Academic Integrity Issues Research Articles

Academic integrity: Challenges and strategies for Asia and the Middle East

ABSTRACT There seems to be an awakening in Asia and the Middle East (ME) region in the fields of research and publication. In these regions, scholarship and research have not been keeping up with the technologically developed Western world. In response to this realization, governments are heavily investing in academia and rapid academic expansion and reforms are being made to gain a foothold in the academic and research arena. This has led academicians to clamber to publish, which, in turn, has led to issues of academic integrity and intellectual property. It is with this development in mind that the current paper examines the issue of academic integrity in Asia and the Middle East, presenting the challenges being confronted, and suggesting strategies that can be implemented.

Finding Facets of Academic Integrity and Plagiarism through the Prism of a Citation Database

With the recent growth of university education and the increasing amount of literature available on the web, there is concern among the academician and other interested about the research ethics and academic integrity. The Government of India, through the University Grant Commission (UGC), India has recently adopted policy document with a clear definition of the subject and policy measure to control the various issues that arise from it. This paper is an attempt to map the global publication and research trends in the Academic Integrity and Plagiarism issues. The paper uses different bibliometrics scientometrics and social network tools to map the literature growth pattern, subject areas and so on. The study is also trying to situate India’s position and its research trends in the global landscape in terms of literature growth, publication outlets, and keyword analysis. The study observed that the Indian scholarly literature in these areas are increasing in recent years. Although it is not at par with the global literature growth. The keyword analysis observed that Indian literature is more towards computer and ICT related literature rather than the global research in the medical subject (human is the second most occurring keywords). The study recommends more focusses and integrated research approach in other university and institutes in India.

The Jar of Truthiness: A Novel Class Activity to Develop Leaders With Integrity

Background and Purpose. Truthiness is a gut feeling of being true rather than being based on logic or factual evidence. This educational case report describes a novel class activity called the “Jar of Truthiness” (JoT) that aims to teach the important issues of academic and professional integrity within the affective domain. Case Description. The activity was completed in 3 different ways in physical therapist education programs at 2 institutions. Students were asked to report their incidence of cheating during a specific quiz, or overall during their time in physical therapy school, by placing anonymous responses in a jar (the JoT). Two of the activities were completed during the first year of the program, the other activity was completed during the second year of the program. Outcomes. Most students who participated in the activity reported they had cheated, and some students even reported they lied about whether they cheated. When the activity was repeated over time, the number of students admitting to cheating decreased significantly. Discussion and Conclusion. Students responded positively and were able to link academic integrity to professional integrity when the JoT activity was centered around one specific quiz and completed early in the Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum. Students experienced negative emotions when the activity was held during the second year and when they were asked broadly about sharing information on any assessment in the program. The JoT activity facilitated class discussions about professional development and stimulated learning within the affective domain. Also, the activity appears to work best during the students' early professional formation so that it can help to frame a culture of integrity within their class cohort.

АКАДЕМІЧНА ДОБРОЧЕСНІСТЬ В КОНТЕКСТІ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ ПРАКТИК: ДОСВІД ФРАНЦІЇ

The issues of academic integrity and the trends in its development in the European context and in Ukraine have been analyzed in the article. The general and specific trends in the development of academic integrity of future specialists in Europe and in France in particular have been highlighted. The definitional analysis of the categories «academic integrity» and «transparency» has been carried out and the components of academic integrity have been considered. The academic integrity as a component of the quality of education and its provision at the legislative level in the European countries has been analysed. Academic integrity has been considered as certain moral and ethical principles that all members of a civilized educational and scientific community must clearly observe during teaching, learning and scientific activities. The issue of academic integrity has been pointed out as basic and relevant for modern higher education, science, culture and art in the period of global changes in society. The peculiarities of academic integrity development of future specialists have been characterized. Universal features of the development of academic integrity, such as multidimensionality, transparency, objectivity, motivation and the content of improvement, have been highlighted. The concept of academic dishonesty and its manifestation have been analysed. The concepts of plagiarism and its signs, as well as its interpretation in the European context, have been examined. The experience of the European countries in the development of academic integrity and working methods for increasing the level of academic writing to strengthen one’s own argumentation of the facts researched by the scientist, as well as to improve the quality of researchers’ scientific publications by observing the requirements for the scientific articles structure. The article deals with the importance of the introduction of educational on-line trainings on the correct justification and presentation of the author’s scientific achievements, the citation of the scientific works provisions and the dissemination of this practice among the educational community, partnerships between universities and business entities. The concept of a healthy academic culture and its expression has been disclosed. The experience of France in the development and maintenance of academic integrity has been considered.

Big Oil U: Canadian Media Coverage of Corporate Obstructionism and Institutional Corruption at the University of Calgary

A 2015 investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) into the involvement of Enbridge Inc. at the University of Calgary drew widespread media attention in Canada on issues of academic integrity and legitimacy as well as renewed attention to the increasing centrality of corporate dollars in public institutions. All of this was further embedded in a public consideration of climate change and the contested legitimacy of carbon corporate interests. A qualitative content media analysis of 70 published stories from Canadian news sources reveals a stark contrast between corporate and non-corporate media frames. Our analysis shows the parallel efforts of the University of Calgary, Enbridge, and corporate media to frame out the central issues of corporate obstructionism in public institutions and, equally, institutional corruption around the mandate, purpose, and intention of those public institutions.

Attitudes and Knowledge About Plagiarism Among University Students: Cross-Sectional Survey at the University of Split, Croatia.

Plagiarism is one of the most severe academic integrity issues. This study examined students' knowledge of and attitudes towards plagiarism, tested their ability to recognize plagiarism, and explored the association of study levels and attendance in courses dealing with referencing rules and plagiarism with students' attitudes and knowledge. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted at the University of Split, comprising the students of all schools and study levels (n = 388). Overall, results indicate the students were not very familiar with referencing rules and did not perform well on either theoretical questions or practical examples. However, they demonstrated positive attitudes towards plagiarism avoidance as well as towards compliance with academic integrity with respect to the correct use of research publications. Students' self-reported attendance in courses dealing with referencing rules and plagiarism avoidance was not associated with their knowledge of and attitudes toward plagiarism. These findings are important for a general understanding of students' attitudes, and the relation of practical and theoretical knowledge of plagiarism. Furthermore, the academic community addresses plagiarism not only as an ethical and regulatory violation but also as a direct consequence of a lack of knowledge, and of academic illiteracy. Study programs should be adjusted and long-term policies developed at all academic levels to promote a positive climate among students towards responsible academic writing.

Editorial: Academic integrity gaining increased attention in Canada

We introduce the second issue of our first volume, highlighting the lead article from Amanda McKenzie and offering commentary on how academic integrity issues have gained attention in the national media this year.

Meaningful Engagement With Academic Integrity Through a Focus on Context and Relationship

AbstractThis chapter describes how contextualizing academic integrity to the personal lives and professional expectations of students opens up space for meaningful engagement between students and faculty and fosters an affirming approach to preventing, rather than policing, academic integrity issues.

Analysis of the contract cheating market in Czechia

Contract cheating is currently one of the most serious academic integrity issues around the globe. Numerous studies have been conducted, mostly in English speaking countries. So far, no such research has been conducted in Czechia, and consequently there have been no specific data available on Czech students’ fraudulent behaviour. For this study, we created a questionnaire to obtain primary data on student usage of essay mills and their self-reported exposure to contract cheating. The questionnaire focused on students and graduates of Czech universities and collected a total of 1016. Of that number, 8% of respondents admit having engaged in contract cheating. The questionnaire responses yielded useful information and insight into students’ attitudes regarding contract cheating and the extent of this phenomenon in Czechia. We now know more about their reasons for contract cheating and have insight into their thoughts regarding possible discovery.

Performing rurality. But who?

AbstractReflective inquiries to better understand ‘the rural’ have tried to embed rural research within the notion of performativity. Performativity assumes that the capacity of language is not simply to communicate but also to consummate action, whereupon citational uses of concepts produce a series of material effects. Of late, this philosophical shift has also implicated geographers as active agents in producing, reproducing and performing rurality. This paper provides a critical evaluation of what this new insistence really means for the production of geographical knowledge. Using framework analysis as a method, the paper scrutinizes several reportedly influential papers on the topic of rural performativity. Our findings reveal that, while indeed reflexive on issues of academic integrity, methodology and ethics, performances of rurality are continuedly placed ‘out there’ amongst ‘rural people’, i.e. in a priori defined and often stereotypically understood contexts, either by way of ‘spatial delimitation’ or ‘activity delimitation’. Effectively, such testimonies provide a truncated state of fidelity, where performance- oriented reflexivity is seconded by contradictory empirics of uneven value and with few commonalities. We conclude that by turning towards performativity as an allegedly more helpful way of obtaining rural coherence, we at the same time overlook our own role in keeping ‘rural theory’ alive.

Exploring the boundaries of research ethics: Perceptions of ethics and ethical behaviors in applied linguistics research

Research ethics are a cornerstone of modern data collection, yet training in various areas of research ethics are often lacking in Applied Linguistics. This article explores the reactions that members of the field have towards scenarios in which the ethicality of action cannot be easily identified as right or wrong. Survey respondents read 10 scenarios in which actors completed ethical ambiguous action and then rate them for 1) level of ethicality, 2) frequency of similar issues, and 3) how frequent the respondent believed researchers faced similar issues. Results indicated that situations involving materials covered during ethical review training were rated as being less ethical compared to items that revolved around issues of academic integrity. Counter intuitively, more experienced researchers rated scenarios as being intrinsically more ethical, indicating that time spent in the field might result in a more lax view of ethics. Finally, participants relied heavily on ethical review board requirements as their guide to making decisions about what is ethical and what is not. Taken together, these data indicate that more discussion in research ethics is needed for the field, especially with elements of academic integrity and ethically gray areas.

C.06 Retraction of scientific publications in neurosurgery

Background: Despite increasing awareness of scientific fraud, no attempt has been made to assess its prevalence in neurosurgery. The aim of our review was to assess the chronological trend and reasons for the retraction of neurosurgical publications. Methods: We searched the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases using a comprehensive search strategy for retracted articles from January 1995 to December 2016. Archives of retracted articles on www.retractionwatch.com and the independent websites of neurosurgical journals were also searched. Data including the journal name and its impact factor, reason for retraction, country of origin, and citations were extracted. Results: A total of 72 studies were included for data extraction. Journal impact factor ranged from 0.24 to 14.4. Most studies(76%) were retracted within the last 5 years. The most common reason for retraction was because of a duplicated publication found elsewhere(25%), followed closely by plagiarism(21%), or falsifying data(17%). Other reasons included scientific errors/mistakes, author misattribution, and fraudulent peer review. Articles originated from several different countries and some were widely cited. Conclusions: Retractions of neurosurgical publications are increasing globally, mostly due to issues of academic integrity. Implementation of more transparent data sharing and screening as well as additional education for new researchers may help mitigate these issues moving forward.

Retraction of Neurosurgical Publications: A Systematic Review

Despite the increasing awareness of scientific fraud, no attempt has been made to assess its prevalence in neurosurgery. The aim of our review was to assess the chronologic trend, reasons, research type/design, and country of origin of retracted neurosurgical publications. Three independent reviewers searched the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases using neurosurgical keywords for retracted articles from 1995 to 2016. Archives of retracted articles (retractionwatch.com) and the independent Web sites of neurosurgical journals were also searched. Data including the journal, impact factor, reason for retraction, country of origin, and citations were extracted. A total of 97 studies were included for data extraction. Journal impact factor ranged from 0.57 to 35.03. Most studies (61) were retracted within the last 5 years. The most common reason for retraction was because of a duplicated publication found elsewhere (26), followed closely by plagiarism (22), or presenting fraudulent data (14). Other reasons included scientific errors/mistakes, author misattribution, and compromised peer review. Articles originated from several countries and some were widely cited. Retractions of neurosurgical publications are increasing significantly, mostly because of issues of academic integrity, including duplicate publishing and plagiarism. Implementation of more transparent data-sharing repositories and thorough screening of data before manuscript submission, as well as additional educational programs for new researchers, may help mitigate these issues in the future.

Networked participatory online learning design and challenges for academic integrity in higher education

A new multi-disciplinary degree program in education and information studies was developed to uniquely facilitate educators’ capacity to be responsive to the demands of a digitally connected world. Charles Sturt University’s Master of Education (Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation) aims to develop agile leaders in new cultures of digital formal and informal learning. The co-construction of knowledge through interpersonal discourse creates a pedagogical tension between a focus on knowledge-based instruction and outcomes, and on praxis-based instruction. This digital context draws attention to academic integrity issues in online learning environments. Through the new subject Game-Based Learning, students engaged in theory, practice, trends in game designs and immersive aspects of game, utilizing the technology and pedagogical affordances of a range of online tools. The subject builds on the keystone subject and incorporates reflective participation and a culture of participatory learning through integration of social media, social scholarship and open sharing of ideas, resources and experiences online within the broader education community. Subject engagement and assessment design incorporated academic integrity strategies, and needed individual and group collaboration to be fully integrated into the learning experience of the students, thus modeling practices relevant to the student’s own processional practices. This paper also considers the contribution of global connectedness to the success of the pedagogic processes used for embedding academic integrity through social scholarship into the curriculum and learning experiences.

Rise of academic plagiarism in India: Reasons, solutions and resolution.

Rise of academic plagiarism in India: Reasons, solutions and resolution.

Perceptions of Plagiarism by STEM Graduate Students: A Case Study.

Issues of academic integrity, specifically knowledge of, perceptions and attitudes toward plagiarism, are well documented in post-secondary settings using case studies for specific courses, recording discourse with focus groups, analyzing cross-cultural education philosophies, and reviewing the current literature. In this paper, the authors examine the perceptions of graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at the University of Florida regarding misconduct and integrity issues. Results revealed students' perceptions of the definition and seriousness of potential academic misconduct, knowledge of institutional procedures, and views on faculty actions, all with a focus on divergences between U.S. and internationally-educated students. The open-ended questions provide anecdotal evidence to highlight personal experiences, positive and negative, aimed at the faculty, international students and undergraduates. Combined, these findings outline an important part of the campus academic integrity culture at a major American university. Recommendations for local actions also are discussed.

Nigerian Students’ Perceptions and Cultural Meaning Construction regarding Academic Integrity in the Online International Classroom

Abstract By presenting perceptions of Nigerian students enrolled in the online international postgraduate programmes of the University of Liverpool regarding academic integrity, this paper aims to explore Western ideas, such as originality and plagiarism that are extraneous in the students’ local cultures. Different historical and cultural circumstances may contribute to the construction of diverse meanings that online students attribute to these concepts. The multidisciplinary study follows phenomenological research design (van Manen, 1997; Creswell, 2007) and combines cultural anthropology (Hall, 1996, Hannerz, 2001; Coleman et al., 2010) as well as online education (Anderson, 2008) in the research. The paper promotes a non-judgmental and culturally aware approach when dealing with issues of academic integrity, intends to find ideological reasons in authentic cultural belief systems that may demonstrate that the common ‘nonunderstanding’ concerning academic integrity is due to a culture-dependent meaning construction process, which leads to the ideological misinterpretation of these Western concepts.

Misbehavior Online in Higher Education: Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education ed. by Laura A. Wankel and Charles Wankel (review)

Reviewed by: Misbehavior Online in Higher Education: Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education ed. by Laura A. Wankel and Charles Wankel Miriam L. Frolow, Ph.D. Laura A. Wankel and Charles Wankel (Eds.). Misbehavior Online in Higher Education: Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Eucation. Bingley, England: Emerald Publishing, 2012. 444 pp. Cloth: $79.99. ISBM: 978-7805-2456-6. As more of the college experience takes place online, it is imperative that faculty, students and administrators take time to understand the opportunities and challenges for learning and communicating through different online media. Misbehavior Online in Higher Education: Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education is a timely and relevant book focusing on three key topics: cyberbullying, social media, and academic integrity. The most discussed form of misbehavior online was cyberbullying, the negative behavior intended to harm others through an imbalance of power that has taken place online. "Cyberbullying is not a new issue on campus, yet practitioners are just now becoming aware of the devastating impact it can have on campus" (p. 235). Victims find it difficult to get away from the attacks, especially since the audience is larger than in a face-to-face confrontation with a bully and since the posted messages can continue to circulate (p. 109). Unintentional cyberbullying can occur due to misinterpretation and miscommunication (p. 295) as a result of a lack of nonverbal cues. Technology can intensify the impact because of the potential anonymity of the bully and the absence of consequences (p. 138). Cyberbullying and incivility also occur in the online classrooms. It is here that faculty and administrators can be more proactive in establishing clear guidelines and expectations in the syllabus and through discussions with students. Cyberbullying in the classroom raises "issues of student [End Page 112] conduct, safety (both in the learning environment and in cyberspace), privacy, [and] the institution's responsibility to monitor and to intervene" (p. 166). To minimize the chance for cyberbullying, faculty should provide ongoing and quality feedback throughout the class. In an online class, Joanne C. Jones and Sandra Scott recommended that faculty should establish a balance between giving student teams the chance to work through their differences, as part of the learning process and preventing conflicts from escalating to the level of cyberbullying (p. 170). The range of student misbehaviors against faculty can go from rudeness to aggression that threatens the faculty's well-being (p. 381). When cyberbullying occurs, it may become difficult for faculty to overcome the perception that they are unable to manage classroom issues and seek help. Institutions must also consider policies, procedures, and best practices for addressing online misbehaviors involving students, faculty, and administrators, even if the inappropriate behavior doesn't happen on campus. Multiple chapters, and especially Chapter 10, outline what faculty and administrators can do to prevent, prepare for, and handle cyberbullying situations. Both proactive and reactive strategies are required. Policies found in the Student Code of Conduct, Information Technology Usage, and other related documents should be updated to include how to address cyberbullying and other online misbehaviors, rather than creating new and separate policies. "If you have an appropriate policy dealing with in-person harassment, for example, it should cover cyberharassment as well" (p. 193). Legal issues surrounding university policies relating to privacy and free speech must be included in these plans. The goals of institutional training programs should be "to increase awareness of cyberbullying, judicial actions against the perpetrators, and support activities for targets" (pp. 224-225). The second area of misbehavior is with social media (especially Facebook), which have become an integral part of the higher education experience. Such media are used "to support communications within and between institutions and their students as well as a mechanism for teaching and learning" (p. 53). Debra Bateman and Julie Willems argue that faculty need to be conscientious about academic integrity issues and their interaction with students (p. 57). Institutions cannot ignore that most of the online misbehavior happens outside their control, including in a forum like Facebook which "exposes academics and students, and the work that they undertake to a risky, volatile, and ever changing virtual space, with unknown and often unseen audiences" (p. 72). Another area of...

Beyond the Web Tutorial: Development and Implementation of an Online, Self-Directed Academic Integrity Course at Oakland University

Intentional and unintentional plagiarism cases occur frequently and present unique pedagogical challenges for librarians, who often are deemed responsible for ensuring that undergraduates gain a solid understanding of academic integrity issues via information literacy instruction. This article describes the process by which faculty from the Oakland University Libraries and the Oakland University Writing Center developed an online, self-directed academic integrity course aimed at reducing plagiarism on campus. Prior to this course, the library offered a substantially shorter web-based plagiarism tutorial, which was used in course instruction and the Cite Right Program, the writing center's intervention for academic dishonesty. A recent assessment of this tool revealed that it no longer addressed the needs of the campus community. To address its gaps, the library and the writing center collaborated on more substantial content, which is detailed herein.

How do faculty members respond to their students' discussions of academic misconduct and academic integrity?

The present study conducted a qualitative analysis of faculty members? perceptions, beliefs and instructional concerns regarding academic integrity in their classrooms following their observation of their students engaged in a 45-minute interactive presentation on academic integrity. Overall, seven overarching themes and a series of sub-themes were identified including the following: comfort level and knowledge about academic integrity issues (for faculty and for students), impressions about the interactive presentation, student engagement in the presentations, learning outcomes for faculty, safeguards against misconduct, and issues, consequences and proposed solutions to concerns. Key findings within these themes suggest that faculty members perceived themselves to be confident in their own understanding of what constitutes academic integrity; however, there were inconsistencies regarding whether their students had the requisite knowledge to make appropriate decisions. Faculty members were surprised by the frank and engaged interactions of their students during the interactive presentations. Only half of the faculty found the presentation content enhanced their own current knowledge. Faculty identified several methods they use to safeguard against academic misconduct, and identified the importance of both faculty and the institution providing a consistent and clear model to promote academic integrity in students. Discussion explores insights gained as a context for informing instructional practice.