Surveying the extent of involvement in online academic dishonesty (e-dishonesty) related practices among university students and the rationale students provide: One university's experience

This study reports data from a Midwestern university, investigating the extent of involvement in online academic dishonesty practices (e-dishonesty) among students and the rationale they provided. Involvement in and rationale for e-dishonesty was studied across individual variables including academic level, primary field of study, taking the university’s academic integrity tutorial, and taking online and hybrid courses. A total of 1153 students participated in the study by completing a 44 item questionnaire. The findings indicate that the extent of involvement in e-dishonesty practices was significantly greater among freshmen than graduate students in most of the subscales of the survey. In addition, the primary field of study demonstrated a significant relationship between involvement in e-dishonesty and the rationale for e-dishonesty. Students in education and the social sciences reported of the least involvement in e-dishonesty; engineering and physical sciences the most. Completing the university’s academic integrity tutorial did not significantly affect e-dishonesty practices while taking online or hybrid courses had some significant effect on e-dishonesty. The results highlight the need for early intervention concerning academic integrity followed by an ongoing and consistent effort throughout students’ undergraduate and graduate experience. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.