Assessing Freshman Engineering Students' Understanding of Ethical Behavior.

Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is on the rise in colleges, particularly among engineering students. While students decide to engage in these behaviors for many different reasons, academic integrity training can help improve their understanding of ethical decision making. The...

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Published in:Science & Engineering Ethics Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 287 - 305
Main Authors: Henslee, Amber, Murray, Susan, Olbricht, Gayla, Ludlow, Douglas, Hays, Malcolm, Nelson, Hannah
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Feb2017
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        10.1007/s11948-016-9749-2
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          Henslee, Amber
          Murray, Susan
          Olbricht, Gayla
          Ludlow, Douglas
          Hays, Malcolm
          Nelson, Hannah
        affil:
          Missouri University of Science and Technology , 500 W. 14th Street Rolla 65409 USA
          Department of Psychological Science, HSS111 , Missouri University of Science and Technology , 500 W. 14th Street Rolla 65409 USA
      su:
        Ethics
        Virtues
        Engineering students
        Honesty
        Integrity
      sug:
        subj:
          Ethics
          Virtues
          Engineering students
          Honesty
          Integrity
      keyword:
        Academic dishonesty
        College students
        Plagiarism
      ab: Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is on the rise in colleges, particularly among engineering students. While students decide to engage in these behaviors for many different reasons, academic integrity training can help improve their understanding of ethical decision making. The two studies outlined in this paper assess the effectiveness of an online module in increasing academic integrity among first semester engineering students. Study 1 tested the effectiveness of an academic honesty tutorial by using a between groups design with a Time 1- and Time 2-test. An academic honesty quiz assessed participants' knowledge at both time points. Study 2, which incorporated an improved version of the module and quiz, utilized a between groups design with three assessment time points. The additional Time 3-test allowed researchers to test for retention of information. Results were analyzed using ANCOVA and t tests. In Study 1, the experimental group exhibited significant improvement on the plagiarism items, but not the total score. However, at Time 2 there was no significant difference between groups after controlling for Time 1 scores. In Study 2, between- and within-group analyses suggest there was a significant improvement in total scores, but not plagiarism scores, after exposure to the tutorial. Overall, the academic integrity module impacted participants as evidenced by changes in total score and on specific plagiarism items. Although future implementation of the tutorial and quiz would benefit from modifications to reduce ceiling effects and improve assessment of knowledge, the results suggest such tutorial may be one valuable element in a systems approach to improving the academic integrity of engineering students.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
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    language: English
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