Ethical Use of Information

Data On Cheating

Why Discuss Ethical Use | Academic Integrity | Data on Cheating
What Is Plagiarism | How to Avoid Plagiarism | Related Links

Do some students cheat in school? Do some individuals lie and cut corners in the workplace? Do some professionals cheat on their accrediting exams? Do some potential employees embellish their resumes with false information? If we all want to wear blinders, we can ignore such questions. But the street-wise individual knows the answer is YES to all of the above. It's an unfortunate fact of life that some will throw personal integrity out the window in an effort to get ahead.

Daniel Garrison summarizes the data from the results of five research projects conducted by Donald L. McCabe of Rutgers University (founder and first president of the Center for Academic Integrity) on a web page called Research on Academic Integrity: Some Research Highlights. The most striking statistic in this data is that 75% of the students surveyed admitted to having cheated at school in some way, no matter how minimal. References to much of McCabe's research are listed at the Center for Academic Integrity web site in their searchable database of resources for those who want to know more.

Articles on the prevalence of cheating can be found throughout the popular and scholarly press. As Wooster students and faculty, by doing a keyword search on cheating and college or on plagiarism in the OhioLINK research database Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) you will find a wide array of popular magazine and scholarly journal articles that discuss the problem. Refine your search to incorporate work- and job-related terms, and you can see what's being discussed about the "real world." Try other databases with similar searches, and you will soon become overwhelmed with the discussion.

The question you need to ask yourself is: How can I, personally, affect a change in this culture of dishonesty?

NEXT: What Is Plagiarism?