students.

It Helps with Crap Lecturers and Their Low Effort: Investigating Computer Science Students’ Perceptions of Using ChatGPT for Learning

This study explores how computing science students (n = 335) use ChatGPT, their trust in its information, their navigation of plagiarism issues, and their confidence in addressing plagiarism and academic integrity. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining quantitative survey data with a qualitative thematic analysis of student comments to provide a comprehensive understanding of these issues. The findings reveal that ChatGPT has become integral to students’ academic routines, with 87.8% using it weekly with variable frequency. Most students (70.3%) believe the university should allow ChatGPT use, and 66.6% think it is fair to use it for academic purposes despite 57.4% distrusting its information. Additionally, 53.8% worry about accidentally plagiarising when using ChatGPT. Overall, students have moderate confidence in addressing these academic integrity issues, with no differences between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Male students reported higher confidence in handling plagiarism and academic integrity issues than female students, suggesting underlying differences in how students perceive and interact with generative AI technologies. A thematic analysis of 74 student comments on their ChatGPT experience revealed four themes: (a) Usage and Role of ChatGPT, (b) Ethical and Responsible Use, (c) Limitations and Accuracy, and (d) Impact on Education and Need for Clear Guidelines. This study contributes to the ongoing debate on accepting and using ChatGPT, highlighting the need for institutions to provide clear guidelines and ethical considerations to ensure responsible use within educational contexts.

Revising academic cultures to improve integrity in Kenyan universities

ABSTRACT This paper reviews issues of academic integrity, focusing on unethical practices in Kenyan universities. The rapid expansion of university education in Kenya, followed by a significant decline in the number of qualified students seeking to join private universities since 2017 have created financial pressures on universities. Some universities have resorted to unethical practices to enrol students and offer programmes that have not been accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). At the same time, there is a growing concern among governments, educators, students, and other stakeholders that unethical practices in higher education are spreading, compromising the integrity of academic programmes. This review suggests strategies that can be put in place to improve academic integrity. The analysis considers what motivates individuals to act unethically, even though doing so contributes to damaging the credibility of the sector. The idea of the prisoner’s dilemma is introduced to explain why it remains in individuals’ interest to act in this way. Based on this, we suggest that changes could be made that shift the balance of risk and reward. These changes can include efforts to detect unethical behaviour; discourage it through more consistent penalties; and to encourage and reward positive alternatives. We propose that everyone in higher education could contribute to these changes, suggesting interventions that could be made by teachers in classrooms; by trainers within universities; and by policy makers nationally.

Exploring Academic Integrity in Online Assessment

Four years have passed since the pandemic situation forced us to adapt in order to continue our education. This adaptation extends to the way we administer learning evaluations through the online assessment. Certain schools and universities continue to utilize these adaptations in education to this day. Furthermore, the online assessment raises several issues, one of which is the academic integrity. Thus, this paper explores the issue of academic integrity in online assessment from the perspective of EFL teachers. This study explores the teachers' views of academic integrity in online assessments, their experiences with academic integrity violations, and approaches to administering academic integrity. This study employed a survey method, using an online questionnaire distributed to EFL teachers across Indonesia and involving forty-two participants. The data collected from the questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics to interpret the findings and draw conclusions. The results show that most teachers acknowledge the principle and significance of academic integrity, but they admit to having difficulties administering and monitoring academic integrity in their class. Furthermore, not all teachers are able to effectively manage their experiences with academic integrity violations. Therefore, further study considering this issue is suggested.

Techno-solutionism a Fact or Farce? A Critical Assessment of GenAI in Open and Distance Education

Techno-solutionism (Ts) amplifies academic integrity issues endemic to using Generative AI in Open and Distance education (ODE). It (Ts) induces in Higher education (HE) the disposition that technology can and should be employed in every aspect of teaching, learning, and assessment. The prevalence of Ts in ODE and the consequence of undermining academic integrity is found in the surge in published papers. A 2023 study by Nature of over 1600 scientists reports that nearly 30% use GenAI to write papers, and 5% use it in grant applications. A 2024 Originality.ai report on 13,000 analysed papers on arXiv indicates a sudden increase of 200.42%, 44.68% and 22.04%, respectively, in Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics in papers published in Jan. 2019 and those published in Nov. 2023. Apr. 2024 paper on arXiv notes Computer Science to be the most prolific in LLM usage with up to 17.5% increase. The problem this study addresses is balancing the challenges and opportunities of GenAI in ODE. Is there a limit to AI use in ODE? How can we upsurge academic integrity in the age of AI? How might we rethink the culture of publish or perish in the age of AI? Adopting the scoping review methodology and discourse analysis, this paper analyses the gains and pains of AI in ODE. Leveraging the critical theory of technology, it recommends clear green and red lines on using AI in teaching, research, and assessment.

Is it OK if I cheat? Implementation of, and student response to, iterative change in an undergraduate medical degree high stakes OSCE due to issues of academic integrity

Purpose of article This paper explores issues pertinent to teaching and assessment of clinical skills at the early stages of medical training, aimed at preventing academic integrity breaches. The drivers for change, the changes themselves, and student perceptions of those changes are described. Methods Iterative changes to a summative high stakes Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) assessment in an undergraduate medical degree were undertaken in response to perceived/known breaches of assessment security. Initial strategies focused on implementing best practice teaching and assessment design principles, in association with increased examination security. Results These changes failed to prevent alleged sharing of examination content between students. A subsequent iteration saw a more radical deviation from classic OSCE assessment design, with students being assessed on equivalent competencies, not identical items (OSCE stations). This more recent approach was broadly acceptable to students, and did not result in breaches of academic integrity that were detectable. Conclusions Ever increasing degrees of assessment security need not be the response to breaches of academic integrity. Use of non-identical OSCE items across a cohort, underpinned by constructive alignment of teaching and assessment may mitigate the incentives to breach academic integrity, though face validity is not universal.

AI providers as criminal essay mills? Large language models meet contract cheating law

ABSTRACT Many jurisdictions have passed very broadly drafted laws to tackle academic integrity issues, criminalising the provision or advertising of contract cheating or essay mills, such as the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 in England and Wales. Recently, AI models such as chatGPT have amplified academic concerns. Here, we look at the intersection between these phenomena. We review academic cheating laws, showing that several may apply even to general-purpose AI services like chatGPT, without knowledge and intent. We identify a range of illegal adverts for AI-enhanced essay mills, and illustrate how difficult it is to draw the line between writing an essay and supporting it, such as by generating bone fide references. We also outline the consequences for intermediaries hosting these ads or providing these services, which may be significantly affected by these primarily symbolic laws. We conclude with a series of recommendations for policymakers, legislators, and education providers.

ChatGPT in higher education - a synthesis of the literature and a future research agenda

AbstractChatGPT has emerged as a significant subject of research and exploration, casting a critical spotlight on teaching and learning practices in the higher education domain. This study examines the most influential articles, leading journals, and productive countries concerning citations and publications related to ChatGPT in higher education, while also shedding light on emerging thematic and geographic clusters within research on ChatGPT’s role and challenges in teaching and learning at higher education institutions. Forty-seven research papers from the Scopus database were shortlisted for bibliometric analysis. The findings indicate that the use of ChatGPT in higher education, particularly issues of academic integrity and research, has been studied extensively by scholars in the United States, who have produced the largest volume of publications, alongside the highest number of citations. This study uncovers four distinct thematic clusters (academic integrity, learning environment, student engagement, and scholarly research) and highlights the predominant areas of focus in research related to ChatGPT in higher education, including student examinations, academic integrity, student learning, and field-specific research, through a country-based bibliographic analysis. Plagiarism is a significant concern in the use of ChatGPT, which may reduce students’ ability to produce imaginative, inventive, and original material. This study offers valuable insights into the current state of ChatGPT in higher education literature, providing essential guidance for scholars, researchers, and policymakers.

Integrity games: an online teaching tool on academic integrity for undergraduate students

In this paper, we introduce Integrity Games (https://integgame.eu/) – a freely available, gamified online teaching tool on academic integrity. In addition, we present results from a randomized controlled experiment measuring the learning outcomes from playing Integrity Games.Integrity Games engages students in reflections on realistic and relevant academic integrity issues that lie in the grey zone between good practice and misconduct. Thereby, it aims to 1) motivate students to learn more about academic integrity, 2) increase their awareness of the grey-zone issues, and 3) increase their awareness of misconduct. To achieve these aims, the tool presents four gamified cases that lead students through an engaging narrative.The experiment to measure learning outcomes was conducted in three European countries, and included N = 257 participants from across natural science, social science and the humanities. We show that the participants enjoyed playing Integrity Games, and that it increased their sensitivity to grey-zone issues and misconduct. However, the increases identified were similar to those achieved by the participants in the control group reading a non-gamified text.We end by discussing the value of gamification in online academic integrity training in light of these results.

Information Culture of the Personality in the Digital Age: On the Issue of Academic Integrity

Information Culture of the Personality in the Digital Age: On the Issue of Academic Integrity

THE INTEGRATION OF GOOGLE TRANSLATE AS A MACHINE TRANSLATION AID IN EFL STUDENTS’ THESIS COMPOSITION

This study aims to examine the integration of Google Translate as a machine translation tool in the EFL students’ thesis writing process. Framed within the explanatory sequential mixed methods, the study utilized a survey and an open-ended interview. Using a purposive sampling technique, this study included fifty EFL students in North Bali, Indonesia, in the survey and five students voluntarily in the interview session. Measured using the Gregory Formula, content validity results from the two raters showed that the survey and interview guide were valid (.1) and reliable (α=.809). The survey data were analyzed using Ideal Mean Score analysis and the interview transcripts data were analyzed using Interactive Model analysis. Results reveal that Google Translate benefited the students in the thesis writing process. The interactive model analysis resulted in main themes of the strengths, comprising sub-themes of functions and features of Google Translate and weaknesses, involving sub-themes of contextuality, grammar accuracy, and academic integrity issues. It can be concluded that the use of Google Translate can be helpful in assisting students’ thesis writing with several considerations.

Pedagogiczne konteksty humanistyki Floriana Znanieckiego w najnowszej interpretacji Lecha Witkowskiego – wnioski dla Ukrainy

The article substantiates the pedagogical aspects of the humanities as presented by the Polish scholar Florian Znaniecki, through the prism of current concerns of Ukrainian science, using the materials from Lech Witkowski’s extensive book Uroszczenia i transaktualność w humanistyce. Florian Znaniecki: dziedzictwo idei i jego pęknięcia [False claims and transactuality in the Humanities. Florian Znaniecki: the legacy of ideas and its ruptures.] Analysing Znaniecki’s contradictory viewpoints regarding the role of pedagogy in the system of humanistic knowledge, Witkowski convincingly emphasizes the “pedagogy” or pedagogical orientation of Znaniecki’s scientific work and identifies the actual tasks for modern pedagogy, based on the contradictions of modern cultural life or the democratic ideal. The author of the article attempts to place these emphases (Is pedagogy a humanistic or a social science?) and to reevaluate fundamental notions in the field of methodology through the prism of Ukrainian humanities. Witkowski also identifies contemporary objectives for modern pedagogy, drawing from the discrepancies observed in current cultural dynamics or the democratic paradigm. The author emphasizes the challenges of modern humanities in the context of the formation of democratic values, fostering national identity, promoting civic engagement, and media culture to counteract the information war, interdisciplinary approach, complementarity, and social orientation in the post-humanist paradigm. The article analyses some critical aspects of Znaniecki’s views in the latest interpretation of Witkowski, who convincingly goes beyond the traditional receptions of the Polish sociologist’s pedagogical discourses. The article highlights the topical issues of academic (dis)integrity, according to L. Witkowski’s book, in which Znaniecki’s theoretical concept of conjugated duality, irrationality, and bureaucratization of science gains significant prominence.

NORMATIVE-LEGAL ASPECTS OF PROMOTING A CULTURE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN THE CONDITIONS OF KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT

The article discusses issues of academic integrity in higher education institutions with consideration of legal support. In the context of promoting a culture of quality, the implementation of international principles of academic integrity is a priority for the development of the education system. Academic integrity is an important component in the training of specialists at higher education institutions and depends on the policy of promoting a culture of integrity, establishing clear rules and assessments that encourage creativity. The study of promoting a culture of quality and academic integrity includes methods of theoretical analysis, comparative analysis, assessment of the state of the education system, legislative support, formation of new approaches to developing policies of academic integrity in universities to improve the quality of training and the employability of graduates as competitive specialists in the labour market. The value of the article lies in the in-depth study of the interaction between promoting a culture of academic integrity and the quality assurance of education. The aim of the article is to study the legal aspects of promoting the principles of academic integrity and the quality assurance of education in the context of the knowledge economy.

STRUCTURE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICANTS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY COMPETENCE

The article analyzes various aspects of the academic integrity problem facing higher education students. An overview of the main state documents on the specified problem has been made: laws, codes, regulations, letters, methodological recommendations, etc. The points of view regarding the relevance and essence of the problem are based on the publications of domestic and foreign scientists. Attending online webinars and lectures on the sought-after problem on the Coursera and Prometheus platforms, familiarization with the scientific and practical conference programs, online courses on teaching academic integrity, surveying the teachers’ and students’ results on awareness of the issue of academic integrity lead to the conclusion about the relevance of the problem and the feasibility of its research. The study of scientific articles over the past five years allows to state that the problem of the academic integrity competence structure of higher education students remains relevant, but insufficiently researched, which has negative impact on the effectiveness of its formation. The concept of the academic integrity competence is clarified, and its structure based on the National Qualifications Framework (2020) is substantiated. We believe that the above-mentioned competence should consist of four sub-competencies; knowledge in academic integrity in the field of education, skills in academic integrity in the field of education, communication based on the principles of academic integrity in the field of education, responsibility and autonomy in compliance with academic integrity in the field of education. The structure of each of the subcompetencies, which consists of microcompetencies for a specific level of education and for each of the training courses, is defined according to the Academic Integrity Competency Resource Map (University of Waterloo, 2023). For example, sub-competency 1 “Knowledge in the field of academic integrity in education” covers 4 microcompetencies, the first of which is “Knowledge in the field of academic integrity in education” for undergraduate (first, second, third and fourth years), for master’s (first and second years), and postgraduate studies (first and second years). Subcompetencies two, three and four are similarly structured. The next step in the study of the mentioned problem is to specify the content of each of the microcompetencies.

A Comparative Study of the Accuracy of Turn-It-In’s Artificial Intelligence Detector in CTU Doctoral Assignments

As access to artificial intelligence becomes mainstream in college paper writing, universities must find concrete methods of verifying work submitted as a student’s original content was not significantly developed using AI. In response to these potential academic integrity issues, plagiarism detectors, like TurnItIn, have developed artificial intelligence detectors that provide the percentage of a student submission identified as written by a computer. TurnItIn (TII) claims a 98% confidence level concerning its accuracy. In this study, 48 papers were randomly selected from the Colorado Technical University’s Doctoral Studies courses. These papers were written before the public release of ChatGPT 3.5. Papers were scored for similarity and AI-generated content through TII. These same papers were then edited for grammar and clarity using ChatGPT, and the similarity and AI-generated content scores were recalculated through TII. Wilcoxon Ranked-Sum tests were conducted to determine if a statistical difference occurred between the original and updated similarity and AI-generated content scores. The results demonstrate that TII’s confidence level may not be as accurate as claimed and that the detection of AI-generated content requires further testing before being used to determine if an act of academic dishonesty took place.

Pressure to Plagiarize and the Choice to Cheat: Toward a Pragmatic Reframing of the Ethics of Academic Integrity

In light of the burgeoning influence of LLM AI programs like ChatGPT in a variety of academic contexts and the COVID-19 pandemic’s expansion of virtual classrooms and coursework, the philosophical framing of academic integrity and plagiarism is being re-examined. In concert with these technological changes, students are also facing increasing pressure to succeed in their academic pursuits. Inasmuch as the consequences of failure in these contexts are often dire academically, socially, and financially, we argue that students often weigh the choice to plagiarize not as an ethical issue but as a pragmatic mitigation of risk. Using three salient examples of plagiarism and cheating from higher education in North America as case studies, we explore the pressures and contexts that have influenced the choice to engage in plagiarism and cheating through this pragmatic lens. As an ethical framing of the issue of academic integrity has been less effective in ameliorating plagiarism in this pressurized climate, we propose a way in which educators, administrators and policy makers might approach the issue in this same pragmatic frame. In short, rather than combat plagiarism by teaching its moral repugnance, we propose educators could argue instead that plagiarism and cheating are pragmatically untenable simply because they are detrimental to learning.

Enhancing the quality of teaching and learning through ChatGPT and similar large language models: Challenges, future prospects, and ethical considerations in education

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the field of education has ushered in a transformative shift in the creation and dissemination of assignments. This research delves into the implications and complexities surrounding the incorporation of AI-enhanced ChatGPT submission in the realm of education. AI-enhanced ChatGPT submissions offer a multitude of benefits. First and foremost, they offer educators a convenient means to produce a wide array of content, encompassing quizzes, essay prompts, and problem sets, thus saving both time and effort. AI has the capacity to customize assignments according to the specific needs of individual students, ensuring personalized learning experiences. Additionally, AI's ability to analyze student performance data can aid educators in pinpointing areas where students might be facing challenges, allowing them to adapt their teaching methods accordingly. Nonetheless, this innovation also raises substantial concerns. The authenticity and quality of AI-generated submission may come under scrutiny, potentially giving rise to issues of plagiarism and academic integrity. It is crucial to ensure that AI-generated content aligns with educational objectives and standards. Before disseminating AI-generated submission to students, educators must meticulously curate and review them. Furthermore, the role of teachers in the educational process extends beyond merely assigning tasks. They provide mentorship, guidance, and feedback that surpass the capabilities of ChatGPT. This human touch is indispensable for nurturing critical thinking, fostering creativity, and enhancing emotional intelligence. Ethical considerations also play a pivotal role. Both students and educators must comprehend how AI-generated assignments are created, ensuring transparency in the process. Safeguards must be in place to safeguard data privacy, and measures need to be taken to address bias in AI algorithms. Hence, it is imperative for teachers and educational institutions to critically evaluate the place of AI in education and determine the circumstances under which AI-generated assignments can be integrated to enrich the educational landscape.

Plagiarism in Academic Writing in Higher Education Institutions: A Bibliometric Analysis

Higher education institutions (HEI) are increasingly challenged by plagiarism, which threatens their academic standards and integrity. This is due to the fact that students have access to an overwhelming amount of information online, making it easier for them to copy and paste without giving proper credit or attribution. Additionally, the prevalence of technology has made it easier to copy and paste without detection. The study aimed to analyze the trends in plagiarism in academic writing by using bibliometric analysis, which is a technique that can measure and analyze the use of published documents. This analysis was used to identify any potential changes in the prevalence of plagiarism in academic writing over time and to identify potential factors that could be influencing it. The data is extracted from Scopus database with Boolean and proximity search strategy and found 579 related journal articles. There are tabulations of results ranging from descriptive analysis, citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and co-word analysis. The descriptive findings revealed that 'academic integrity', despite not being included in the search string, was the most commonly occurring word with 284 indicating a significant relationship between plagiarism in academic writing in HEIs. In addition, citation analysis for the top ten documents was presented. The findings of co-citation analysis highlight factors, new trends of academic integrity, and mitigation plans against plagiarism, while co-word analysis are thematically presented in three prominent clusters which is academic misconduct study, ethics and academic integrity. In most prominent articles cited by many authors, contract cheating is the new trend of plagiarism. As a result, it sheds light on the fact that academic integrity issues go beyond a new phenomenon that needs to be taken seriously. This study has both theoretical and practical implications for minimizing future plagiarism risks as well as identifying and recommending potential solutions to the problem.

Generation of Revision Identifier (rsid) Numbers in MS Word

The 2007 implementation of the Office Open XML standard for Microsoft Word introduced the assignation of individual revision save identifiers (Rsid) to document editing sessions that end in a save action. The relevant standards ECMA (2016) and ISO/ IEC 29500-1:2016 (2016) stipulate that these Rsid should be allocated randomised but with increasing numerical value, thereby documenting the progress of the editing. As MS Word is the most ubiquitous word processing software, Rsid appear to be a useful tool to examine and provide evidence for a wide range of common document generation editing and modification processes and file management operations, with implications for document analysis including, but not limited to academic integrity issues in student assignment submissions (e.g. contract cheating). This paper presents the results of a series of experiments conducted to assess whether and how well MS Word implements the ECMA and ISO/ IEC standards. The results show that the number of allocated Rsid indeed increases with each edit and save action, with the previous Rsids carried over and retained. The newly allocated Rsid, however, do not conform to the standard as the numerical value of a Rsid associated with a save action may be larger or smaller than any or all of those allocated during that of the previous save actions. The allocation of a new Rsid is not necessarily caused by an edit event but that a new Rsid can also be generated if a file is saved as rtf or if it is sent as an e-mail from within MS Word, although the file was not edited in any way. Rsid numbers are not generated if a person opens a MS Word document, reads it and closes the file without saving, making this action impossible to detect. MS Word template files on a given machine contain document (root) Rsid numbers that are generated when a newly installed application is launched for the first time. As these will be embedded as legacy Rsid into every new file generated from that template file, they act as signatures for all MS Word documents that are created. The experiments have shown that user behaviour has a direct influence on the number of Rsid represented in a given file. Although the implementation of Office Open XML chosen by Microsoft is not compliant with the relevant standards, and thus Rsid cannot be used determine the exact chronological order of all editing sequences within a given document, the Rsid retain their value for document forensics as they are associated with specific edit events, and illuminate the document writing and editing process.