Plagiarism/Student perceptions of the question of academic honesty questionnaire

Introduction

This questionnaire was created by Craig and Dalton (2014)

Authors

Robert Craig, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE

David Dalton, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The survey was organised into five sections. The first section sought to discover if students were aware of institutional policy, if they had read it, and if they understood it. Section two focused on student perceptions of the seriousness of eight common academic offences, and asked for ratings on a scale of 1 to 4. This was followed by questions asking how frequently students had engaged in such behaviour, and a section on how common they believed this behaviour was among their peers. The purpose of the final section was to find the most likely causes of academic cheating.

- Craig and Dalton (2014)

Items

Survey This survey is being carried out to research student perceptions of the question of academic honesty in the PI. The results will be used to inform discussion on this issue. The survey will provide answers to the following four questions:

1. Is academic dishonesty an issue at the PI?
2. How serious do students consider it?
3. How frequently do students believe it occurs?
4. What are the reasons for such behavior?

Answers are confidential and will only be used by the researcher. Please answer all questions honestly. Thank you for your assistance.

A. Institute Policy

1 Are you aware of an Academic Integrity Policy and Honor pledge at the PI?

Yes

No

2 Have you read it?

Yes

No

3 Do you understand it?

Yes

No

B. Perceptions of academic integrity/seriousness of ‘offence’

[4=very serious; 3=quite serious; 2=not very serious; 1 = not at all serious]

1. Copying a homework assignment from a peer
2. Copying from notes in an exam/test/quiz
3. Copying a colleagues answer in an exam/test/quiz
4. Providing answers to a friend/colleague in an exam/test/quiz
5. Doing homework for a friend/colleague
6. Having a friend a colleague do the work for you
7. Plagiarizing work from others and passing it off as your own
8. Paying someone to do the assignment

C. How often have you engaged in the following behavior?

[4=frequently; 3=sometimes; 2=rarely; 1 = never]

1. Copied homework assignment from a peer
2. Copied from notes in an exam/test/quiz
3. Copied a colleagues answer in an exam/test/quiz
4. Provided answers to a friend/colleague in an exam/test/quiz
5. Allowed a friend/colleague to copy your work
6. Done homework for a friend/colleague
7. Paid someone to do your work

D. How frequently do you believe the following occur?

[4=frequently; 3= sometimes; 2= rarely; 1 = never]

1. Copying a homework assignment from a peer
2. Copying from notes in an exam/test/quiz
3. Copying a colleagues answer
4. Providing answers to a friend/colleague in an exam/test/quiz
5. Doing homework for a friend/colleague
6. Having a friend a colleague do the work for you
7. Plagiarizing work from others and passing it off as your own
8. Paying someone to do the assignment in an exam/test/quiz

E. How likely do you think the following reasons might be given for academic dishonesty?

[4=Most likely; 3=Likely; 2= unlikely, 1= Most unlikely]

1. Lack of time to complete assignment
2. Low chance of being caught or reported
3. Penalties are minimal
4. Worth the risk to get a better grade
5. Normal behavior (everyone does it/not considered serious)
6. Taught to copy in school
7. Lack of understanding of how to complete assignment
8. Never been taught how to paraphrase and quote
9. Too much effort required to paraphrase and quote
10. Authors’ words are best
11. English not good enough
12. Lack of interest