THEORITICAL BACKGROUND
“Literature Review: Academic Dishonesty”
According to (Thomas Keith, 2018). Studies suggest that most students realize academic
dishonesty is morally wrong, but various outside factors or pressures may serve as “neutralizers,”
allowing students to suppress their feelings of guilt and justify their dishonest acts to themselves (Baird
1980; Haines et al. 1986; Hughes and McCabe 2006). In certain cases, dishonest behavior may arise not
from willful disregard for the rules of academic integrity, but from ignorance of what those rules are.
Particularly in their senior highschool studnet, many students have difficulties with managing their time
successfully. Faced with demands on their out-of-class time from athletics, extracurricular clubs,
fraternities and sororities, etc., they may put off studying or working on assignments until it is too late
for them to do a satisfactory job. Cheating then appears attractive as a way to avoid failure (Haines et al.
1986). Sometimes a student must maintain a certain GPA in order to receive merit-based financial aid, to
participate in athletics, or even to continue receiving financial support from his/her family. Even high-
achieving students may turn to academic dishonesty as a way to achieve their target GPA. Academic
pressures can be worsened in courses that are graded on a curve: with the knowledge that only a fixed
number of As can be awarded, students may turn to dishonest methods of surpassing their classmates.
In large classes, students might feel anonymous and perceive instructors as distant. This may lead to
increased cheating tendencies, as students believe the instructor doesn't care about their work. This
issue is common in online courses due to their large sizes and lack of face-to-face interaction.
Academic writing rules can be confusing for students, especially those without prior
experience. (Thomas Keith, 2018). The internet has worsened this issue as it makes information easily
accessible, leading some students to believe all sources are public property and don't require citation,
causing unintentional plagiarism. Instructors should not assume students know when and how to cite
sources, and students often struggle to critically evaluate online sources, relying on top search results
without considering accuracy or bias. International students might encounter difficulties in adapting to
academic writing conventions, particularly regarding originality and intellectual property. They may need
time to grasp these rules, especially if English isn't their first language. Moreover, students from
collaborative cultures could struggle with assignments that require individual work. The academic
pressures common to students can be particularly acute for international students. In some cultures
(e.g. those of East Asia) excellent academic performance at the university level is vital for securing good
jobs after graduation, and students may therefore believe that their futures depend upon receiving the
highest possible grades. When a student’s family is making sacrifices to send him/her overseas for
college, s/he may be concerned about “letting the family down” by doing poorly in school, which can
make academic dishonesty all the more tempting. While some people may think of cheating as a risk
only on high-stakes assignments (course papers, final exams, and the like), it can easily occur on low-
stakes assignments as well. In fact, the very lack of grade weight that such assignments bear can
encourage dishonesty: students may conclude that since an assignment has little or no bearing on their
course grade, it “doesn’t matter” whether or not they approach it honestly. For this reason, it is vital to
stress to students the importance of honest conduct on all assignments, whether big or small. The
University does not take grade weight into account when deciding whether academic dishonesty has
occurred; plagiarism is plagiarism and cheating is cheating, even if the assignment in question is worth
zero points.
In summary, Academic dishonesty, encompassing cheating, plagiarism, and data falsification,
is a prevalent problem in higher education. It may arise from factors like poor time management,
academic pressures, anonymity, lack of understanding about academic conventions, cultural differences,
and low-stakes assignments. To minimize dishonest behavior, educators should assist students with time
management, clarify academic standards, and foster an atmosphere promoting honesty and critical
thinking. It identifies several factors contributing to such dishonest behavior, such as poor time
management, academic pressures, anonymity, lack of understanding about academic conventions,
cultural differences, and the nature of low-stakes assignments. The suggested strategies to minimize
academic dishonesty involve educators assisting students in managing their time effectively, clarifying
academic standards, and creating an environment that encourages honesty and critical thinking.
Keith, T. (2018, November 16). Literature review: Academic dishonesty – what causes it, how to prevent
it | Academic Technology Solutions. https://academictech.uchicago.edu/2018/11/16/literature-review-
academic-dishonesty-what-causes-it-how-to-prevent-it/
