Research into academic integrity (AI) has a long history of extensive work to estimate the prevalence of and predictors for academic misconduct in higher education (HE). In addition, concern about the high prevalence of academic misconduct has justified a proliferation of recommendations for reducing academic misconduct. Scholars have lamented, however, the dearth of research investigating the effectiveness of interventions to prevent academic misconduct. This chapter reports on a review of 97 quantitative studies that investigated the effectiveness of interventions related to academic misconduct in HE. The evidence supports the effectiveness of text-matching software and honor code systems in reducing plagiarism and cheating, respectively. The effectiveness of proctoring examinations, providing instruction about plagiarism, and delivering instruction about AI are not supported by the evidence. Recommendations for future research are suggested.
TopIntroduction
Research into Academic Integrity (AI) has a long history of extensive effort to estimate the prevalence of academic misconduct and to identify predictors of academic misconduct in Higher Education (HE) (Northcutt, Ho, & Chuang, 2016; Orosz et al., 2015; Tatum & Schwartz, 2017). General findings suggest that the prevalence of academic misconduct in HE is disturbingly high. However, demographic characteristics of students, such as race, age, and sex, are not strong predictors of misconduct. By contrast, contextual elements e.g., seeing others engage in academic misconduct, are stronger predictors of academic misconduct.
Concern about the high prevalence of academic misconduct has justified a proliferation of recommendations for reducing its presence (Al Qahtani, 2016; Corrigan-Gibbs, Gupta, Northcutt, & Thies, 2015; Ewing, Anast, & Roehling, 2016; Northcutt et al., 2016). However, scholars have also lamented the dearth of research investigating the effectiveness of interventions to prevent academic misconduct (Baird & Clare, 2017; Cronan, McHaney, Douglas, & Mullins, 2016; Henslee, Goldsmith, Stone, & Krueger, 2015b; L. L. Marshall & Vernon, 2017; Obeid & Hill, 2017).
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the quantity and quality of research investigating the effectiveness of interventions to prevent academic misconduct. We will review studies uncovered through an extensive search of the related literature, and make recommendations for effective interventions, as well as for continued research.