Patterns and Predictors of Academic Dishonesty in Moldovan University Students
Abstract
A total of 1390 university students from five public Moldovan universities completed a survey reporting their experiences and beliefs with respect to 22 types of academic misconduct. An interpretable five-factor solution to the frequencies of these behaviors accounted for more than half of the total variance. The two most reliable predictors were 1) how often students witnessed other students engage in these behaviors, and 2) perceived acceptability of the behaviors. Demographic predictors of these behaviors (gender, academic specialty, year in school, institution, grade average, and scholarship status) predicted minimal variance. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.
Keywords
Academic integrity Academic dishonesty Moldova University Higher educationNotes
References
- Abbott, A. (2012). Romanian scientists fight plagiarism. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/news/romanian-scientists-fight-plagiarism-1.11170. Accessed 12 May 2019
- Adesile, I., Nordin, M. S., Kazmi, Y., & Hussein, S. (2016). Validating academic integrity survey (AIS): An application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures. Journal of Academic Integrity, 14, 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-016-9253-y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Agence France-Presse. (2015). Moldova’s prime minister resigns over ‘fake diploma’ scandal. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/moldovas-prime-minister-quits-over-fake-diploma-scandal-103948115.html;_ylt=A0LEVwkATXtV2lwAj_pXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyYmZ1ZmJzBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjAzOTZfMQRzZWMDc2M. Accessed 12 May 2019
- Akbulut, Y., Sendag, S., Birinci, G., Kilicer, K., Sahin, M. C., & Odabasi, H. F. (2008). Exploring the types and reasons of internet-triggered academic dishonesty among Turkish undergraduate students: Development of internet-triggered academic dishonesty scale (ITADS). Computers & Education, 51, 463–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Anderman, E. M., & Danner, F. (2008). Achievemenet goals and academic cheating. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 21(1), 150–180.Google Scholar
- Badea-Voiculescu, O. (2013). Attitude of Romanian medical students towards plagiarism. Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology, 5(3 Supplement), 907–908.Google Scholar
- Bailey, J. (2012). The Plagiarism Insanity in Romania. Retrieved from https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2012/07/02/the-plagiarism-insanity-in-romania/. Accessed 23 April 2019
- Baird, M., & Clare, J. (2017). Removing the opportunity for contract cheating in business capstones: A crime prevention case study. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 13, 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-017-0018-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Neew York: Freeman.Google Scholar
- Bazzy, J. D., Woehr, D. J., & Borns, J. (2017). An examination of the role of self-control and impact of ego depletion on integrity testing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 39(2), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2017.1283502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bisping, T. O., Patron, H., & Roskelley, K. (2008). Modeling academic dishonesty: The role of student perceptions and misconduct type. Journal of Economic Education, 39(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.3200/jece.39.1.4-21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bologna Process. (2018). European Higher Education Area and Bologna Process.Google Scholar
- Brimble, M., & Stevenson-Clarke, P. (2005). Perceptions of the prevalence and seriousness of academic dshonesty in Australian universities. The Australian Educational Researcher, 32(3), 19–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Camara, S. K., Eng-Ziskin, S., Wimberley, L., Dabbour, K. S., & Lee, C. M. (2017). Predicting students ’ i ntention to plagiarize: An ethical theoretical framework. Journal of Academic Ethics, 15, 43–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-016-9269-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Chapman, K. J., Davis, R., Toy, D., & Wright, L. (2004). Academic integrity in the business school environment: I’ll get by with a little help from my friends. Journal of Marketing Education, 26, 236–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Cole, M. (2013). Corruption in universities: A blueprint for reform. Times Higher Education.Google Scholar
- Colnerud, G., & Rosander, M. (2009). Academic dishonesty, ethical norms and learning. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(5), 505–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Comsa, M., Tufis, C. D., & Voicu, B. (2007). Romanian academic system: Teachers' and Students' opinions. Retrieved from Bucharest, Romania: http://www.fundatia.ro/sites/default/files/en_36_romanian%20academic.pdf
- Cronan, T. P., McHaney, R., Douglas, D. E., & Mullins, J. K. (2016). Changing the academic integrity climate on campus using a technology-based intervention. Ethics & Behavior, 27(2), 89–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2016.1161514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Demidova, O. R. (2009). Plagiarism: Norm or anomaly? Terra Humana Journal, 4(13), 68–72.Google Scholar
- Desalegn, A. A., & Berhan, A. (2014). Cheating on examinations and its predictors among undergraduate students at Hawassa University college of medicine and health science, Hawassa, Ethiopia. BCM Medical Education, 14(89).Google Scholar
- DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development theory and applications (Third ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.Google Scholar
- Engler, J. N., Landau, J. D., & Epstein, M. (2008). Keeping up with the joneses: Students' perceptions of academically dishonest behavior. Teaching of Psychology, 35, 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00986280801978418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- ERASMUS+ Program of the European Union. (2018). Higher Education in the Republic of Moldova.Google Scholar
- Gallant, T. B., Van den Einde, L., Ouellette, S., & Lee, S. (2014). A systematic analysis of cheating in an undergraduate engineering mechanics course. Science and Engineering Ethics, 20, 277–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-013-9435-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Galloway, A. (2013). The culture of plagiarized dissertations in Romania - A call for inquiry in the Humanities - and beyond. Retrieved from http://integru.org/opinions/the-culture-of-plagiarized-dissertations-in-romania-a-call-for-inquiry-in-the-humanities-and-beyond. Accessed 23 April 2019
- Hantz, P. (2012). Romania - A Country Where Plagiarism in Medical Sciences is Tolerated. Retrieved from http://bolyai.eu/dok/plagium_j.pdf. Accessed 15 April 2019
- Henslee, A., Goldsmith, J., Stone, N. J., & Krueger, M. (2015). An online tutorial v s. pre-recorded lecture f or reducing incidents of plagiarism. American Journal of Engineering Education, 6(1), 27–32.Google Scholar
- Institute of International Relations of Moldova. (2018). Anti-plagiarism policy and correctness of scholars in the Institute of International Relations of Moldova.Google Scholar
- Ives, B. (2003). Effect size use in studies of learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 490–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Ives, B., & Badescu, G. (2015). Romanian scholarly productivity: Recent history and recommendations. Higher Education Research and Development, 34(5), 926–941.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Ives, B., & Nehrkorn, A. (2019). A research review: Post-secondary interventions to improve academic integrity. In D. Velliaris (Ed.), Prevention and Detection of Academic Misconduct in Higher Education. Hershey: IGI Global.Google Scholar
- Ives, B., Alama, M., Mosora, L. C., Mosora, M., Grosu-Radulescu, L., Clinciu, A. I., Cazan, A. M., Badescu, G., Tufis, C., Diaconu, M., & Dutu, A. (2017). Patterns and predictors of academic dishonesty in Romanian university students. Higher Education, 74(5), 815–831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0079-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Jensen, L. A., Arnett, J. J., Feldman, S. S., & Cauffman, E. (2002). It’s wrong, but everybody does it: Academic dishonesty among high school and college students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.2001.1088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Juergens, A., & McCaffrey, A. (2008). Roleplays as rehearsals for “doing the right thing” - Adding practice in professional values to Moldovan and United States legal education. Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, 28, 141.Google Scholar
- Jurdi, R., Hage, H. S., & Chow, H. P. H. (2011). Academic dishonesty in the Canadian classroom: Behaviours of a sample of university students. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 41(3), 1–35.Google Scholar
- Kauffman, Y., & Young, M. (2015). Digital plagiarism: An experimental study of the effect of instructional goals and copy-and-paste affordance. Computers & Education, 83, 44–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Krueger, L. (2014). Academic dishonesty among nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(2), 77–87.Google Scholar
- Kucuktepe, S. E. (2011). Evaluation of tendency towards academic dishonesty levels of psychological counseling and guidance undergraduate students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 2722–2727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.04.177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- LaDuke, R. D. (2013). Academic dishonesty today, unethical practices tomorrow? Journal of Professional Nursing, 29(6), 402–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lin, C.-H. S., & Wen, L.-Y. M. (2007). Academic dishonesty in higher education—A nationwide study in Taiwan. Higher Education, 54, 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-006-9047-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lofstrom, E., Trotman, T., Furnari, M., & Shephard, K. (2015). Who teaches academic integrity and how do they teach it? Higher Education, 69, 435–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9784-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lucas, G. M., & Friedrich, J. (2005). Individual differences in workplace deviance and integrity as predictors of academic dishonesty. Ethics & Behavior, 15(1), 15–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Ludlam, M., Hongell, L., Tigerstedt, C., & Teeman, J. (2017). Academic ethics: A pilot study on the attitudes of Finnish students. Journal of Academic Ethics, 15, 307–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-017-9284-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Maloshonok, N., & Shmeleva, E. (2019). Factors influencing academic dishonesty among undergraduate students at Russian universities. Journal of Academic Ethics, 17, 313–329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-019-9324-y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Manski, C. F. (1993). Identification of endogenous social effects: The reflection problem. The Review of Economic Studies, 60(3), 531–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Manski, C. F. (2000). Economic analysis of social interactions. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(3), 115–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Marshall, L. L., & Vernon, A. W. (2017). Attack on academic dishonesty: What ‘lies’ ahead? Journal of Academic Administration in Higher Education, 13(2), 31–40.Google Scholar
- Martin, D. E., Rao, A., & Sloan, L. r. (2009). Plagiarism, integrity, and workplace deviance: A criterion study. Ethics & Behavior, 19(1), 36–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508420802623666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- McTernan, M., Love, P., & Rettinger, D. (2014). The influence of personality on the decision to cheat. Ethics & Behavior, 24(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2013.819783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Miller, A., Shoptaugh, C., & Wooldridge, J. (2011). Reasons not to cheat, academic-integrity responsibility, and frequency of cheating. The Journal of Experimental Education, 79, 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220970903567830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Moberg, C., Sojka, J. Z., & Gupta, A. (2008). An update on academic dishonesty in the college classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 19(1), 149–176.Google Scholar
- Moldova, G. O. (2018). The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Government of Moldova.Google Scholar
- Munoz-Garcia, A., & Aviles-Herrera, M. J. (2014). Effects of academic dishonesty on dimensions of spiritual well-being and satisfaction: A comparative study of secondary school and univerity students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(3), 349–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Murdock, T. B., & Anderman, E. M. (2006). Motivational perspectives on student cheating: Toward an integrated model of academic dishonesty. Educational Psychologist, 41(3), 129–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Nikolaevna, K. M., & Zinovievna, E. G. (2013). The information society and the problem of academic dishonesty. Science Internet Journal, 4, 1–7.Google Scholar
- Nonis, S., & Swift, C. O. (2001). An Examination of the Relationship Between academic dishonesty and workplace dishonesty: A multicampus investigation. Journal of Education for Business, 77(2), 69–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- O’Rourke, J., Barnes, J., Deaton, A., Fulks, K., Ryan, K., & Rettinger, D. A. (2010). Imitation is the sincerest form of cheating: The influence of direct knowledge and attitudes on academic dishonesty. Ethics & Behavior, 20(1), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508420903482616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Obeid, R., & Hill, D. B. (2017). An intervention designed to reduce plagiarism in a research methods classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 44(2), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628317692620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Ogilvie, J., & Stewart, A. (2010). The integration of rational choice and self-efficacy theories: A situational analysis of student misconduct. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 43(1), 130–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Olafson, L., Schraw, G., Nadelson, L., Nadelson, S., & Kehrwald, N. (2013). Exploring the judgment–action gap: College students and academic dishonesty. Ethics & Behavior, 23(2), 148–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2012.714247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Pabian, P. (2015). Why ‘cheating’ research is wrong: New departures for the study of student copying in higher education. Higher Education, 69, 809–821. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9806-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Patall, E. A., & Leach, J. K. (2015). The role of choice provision in academic dishonesty. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 42, 97–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Raileau, A., Stevulak, C., & Tonn, J. (2015). Improving the Integrity of School Exams in Moldova. Retrieved from https://ptfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Case-Study-SOARTA-Moldova.pdf. Accessed 11 May 2019
- Rettinger, D. A., & Kramer, Y. (2009). Situational and personal causes of student cheating. Research in Higher Education, 50, 293–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-008-9116-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sattler, S., Wiegel, C., & van Veen, F. (2017). The use frequency of 10 different methods for preventing and detecting academic dishonesty and the factors influencing their use. Studies in Higher Education, 42(6), 1126–1144. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1085007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Savochkina, T. S., & Neratova, I. V. (2009). Student plagiarism in higher professional education. Tversk State University Review, 6, 92–104.Google Scholar
- Spear, J. A., & Miller, A. N. (2012). The effects of instructor fear appeals and moral appeals on cheating-related attitudes and behavior of university students. Ethics & Behavior, 22(3), 196–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2012.659603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Tacu, M. (2014). Plagiarism vs. New information technologies, between legal and ethical. Retrieved from http://media-azi.md/en/stiri/plagiarism-vs-new-information-technologies-between-legal-and-ethical
- Teodorescu, D., & Andrei, T. (2009). Faculty and peer influences on academic integrity: College cheating in Romania. Higher Education, 57, 267–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- The Associated Press. (2012). Romania: Plagiarism Scandal Ensnares Prime Minister. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/world/europe/romania-plagiarism-scandal-ensnares-prime-minister.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2019
- Tkach, V. (2017). Moldova: Thesis papers for sale. Jam News.Google Scholar
- Transparency International. (2017). Corruption Perceptions Index 2016. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016. Accessed 12 May 2019
- Transparency International. (2018). Corruption Perceptions Index 2017.Google Scholar
- Trost, K. (2009). Psst, have you ever cheated? A study of academic dishonesty in Sweden. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(4), 367–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Unal, E. (2011). Examining the relationship between pre-service teachers' ethical reasoning level and their academic dishonesty levels: A structural equation modelling approach. Educational Research and Reviews, 6(19), 983–992. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR11.259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2015). International standard of classification: Fields of education and training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013) - detailed field descriptions. Retrieved from Montreal, CanadaGoogle Scholar
- Universities, W. R. o. W. (2019). Ranking Web of Universities: Moldova.Google Scholar
- Urdan, T. (1997). Achievement goal theory: Past results, future directions. In M. L. Maehr & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 10, pp. 99–141). Greenwich: JAI.Google Scholar
- Vehvilainen, S., Lofstrom, E., & Nevgi, A. (2018). Dealing with plagiarism in the academic community: Emotional engagement and moral distress. Higher Education, 75, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0112-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Yang, S. C., Huang, C.-L., & Chen, A.-S. (2013). An investigation of college students’ perceptions of academic dishonesty, reasons for dishonesty, achievement goals, and willingness to report dishonest behavior. Ethics & Behavior, 23(6), 501–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2013.802651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Yu, H., Glazner, P. L., Sriram, R., Johnson, B. R., & Moore, B. (2017). What contributes to college students’ cheating? A study of individual factors. Ethics & Behavior, 27(5), 401–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2016.1169535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Zhang, Y., Yin, H., & Zheng, L. (2018). Investigating academic dishonesty among Chinese undergraduate students: Does gender matter? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(5), 812–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1411467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Copyright information
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019