Guilty

Guilty in Whose Eyes?
University Students' Perceptions

of Plagiarism & Cheating
Susan Herzog
April 23, 2003
Guilty in Whose Eyes? University
Students' Perceptions of Plagiarism
& Cheating in Academic Work and
Assessment
Peter Ashworth, Philip Bannister & Pauline Thorne

Learning & Teaching Research Group
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Studies in Higher Education 1997
Volume 22, 187-203.
Full Text Available via Academic Search Elite

“Understanding the student

perspective on cheating &
plagiarism can significantly assist
academics in their efforts to
communicate appropriate norms.”
(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

Almost without exception,

published work on cheating &
plagiarism among students in
higher education, uses
questionnaires “that take for
granted shared understanding of
the issues involved.”
Study reports use of qualitative

methodology & attempts to
“discover student perception of
cheating & plagiarism without
presupposing that students start
from the same premises as
academics”.
Key Findings:
“Strong moral basis to students'

views, which focus on such values
as friendship, interpersonal trust &
good learning.”

Key Findings:
Implications: “some punishable
behaviour can be regarded as
justifiable & some officially
approved behaviour can be felt to
be dubious.”
Key Findings:
“Notion of plagiarism is regarded
as extremely unclear; some
students have a fear that they
might well plagiarise unwittingly, in
writing what they genuinely take to
be their own ideas.”
Key Findings:
“Factors such as alienation from the
university, due to lack of contact with
staff, the impact of large classes, & the
greater emphasis on group learning are
perceived by students themselves as
facilitating and sometimes excusing
cheating.”
“Cheating is a definite moral issue.

Practices which have a detrimental
effect on other students, either directly
or indirectly, are particularly serious
and reprehensible. The ethic of fellow-
feeling or peer loyalty is a dominant
one.”

Cheating & Plagiarism as a Moral Issue
“Where 'cutting corners' is at the

cost of learning, whether 'officially'
cheating or not, it is bad practice.
Where cheating entails some
element of learning it is relatively
acceptable. The ethic of learning
matters here.”
“Cheating is a definite moral issue, but

the 'official' university view of cheating
is not always appropriate. Student
practices which are accepted by the
university may not be thoroughly
justifiable in the eyes of students.
Equally, the university can punish
practices which seem relatively
harmless.”
“Although the student outlook

differs from that of the university,
the official regulations are
definitive. If behaviours which
might otherwise appear morally or
ethically suspect are approved or
tolerated by the staff, they cannot
class as cheating.”
“The hazy nature of plagiarism. It

can be very difficult to work out
what constitutes plagiarism.”

“Students are anxious that it might

occur by accident.”
Personal Reactions to Cheating
“Personal reactions to those who cheat.

Although other people's cheating may
be found morally offensive, it remains a
matter for individual choice unless one
is personally affected by it. Passing
judgment on those who cheat without
knowing their motivations is not fair.”

“Gauging the seriousness of cheating:

Extensive, intended cheating leading to
substantial gain is the most serious. Signs of
intention or premeditation lead to the
cheating being taken more seriously than if it
occurs inadvertently. It also seems that
cheating which is blatant can be more readily
accepted than that which is surreptitious
(indicating artlessness rather than
premeditated intention to deceive).”

“Examination cheating is seen as more

serious than coursework cheating; the
contravention of obvious regulations
indicates blatancy, & students should
act loyally as fellow sufferers in
examinations--the ethic of peer loyalty
is contravened.”

“Cheating which occurs at a

relatively low academic level, or in
the context of formative
assessment, is less serious. In the
instance of plagiarism”

“Certainissues are controversial--

the copying of another student's
work with their consent, & the use
of extenuating circumstances to
obtain preferential treatment.”

“Reasons why cheating occurs”

“Plagiarism can be a deliberate

course of action if the source
material expresses a point well or
succinctly.”

“Cheating is a strategy for coping

with the demands of higher
education level work and the
pressure to succeed. It is not
necessarily habitual; students who
are normally hardworking may
resort to it on occasion.”

“Justifications for consciously

engaging in behaviours which you
know to be wrong. Life is
competitive, & not to cheat might
jeopardise your future.”

“There are shortcomings within the

university environment:
 the form of assessment is flawed
 resources & the teaching are
inadequate
 the work is not of any larger
significance”

“Personal inhibitions to cheating.

There are positive reasons for not
cheating: self-respect, maturity, &
having the ability to envisage other
solutions.”

“Cheating is discouraged through

fear of the possible consequences
(e.g. guilt & self-recrimination;
shame resulting from the
disapproval of others).”

“If the cheating has a ‘victim’, the

proximity of that victim influences
readiness to cheat. Students are
inhibited from cheating when the
victim can be conceived of in
personal terms, not if they are
unknown or ‘abstract’.”
The University
“Student reactions to official guidance.

Cheating seems to be a low-key issue
for the university; the regulations are
sometimes vague, with responsibility
for understanding them placed on the
student. It is assumed that students
instinctively know what does and does
not constitute acceptable practice.”

The University
“The meaning of penalties for

cheating. A genuine lack of
knowledge of the penalties should
serve as a mitigating factor.”

The University
“The track record of a student

caught cheating should, ideally,
be taken into account when
determining a penalty, but this is
administratively hard .”
The University
“ It's the university's fault that students

cheat. Behaviours which are classed
as cheating are sometimes allowed or
actively encouraged by particular
situations and/or tutors.”

The University
“Factors facilitating cheating.

Certain forms of cheating are
comparatively easy to get away
within higher education.”

The University
“Different forms of assessment

offer different opportunities for
cheating.”
The University
“Ease of cheating differs between

disciplines.”

The University
“Group work situations provoke

questions over the assessment of
levels of contribution.”

Student Perceptions of
Plagiarism and the Evaluation
of Assignments
Gail A. U. Overbey & Shawn F. Guiling

Southeast Missouri State University
Journal on Excellence in College Teaching,
1999
Volume 10(3), 3-22.
Student Perceptions of Plagiarism &
the Evaluation of Assignments
“The authors examined perceptions

about plagiarism, correct source
citation, & the evaluation of written
assignments containing plagiarized
material among 156 college students.”
(Overbey & Guiling, 1999)

“Great variability existed both in the

students' knowledge/recognition of
citation methods & in their
perceptions about the best and fairest
way to evaluate plagiarized
assignments.”

“Most students indicated that

grades should reflect students'
time & effort & that they should be
given the opportunity to redo the
assignment before determining a
final grade.”
“The authors' findings concur with

previous research about student
knowledge of plagiarism &
support the need for active-
learning exercises devoted to the
prevention of plagiarism.”
Key findings:
 Estimated: 40%-70% have cheated in
college
 2/3 paraphrased without citing sources
 More than 50% plagiarized text
 Students view plagiarism in a paper as
a less serious infraction than cheating on a test
Undergraduate Cheating:
Who Does What and Why?
Arlene Franklyn-Stokes &

Stephen E. Newstead
Studies in Higher Education 1995
Vol. 20 Issue 2
“Series of studies across different academic
disciplines & different institutions in Great
Britain.
Development of a comprehensive
set of teaching behaviors based on
assessment of staff and student perceptions
of cheating”
(Franklyn-Stokes & Newstead)
Discussion of the data with
respect to:
 Age
 Gender
 discipline & institution

Literature Review:
Davis et al. (1992) sampled over 6000
students in both high schools & colleges.
Respondents asked if they thought it was

wrong to cheat & if they had cheated in an
examination in high school and/or college.
Literature Review:
Paradox: while over 90% thought

cheating was wrong, 76% reported that
they had cheated on an exam.
(Davis et al., 1992)

Key findings:
 Cheating less common at college

than at high school.
 Males admit to more cheating than
females.

Key findings:
 Stress & pressure for good grades
main reasons for cheating.
 Cheating is seldom detected, &
even when it is, action is only
rarely taken.
Current attitudes may be due

to external circumstances.
Fass (1990)
Today's college students have

been raised in an era of decline of
public morality, involving scandal
& corruption by public servants,
major corporations and private
citizens . . .
Fass (1990)
This same generation of students is also
aware of widely publicized examples of
unethical behavior occurring within
academe: major cheating scandals
at universities & the exposure of
fraudulent fabrication of data by scientific
researchers at a number of leading
universities. . . Fass (1990)
“Plagiarism at two major dailies raises anew
the issue of a newspaper's implicit contract
with its readers.
Every schoolchild is taught the impropriety of

claiming credit for someone else's work.
Henry III, W.A. & Hajratwala, M. (1991). Recycling in

the newsroom. Time, 138(4).
A number of popular authors & reporters have

been accused of, or came forward admitting to,
plagiarism recently (e.g. Stephen Ambrose & Doris
Kearns Goodwin).
Michael Bellesiles has been accused of fabricating

data for his book on historical gun ownership and
the Second Amendment.
(Pearson, 2003)
Criticism of several U.S. historians include the book
John Adams by David McCullough, the problems of
academic historians with Michael Beschloss and his
works & allegations of plagiarism against Doris
Kearns Goodwin and Stephen E. Ambrose.
Nelson, Michael (2002). The good, the bad, and the

phony: Six famous historians and their critics.
Virginia Quarterly Review, 78(3), p377.
Scandals associated with books & bookselling:
Plagiarism accusations against historians Doris
Kearns Goodwin & Stephen Ambrose; impact of the
trading scandal involving businesswoman Martha
Stewart; Effect of the government investigation of
General Electric chief executive officer Jack Welch
on his autobiography.
Danford, Natalie (2002). Scandal's Lessons.

Publishers Weekly, 249(43).
Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on

Nov. 26, 2002, that the last of the trials
dealing with cheaters at the University
of Virginia has ended. “A total of 48
students were dismissed…”
(Pearson, 2003)
Louisiana State University is being

investigated by the NCAA (again) for
academic misconduct, including
plagiarism, by athletes.
(Pearson, 2003)
And most recently:
British intelligence report on Iraq sent

by Tony Blair to Secretary of State
Colin Powell
(Cockburn, 2003)
Society’s Impact on
Academic Dishonesty
 The media promotes a
dog-eat-dog mentality
 Success at any cost
 Lying & dishonesty
dramatized & almost
glorified on TV & movies.
(slide by Tegtmeier, 2002)

Key findings:
“Perhaps the least surprising aspect of

these results was the inverse relationship
between the perceived frequency and
seriousness of cheating behaviour.

Students’ Attitudes on Cheating:
….just a fact of life
“Maybe when our parents were growing up
or their parents were growing up, it was a lot
tighter and stricter on people cheating.
Today it's just not happening. I think grown-

ups have gotten a little bit more with-it in
terms of knowing that you're just going to
kind of cheat. ”
(McCabe, 1999)
The six types of behaviour rated as

most serious were also rated as the six
least frequent.

“These types of behaviour, in rank order of
seriousness, were:
1. a student taking an examination for

someone else or having someone else
take an examination for them
2. taking unauthorised material into an
examination

3. illicitly gaining advance information about

the contents of an examination paper
4. copying another student's coursework
without their knowledge

5. copying from a neighbour during an

examination without them realising
6. premeditated collusion between two or

more students to communicate answers to
each other during an examination”

Least serious involved plagiarism of one

kind or another. The two items involving
fabrication (of data and of references) were
given low seriousness ratings, and both
were perceived to have been carried out by
47% of students.

“Another feature of the

frequency/seriousness relationship was that
items rated least frequent and most serious
tended to be examination-related, whereas
those rated as most frequent and least
serious were, on the whole, coursework-
related.”
“There was a significant difference in

reported cheating by age:
 18-20 year-olds reported an average

cheating rate of 30%
 21-24 year-olds one of 36%
 over 25 one of 30%”

“Reasons for cheating varied to a certain extent in

relation to the behaviour. For example, 'to help a
friend' typically appeared with coursework items,
such as:
• 'allowing own coursework to be copied by

another student‘
• 'doing another student's coursework for them'.”

“Reasons for cheating:
• 'time pressure'
• 'to increase the mark'

Why students cheat… the main reasons
UK: ‘time pressure’ & ‘desire to increase

the mark’
US: ‘stress’ & ‘pressure for good grades’
(Haines et al., 1986; Davis et al., 1992)

Top Reasons to Cheat
 Pressure to do well
Fear of Failing
 The ease of obtaining
Lack of Time information online makes
Difficult Work cheating almost irresistible
Lazy
 The college workload can be
overwhelming and students
would rather cheat than fail
(Slide by Tegtmeier, 2002)
(Data from Dick, Sheard & Markham, 2001)

Why do students cheat?
“Some students do
not come to higher
education seeking an
education.
Instead, they want a

credential that will
get them a job.
Learning is not a
priority, getting a good
job at graduation is.”
(Slide by Lorenzen
& Julier, 2000)
This does not relate to my
major...
“Some students resent having to take

courses not directly tied to their major.
They see university general education

requirements as a waste of their time.”
(Lorenzen & Julier, 2000)

GPA
“Many students feel intense pressure to
maintain a high grade point average.
This can come from friends and family.
Students also feel high grades are
necessary for getting a good job or
getting into the graduate program of
their choice. Plagiarized papers are
seen as a way of keeping the GPA high
without all the work.”

Self-defense
“Other students in the university are
cheating. This may give them an
unfair advantage over students who do
not cheat, particularly if a course is
graded on a curve.
Plagiarism in response to the cheating

of others is a way for some students to
level the playing field.”
I am too busy to write
“Some students
plagiarize because they
do not have a lot of free
time.
They may be busy with

heavy class loads,
multiple jobs, family
obligations, social
activities, and resume
building experiences.”
(Slide by Lorenzen & Julier, 2000)

“Reasons for not cheating:

 ‘unnecessary/pointless’
 ‘it is immoral/dishonest’”

“An open-ended question asked students to
give the main reason(s) why they were
studying for a degree:
 'Stop gap'--a degree was a means of

avoiding working, of averting the
possibility of unemployment, or
providing a breathing space, etc.
• 'Means to an end'--a degree was seen as a way

of enhancing job prospects, improving life style
via a better job/salary, changing career, etc.
• 'Personal'--the degree was about personal

achievement, intrinsic interest in the subject
studied, etc.”

“There was no relationship between the
reason students gave for studying for a
degree & the amount of cheating they
admitted to.
It might be expected intuitively, that

students who gave reasons in the 'personal'
category would indulge in less cheating
than the other categories, but this was not
the case.”
How Prevalent is Plagiarism
and Cheating?
A poll conducted by US News and

World Reports found that 90% of
students believe that cheaters are
either never caught or have never been
appropriately disciplined.
and Cheating?
A national survey published in Education
Week found that 54% of students admitted
to plagiarizing from the Internet, 74% of
students admitted that at least once during
the past school year they had engaged in
“serious” cheating, and 47% of students
believe their teachers sometimes choose to
ignore students who are cheating.
and Cheating?
McCabe study:
• Business students – 87% admit to
cheating at least once during their
college careers
• Engineering majors, 74%
• Science majors, 67 %
• Humanities students 63 %
Bibliography
Ashworth, P., Bannister, P. & Thorne, P. (1997), Guilty in
whose eyes? University students' perceptions of
Cheating and Plagiarism in Academic Work and
Assessment. Studies of Higher Education, 22 (2), 187-
203.
Cockburn, A. (2003). The Great 'Intelligence' Fraud,

Nation, 276(8), 8.
Danford, Natalie (2002). Scandal's Lessons. Publishers

Weekly, 249(43).
Bibliography
Davis, S. F. (1997). Cheating in high school is for

grades, cheating in college is for a career: academic
dishonesty in the 1990s. Kansas Biology Teacher 6, 70-
81.
Davis, S. F., Grover, C. A., Becker, A. H., & McGregor, L.

N. (1992). Academic dishonesty: Prevalence,
determinants, techniques, and punishments. Teaching
of Psychology, 19, 16-20.
Bibliography
Dick, M., Sheard, J. & Markham, S. The reasons for
student cheating: A survey of postgraduate students.
School of Computer Science and Software Engineering,
Monash University, Australia. Retrieved March 30, 2003:
http://www.icce2001.org/cd/pdf/p08/Au102.pdf
Fass, R.A. (1990) Cheating and plagiarism, in: W. M. May

(Ed.). Ethics and Higher Education. New York:
Macmillan.
Bibliography
Franklyn-Stokes, A., & Newstead, S. E. (1995).
Undergraduate cheating: Who does what and why?
Studies in Higher Education, 20, 159-172.
Haines, V. J., Kiefhoff, G. M., Labeff, E. E., & Clark, R.

(1986). College cheating: Immaturity, lack of
commitment, and the neutralizing attitude. Research in
Higher Education, 25, 342-354.
Henry III, W.A. & Hajratwala, M. (1991). Recycling in

the newsroom. Time, 138(4).
Bibliography
Kleiner, C. & Lord, M. (1999). The cheating game.

U.S.News & World Report (22).
Lorenzen, M. & Julier, L. (2000). Dealing with Cut and

Paste Student Plagiarism. Michigan State University
Libraries. Retrieved March 30, 2003:
http://www.lib.msu.edu/lorenze1/lilly/lilly.ppt
McCabe, D. (1999). Academic Dishonesty Among High

School Students. Adolescence 34, 681-687.
Bibliography
McCabe, D. L., & Cole, S. (1995). Student collaboration:
Not always what the instructor wants. American
Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 48, 3-6.
McCabe, D. L., & Trevino, L. K. (1996,

January/February). What we know about cheating in
college: Longitudinal trends and recent developments.
Change, 28-33.
McCabe, D. L., & Trevino, L. K. (1997). Individual and

contextual influences on academic dishonesty: A
multicampus investigation. Research in Higher
Education, 38, 379-396.
Bibliography
McCabe, D., & Bowers, W.J. (1994). Academic
dishonesty among males in college: A thirty year
perspective. Journal of College Student Development,
35, 5-10.
Nelson, Michael (2002). The good, the bad, and the

phony: Six famous historians and their critics. Virginia
Quarterly Review, 78(3), p377.
Overbey, G. A. U., & Guiling, S. F. (1999). Student

perceptions of plagiarism and the evaluation of
assignments. Journal on Excellence in College
Teaching, 10 (3), 3-22.
Bibliography
Pearson, G. Electronic plagiarism seminar. Noreen

Reale Falcone Library, Le Moyne College. Retrieved
March 30, 2003:
http://www.lemoyne.edu/library/plagiarism.htm
Tegtmeier, L. (2002). Download your workload:

Cheating and plagiarism on the internet. University of
Rhode Island. Retrieved March 30, 2003:
http://csc101.cs.uri.edu/files/storage/LTEG2422/hpr108
b.ppt

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Guilty in Whose Eyes?

University Students' Perceptions

Peter Ashworth, Philip Bannister & Pauline Thorne

Full Text Available via Academic Search Elite

“Understanding the student

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

Almost without exception,

Study reports use of qualitative

“Strong moral basis to students'

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Cheating is a definite moral issue.

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Where 'cutting corners' is at the

“Cheating is a definite moral issue, but

“Although the student outlook

“The hazy nature of plagiarism. It

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Students are anxious that it might

“Personal reactions to those who cheat.

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Gauging the seriousness of cheating:

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Examination cheating is seen as more

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Cheating which occurs at a

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Certainissues are controversial--

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Reasons why cheating occurs”

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Plagiarism can be a deliberate

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Cheating is a strategy for coping

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Justifications for consciously

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“There are shortcomings within the

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Personal inhibitions to cheating.

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Cheating is discouraged through

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“If the cheating has a ‘victim’, the

“Student reactions to official guidance.

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“The meaning of penalties for

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“The track record of a student

“ It's the university's fault that students

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Factors facilitating cheating.

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Different forms of assessment

“Ease of cheating differs between

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

“Group work situations provoke

(Ashworth, Bannister & Thorne, 1997)

Gail A. U. Overbey & Shawn F. Guiling

“The authors examined perceptions

(Overbey & Guiling, 1999)

“Great variability existed both in the

(Overbey & Guiling, 1999)

“Most students indicated that