Academic integrity is the moral code or ethical policy of academia. The term was popularized by Rutgers University professor Donald McCabe who is considered to be the "grandfather of academic integrity". [1] Other prominent academic integrity scholars and advocates include Tracey Bretag (Australia), [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Cath Ellis (Australia), [7] [4] Sarah Elaine Eaton (Canada), [8] [9] [10] Thomas Lancaster (UK), [11] [12] Tomáš Foltýnek (Czech Republic), [13] [14] and Tricia Bertram Gallant (US). [15] Academic integrity supports the enactment of educational values through behaviours such as the avoidance of cheating, plagiarism, and contract cheating, [12] [11] [10] as well as the maintenance of academic standards; honesty and rigor in research and academic publishing. [16]
During the late 18th century, academic integrity was tightly correlated to the academic honor code (United States). This was monitored mainly by the students and surrounding culture of the time. The honor code focused on duty, pride, power, and self-esteem. [15] Any act promoting the uprising or building of any of these within an individual was the goal. Thus, academic integrity was tied solely to the status and appearance of upstanding character of the individual. Any acts of academic dishonesty performed to maintain their good name was seen as a necessary means to an end.
It wasn't until the end of the 19th century when the goals of the university changed that the concept of academic integrity changed. Academics of this era were required to teach and produce original research. The pressure to acquire tenure and publish added extra stress to their jobs, though acts of academic dishonesty were viewed as acts of follies. Still, the honor code concept of academic integrity was evolving into a more contemporary concept. Academic integrity was now beginning to replace honor of the individual honor to the university as an institution. [15] Such an evolution was important to promote unity throughout the academic institution and encourage students to hold each other accountable for dishonest acts. It also allowed the students to feel empowered through the self-monitoring of each other.
As the importance of original research grew among faculty members the questioning of research integrity grew as well. With so much pressure linked to their professional status professor were under intense scrutiny by the surrounding society. This inevitably led to the separating academic integrity ideals for student and faculty. [15] By 1970 most universities in the United States had established honor codes for their student body and faculty members, although this concept has not really caught on elsewhere in the world (e.g. see Yakovchuk et al. [17] ).
Improvements in information technology have created challenges within academic integrity, especially with respect to increased plagiarism and use of poor-quality sources found on the internet. [18] Technology has also increased opportunities for collaborative writing, raising issues of proper attribution of authorship. [19] There are also problems with hyperauthorship, [20] selling authorship, [21] and unearned authorship. [22]
Academic integrity means avoiding plagiarism and cheating, among other misconduct behaviours. Academic integrity is practiced in the majority of educational institutions, it is noted in mission statements, policies, [5] [9] [23] procedures, and honor codes, but it is also being taught in ethics classes and being noted in syllabi. Many universities have sections on their websites devoted to academic integrity which define what the term means to their specific institution. An honor pledge created before an assignment that is signed by students can help increase academic integrity. [24]
Universities have moved toward an inclusive approach to inspiring academic integrity, by creating Student Honor Councils [25] as well as taking a more active role in making students aware of the consequences for academic dishonesty.
To promote the academic integrity, publication ethics, and responsible research in the higher education system in India, the University Grants Commission (India) enacted the "UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018" on July 23, 2018. [26] : 1 The Regulations then recommend some institutional mechanisms to eliminate the scope of plagiarism.
Despite these advances, academic dishonesty still plagues the university. In the 1990s, the academic dishonesty rates were as bad as, and in some cases, worse than they were in the 1960s. [27] : 1 The acknowledgement of this ethics crisis is inspiring many universities to focus more on promoting common values of academic integrity.
Conversely, critics have drawn attention to the fact that "teaching and learning are interrupted because faculty, in an effort to control plagiarism and protect notions of intellectual capital, are forced to engage with the students as detectives rather than as teachers, advisors, or mentors. The focus on controlling plagiarism among students is critiqued as unnecessarily legalistic and the rules more rigid than those necessarily accorded to intellectual property law (Marsh, 2004)". [27] : 5 Similarly, contributions made from a societal perspective question or critique previously unexamined assumptions of the "inherent goodness, universality, and absoluteness of independence, originality, and authorship (Valentine, 2006). Authors who write about the societal dimension such as Ede and Lundsford (2001) do not suggest the elimination of notions of individual authorship and the unconditional acceptance of copying and collaboration in its place. Rather, the societal dimension highlights the need to consider both and the importance of deconstructing how the idea of the "individual author" might be serving (or not serving) the goals of teaching (learning), service, and research. Postsecondary education institutions are urged to step back from the mindless or fear-based ready adoption of the "turnitin culture" (Maruca, 2005) to allow for such question asking in the spirit of enhancing academic integrity and the teaching and learning environment." [27] : 59
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in the publication of professional scientific research. It is violation of scientific integrity: violation of the scientific method and of research ethics in science, including in the design, conduct, and reporting of research.
Electronic assessment, also known as digital assessment, e-assessment, online assessment or computer-based assessment, is the use of information technology in assessment such as educational assessment, health assessment, psychiatric assessment, and psychological assessment. This covers a wide range of activities ranging from the use of a word processor for assignments to on-screen testing. Specific types of e-assessment include multiple choice, online/electronic submission, computerized adaptive testing such as the Frankfurt Adaptive Concentration Test, and computerized classification testing.
Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution. Definitions of academic misconduct are usually outlined in institutional policies. Therefore, academic dishonesty consists of many different categories of behaviour, as opposed to being a singular concept.
Academic writing or scholarly writing refers primarily to nonfiction writing that is produced as part of academic work in accordance with the standards of a particular academic subject or discipline, including:
Turnitin is an Internet-based similarity detection service run by the American company Turnitin, LLC, a subsidiary of Advance Publications.
In scientific inquiry and academic research, data fabrication is the intentional misrepresentation of research results. As with other forms of scientific misconduct, it is the intent to deceive that marks fabrication as unethical, and thus different from scientists deceiving themselves. There are many ways data can be fabricated. Experimental data can be fabricated by reporting experiments that were never conducted, and accurate data can be manipulated or misrepresented to suit a desired outcome. One of the biggest problems with this form of scientific fraud is that "university investigations into research misconduct are often inadequate, opaque and poorly conducted. They challenge the idea that institutions can police themselves on research integrity."
Research ethics is a discipline within the study of applied ethics. Its scope ranges from general scientific integrity and misconduct to the treatment of human and animal subjects. The societal responsibilities science and research has are not traditionally included and less well defined.
An essay mill is a business that allows customers to commission an original piece of writing on a particular topic so that they may commit academic fraud. Customers provide the company with specific information about the essay, including number of pages, general topic, and a time frame to work within. The customer is charged a certain amount per page. A similar concept is the essay bank, a company from which students can purchase prewritten but less expensive essays on various topics, at higher risk of being caught. Both forms of business are under varying legal restraints in some jurisdictions.
Contract cheating is a form of academic dishonesty in which students pay others to complete their coursework. The term was coined in a 2006 study by Thomas Lancaster and the late Robert Clarke (UK), as a more inclusive way to talk about all forms of academic work, as opposed to more outdated terms such as "term paper mill" or "essay mill", which refer to text-based academic outsourcing. In contrast, Lancaster and Clarke are computer scientists who found evidence of students systematically outsourcing coding assignments. Hence, they coined the term "contract cheating" to include all outsourced academic work, regardless of whether it is from text-based or non-text-based disciplines.
Plagiarism detection or content similarity detection is the process of locating instances of plagiarism or copyright infringement within a work or document. The widespread use of computers and the advent of the Internet have made it easier to plagiarize the work of others.
The Bedford Handbook is a guide written by Diana Hacker, now in its eleventh edition, that provides basic explanations of proper English grammar, composition, citation, and textual analysis. The guide includes a number of sample texts and illustrations throughout its sections. It also covers the concept of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. Although precise definitions vary depending on the institution, in many countries and cultures plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and journalistic ethics, as well as social norms around learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect, and responsibility. As such, a person or entity that is determined to have committed plagiarism is often subject to various punishments or sanctions, such as suspension, expulsion from school or work, fines, imprisonment, and other penalties.
Chegg, Inc., is an American education technology company based in Santa Clara, California. It provides homework help, digital and physical textbook rentals, textbooks, online tutoring, and other student services.
Bullying in academia is a form of workplace bullying which takes place at institutions of higher education, such as colleges and universities in a wide range of actions. It is believed to be common, although has not received as much attention from researchers as bullying in some other contexts. Academia is highly competitive and has a well defined hierarchy, with junior staff being particularly vulnerable. Although most universities have policies on workplace bullying, individual campuses develop and implement their own protocols. This often leaves victims with no recourse.
The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) is a consortium of colleges, universities, and other institutions devoted to the cultivation integrity in educational spaces and endeavors. ICAI provides a forum to identify, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty, teachers, researchers, and administrators. ICAI is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization in the United States. With over 240 institutional member organizations and nearly 1,500 individual representatives, ICAI and its members have surveyed more than 250,000 undergraduate and graduate students to assess practices and mores related to the current climate of academic integrity, primarily in the United States and Canada, and to a lesser extent, worldwide.
Research integrity or scientific integrity is an aspect of research ethics that deals with best practice or rules of professional practice of scientists.
Internationalization of higher education in theory is "the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education." Internationalization of higher education in practice is "the process of commercializing research and postsecondary education, and international competition for the recruitment of foreign students from wealthy and privileged countries in order to generate revenue, secure national profile, and build international reputation." The main components of internationalization of higher education are recruitment of international students, development of international branch campuses, students, staff and scholars exchange programs, internationalization of the curriculum, and research and education partnerships between institutions regionally and internationally.
Bridget Terry Long is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.
In research, a paper mill is a business that publishes poor or fake journal papers that seem to resemble genuine research, as well as sells authorship.
Gigi Foster is a U.S. born academic and economist. She is currently a professor of economics at the University of New South Wales.