When students experience unfairness and normlessness in their academic environment, it exemplifies the concept of social anomie. where students may justify dishonest actions such as exam cheating, plagiarism, and others. Academic honesty, a crucial moral characteristic, fundamentally relies on values, rules, and social norms. Against this…

Although ethical sensitivity is a well-defined concept, few scales specifically assess the ethical sensitivity of students in higher education referring to academic honor codes. We conducted the current study to develop and validate a scale that measures the Ethical Sensitivity Scale in Academic Activities (ESS). Scale development followed a…

Academic misconduct is common in both secondary and higher education and schools still lag behind in preventing unethical behavior. The present research addressed the effectiveness of formative activities aimed at improving ethical behavior of students in secondary education. The probability of engaging in cheating, harming others, hiding…

While the internet has revolutionized academic study and research, it has also facilitated academic misconduct, presenting new challenges in maintaining academic integrity worldwide. This study, primarily drawing on the social cognitive theory, surveyed undergraduates at three universities in China to examine the status and working mechanism of…

Ensuring the integrity of results in online learning and assessment tools is a challenge, due to the lack of direct supervision increasing the risk of fraud. We propose and evaluate a machine learning-based method for detecting anomalous behaviour in an online retrieval practice task, using an XGBoost classifier trained on keystroke dynamics and…

This study examined the degree to which students indulge in six prominent misconducts in Distance Education Institutions (DEIs). The study also quantified how class size, instructional delivery and institutional policies predict students' indulgence in sharp practices using a general linear modelling approach. A sample of 871 participants was…

The propensity to cheat is intrinsic to every kind of education or training that requires effort and commitment. Academic dishonesty is a significant issue among secondary and postsecondary students worldwide. The majority of students have been involved in at least one kind of academic dishonesty in the preceding academic year. The fraud triangle…

Research into "gaming the system" behavior in intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) has been around for almost two decades, and detection has been developed for many ITSs. Machine learning models can detect this behavior in both real-time and in historical data. However, intelligent tutoring system designs often change over time, in terms…

Past studies of academic dishonesty typically have been grounded in the theory of planned behaviour. Key predictors of academic dishonesty variables under this framework generally have been attitudes towards academic dishonesty, the impact of peer pressure to engage in such acts, and individual perceptions of related acts. However, planned…

Academic misconduct in all its various forms is a challenge for degree-granting institutions. Whilst text-based plagiarism can be detected using tools such as Turnitin™, Plagscan™ and Urkund™ (amongst others), contract cheating and collusion can be more difficult to detect, and even harder to prove, often falling to no more than a 'balance of…

The Fraud Diamond theory (rationalization, opportunity, motivation and perceived capability) has been widely used as a framework to explain criminal behavior. However, little is known about its application in an academic context. Research on the relationship between the prevalence of academic fraud (e.g., cheating on exams, plagiarizing essays)…

This study examines the emergent issue of blackmail and contract cheating through a scenario-based online exercise completed by 587 university students in Western Australia. Participants were presented with two consecutive scenarios, each involving a difficult assignment. The possibility of blackmail was introduced prior to (and within) the second…

Academic integrity is important, not just in the university setting but beyond, as students graduate and move into professional fields. Discrepancies in the understanding of what constitutes academic dishonesty exist between institutional policies, discipline areas and individual educators, which creates challenges for students trying to uphold…

The extensive and intensive online teaching and learning during the pandemic has provided good opportunities for academic staff and students to experiment with learning and teaching using synchronous communication technology and learning platforms. This experience is highly valuable for helping higher education institutions move learning and…

Research has shown that professionals who act unethically in the workplace likely have an academic background with academic dishonesty violations. Given that understanding and teaching academic honesty behaviors are critical to best prepare future media professionals, this research examines discussions of academic dishonesty in "Journalism…