To Catch A Cheat

Why Cheat? The problem of cheating in American Colleges

INTRODUCTION

The problem of cheating, or academic dishonesty as some colleges refer to it, is not a new problem in America. Ever since there have been exams to cheat on, papers to plagiarize, and homework to be copied, it has been done. More and more, faculty is trying to understand why students cheat, and how to combat cheating. The students are often unclear as to what constitutes cheating, and how not to cheat. This paper will attempt to explain the reasons students cheat, how they are cheating, and the steps that colleges and universities can take to curb cheating.

WHAT CONSTITUTES CHEATI NG?

When one says the word вЂ?plagiarize,’ images of a student copying entire paragraphs out of a book to put in a report comes to mind. However, this type of blatant cheating is not the only thing that constitutes plagiarism. Sam Fulwood defines plagiarism as “borrowing someone else’s words and passing them off as one’s own, whether in print, speech, or performance” (Plagiarism: Playing by the Rules, 2003).

According to Petress, several things constitute cheating, some of them blatant, some of them not so blatant, and even some that border on the verge of criminal activity. Those forms of cheating including:

“copying test responses from a classmate; taking exams for others; doing another’s assignments; … purchasing research papers;…fabrication of quotes…; breaking into teacher offices/files to gain…access to tests or answer keys; sabotaging peer’s ongoing work or experiments; and gaining illegal access to school computer data bases in order to alter official grade records” (Academic Dishonesty: A Plague on our Profession, 2003).

Pertress is not alone on this definition of academic dishonesty. Park adds that “falsification of data…inappropriate use of resources, taking credit for work done by others and manipulation of academic staff,” (In Other (People’s) Words, 2003) are other ways that students can cheat. The University of Alberta’s Library Department defines plagiarism as stealing or passing a piece of work off as one’s own, whether it is the ideas or the words of another, or to use a resource without crediting the source, or to present something as new and original, when it is actually derived from an existing source (Terminology, n.d.).

WHY DO STUDENTS CHEAT?

When caught cheating, many students are asked the following question: �Why did you do it?’ Most of them respond by saying �I did it because I….’ The rest of that sentence is often completed with a variety of answers. The University of Alberta’s Library department offers several reasons why students would cheat. Getting a good grade, the pressure to perform, whether for parents or teachers, not having enough time to prepare due to work or school activities, and not understanding exactly what plagiarism is are all reasons offered as to why students cheat (Why do Students plagiarize or cheat?, n.p.).

The library department also offers the following internal and external factors as reasons for cheating as listed in the following bulleted points:

Ð'* lack of research skills

Ð'* problems evaluating Internet sources

Ð'* confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing

Ð'* confusion about terminology

Ð'* careless note taking

Ð'* confusion about how to properly cite sources

Ð'* misconception of plagiarism

Ð'* misconception of intellectual property, copyright, and public domain

Ð'* misconception of common knowledge

Ð'* perception of online information as public knowledge

Ð'* pressure from family, competition for scholarships and jobs

Ð'* student ethics and relationship with the university

Ð'* commodification(sic) of knowledge and education

Ð'* poor time management and organizational skills

Ð'* culturally based attitudes towards plagiarism (Why Students Plagiarize, n.d.).

I would like to go into greater detail about each of these, and explain how these factors cause students to cheat. However, that would require much more time devotion on the part of the writer as well as the reader, so I will highlight a few of the main points that seem to appear in much of the research conducted.

In a time where teachers have full class loads on top of expectations from department heads and deans, many students are not taught how to research libraries correctly. Many teachers do not have the time, or the space in the curriculum to teach students how to research properly, and therefore the students must rely on their own judgment to look up research properly, and to document it properly as well. According to Park, “some students plagiarise (sic) unintentionally, when they are not familiar with proper ways of quoting, paraphrasing, citing and referencing” (In Other (People’s) Words, 2003). Burnett also shares the same feelings. She states that students, often, “just aren’t sure how to credit Internet sources-or don’t even know if they need to” (Dishonor & Distrust, 2002).

Another reason that students cheat is that they strive for that all-important GPA that is necessary to get into a good college, or even graduate school. This pressure can be self-inflicted, or put on by parents to make students have a better life than their own.