For notes

Desalegn, Antenna Assefa and Asres Berhan, A. (2014). Cheating on examinations and its predictors
among undergraduate students at Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Science,
Hawassa, Ethiopia. BMC Medical Education, 14, 89. http://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-14-89
Topics : cheating, undergraduate students, medicine and health science
Background:

Cheating on examinations in academic institutions is a worldwide issue. When

cheating occurs in medical schools, it has serious consequences for human life,
social values, and the economy. This study was conducted to determine the
prevalence of cheating and identify factors that influence cheating among students
of Hawassa University College of medicine and health science.
The predictors of cheating vary in different societies and cultural backgrounds.
Regardless, cheating in medical and health science institutions should not be
tolerated because it has serious consequences on human lives, social values, and
economy. Academic cheating is defined as being found in possession or copying
from materials brought in to an exam that are not specifically permitted or allowing
a student to copy from ones exam paper through oral, symbolic, written and
electronic or any other means.
Different research on cheating confirms widespread and prevalent academic
dishonesty in academic institutions in the world and shows that some types of
cheating have increased considerably in the past decades [4-7]. In fact, cheating
has become an almost common phenomenon and with particularly technology
becoming more sophisticated every day, academic dishonesty in universities is
increasing and has become a worldwide issue
According to a multicampus investigation of the relationship between academic
dishonesty and workplace dishonesty, There is general agreement that there
should be zero tolerance of cheating in a profession based on trust and one on
which human lives depend. It is reasonable to assume that cheaters in medical
school will be more likely than others to continue to act dishonestly with patients,
colleagues, insurers, and government
In addition, studies have shown that academic dishonesty at college can also be a
predictor of workplace dishonesty . The objective of this study was to determine the
prevalence of cheating and identify predictors of cheating among students of
Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Science.
Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted from May through June 2013. A pre-tested
self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect self-reported data
regarding cheating. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.
Descriptive statistics were used for data summarization and presentation. Degree of
association was measured by Chi Square test, with significance level set at p=0.05.
Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess
associations.
The dependent variable for this study was the act of cheating as self reported. The
independent variables included sex, age, cultural background, parents education
level, religious belief, cumulative GPA, workload of students, the experience of
cheating at high school, type of high school attended, perception of peers to
cheating, competition with peers, social drug use, class size and year of study. The
socio-cultural variables are important we believed it might have either a positive or
a negative effect on their behavior. Thus, we wanted to see how independent
variables such as Students residence and location of eating meal affected
cheating.
This study included all regular undergraduate students who stayed in the college for
at least one semester and consented to participate in the study. There were 1,366
eligible fulltime undergraduate students. all questions were close-ended with precoded response. The questionnaire had two categories: 1) demographic and sociocultural characteristics and 2) reasons for cheating and not cheating during
examination.
Results and findings
The prevalence of self-reported cheating was found to be 19.8% (95% CI=17.421.9). About 12.1% (95% CI=10.2-13.9) of students disclosed cheating on the
entrance examination. The majority of students (80.1% (95% CI=77.9-82.3)
disclosed that they would not report cheating to invigilators even if they had
witnessed cheating. Analysis by multiple regression models showed that students
who cheated in high school were more likely to cheat (adjusted OR=1. 80, 95% CI
=1. 013.19) and that cheating was less likely among students who didnt cheat on
entrance examinations (adjusted OR=0. 25, 95% CI=0. 140.45). Dining outside
the university cafeteria and receiving pocket money of Birr 300 or more were
strongly associated with cheating (adjusted OR=3.08, 95% CI=1.54-6.16 and
adjusted OR=1.69 (95% CI=1.05-2.72), respectively. The odds of cheating among
students were significantly higher for those who went to private high school, were
substance users, and didnt attend lectures than for those who attended
government schools, were not substance abusers, and attended lectures.
A greater number of females than males reported cheating in high school and
university, showing a statistically significant difference (p=0.001 and p=0.005,
respectively). About 12.1% (95% CI=10.2-13.9) of the students reported cheating

on the university entrance examination and again, more females (16.2%) than
males (11%) cheated on entrance examination (p=0.027). In general, female
students were more likely to cheat in high school, on the entrance examination and
while attending the university. Regarding perception of students toward cheating, of
the study participants, 22% (95% CI=19.5-24.4) perceived that their peers thought
cheating to be an acceptable behavior or normal phenomenon (27.4% females vs.
20.5% males, p=0.02). About one in four (24.4% (95% CI=21.9-27)) perceived
cheating to be common or very common practice among classmates (31.1%
females vs. 22.9% males, p=0.014). About 14.8% (95% CI=12.8-16.9) perceived
cheating to occur only sometimes among class mates whereas 53.4% believed it
occurred very rarely or rarely or never. 30.5% (95% CI=27.7-31.1) of study
participants admitted to passive cheating, that is allowing others to copy or cheat
from them. The majority (78% (95% CI=75. 680.5)) of the students of Hawassa
University College of Medicine and health science regard cheating in exam as
unacceptable behavior
bout one in five students at the university cheated. A significant number of females
reported cheating as compared to males (26.2% females vs. 18.1% males, p=
0.005). Students with an urban background cheated more than those from a rural
background (23.8% urban vs. 14.3% rural, p<0.001). Of the study participants,
28.7% did not study in the field of their choice at the university, and students who
did not study in their chosen field of study cheated more (26.5%) than those who
did (17.1%) (p<0.001). On the other hand, 289 (25%) of the students reported that
they were not interested in their field of study. The students who did not like their
field of study also cheated more than those who were interested in their field of
study (26% vs. 17.7%, p=0.002).
the major reasons reported by students for cheating on exams were lack of
preparation for exams (25.7%), academic workload or other assignments (16.9%),
need to obtain good marks (14.6%), desire not to fail exams (8.6%) and about 34%
mentioned other reasons. On the other hand, the main reasons given by students
for not cheating on exams are feeling competent (65.6%), being true to religious
and moral standards (19.3%), fear of academic punishment (7.7%), presence of
strict invigilators (2.6%) and other reasons (4.8%). The major means used for
cheating as reported by students are symbolic (28.74%), oral (26.82%), written
(23.37%) and electronic methods (9.96%).
This study showed that cheating is a common problem among undergraduate
students of Hawassa University College of medicine and health science. The
prevalence of self reported accounts of cheating by students was 19.8% (95% CI=
17.4-21.9). Such prevalence of cheating especially in college of medicine and health
sciences should be unacceptable as it reflects the ethics of our future health care
providers. This was evident in studies that have shown academic dishonesty is to be
a good predictor of work place dishonesty.

This study revealed that one in five students of Hawassa University College of
medicine and health science cheats even though the majority regarded it as an
unacceptable behavior. It also found that current cheating in the university is very
strongly associated with cheating in high school, cheating on the entrance
examination, field of study, year of study and passive cheating. Cheating was also
found to be strongly associated with dining outside university cafeteria and
substance abuse. Cheating was significantly associated with absenteeism from
lecture class, attendance at private school and amount of pocket money. On the
other hand gender, age, background, parental education level, liking field of study,
were not significantly associated with cheating at the university. Cheating at a
university could well be a predictor of workplace dishonesty and workplace
dishonesty among medical and health professionals has dire consequences for
human life. At a wider level, it negatively affects social values and weakens the
economy because it produces health care professionals with questionable
credentials.

Ethics and behavior: to cheat or not to cheat: the role of personality in academics
and business ethics. Vol.23 issue 6, Virginia k. bratton and connie strittmatter 2013.
Pp427-444
Topics: cheating, academic dishonesty, business ethics, professional ethics,
neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness
Objective: purpose of this study is to further explore the personality characteristics of the

decision-maker in ethical situations and the relationships between perceptions of academic and
business ethical behavior
Background:

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine who is likely to cheat or plagiarize
during their academic career, why and how they do it. Although, research has shown that there is
a link between academic honesty and future ethical behaviors in the workplace, the exact nature
of this relationship and how individual factors influence this relationship are still unclear. These
studies investigated whether GPA, class rank, gender, and age are variables that affect an
individuals propensity toward academic and workplace dishonesty. An area ripe for exploration
is whether personality traits are a factor in determining a students ethical attitudes towards
academic and workplace behavior. Previous studies have investigated whether personality traits
impact academic ethics and business ethics in isolation but none to date have explored the
relationship between personality traits and the link between academic and workplace ethics.

Several studies have indicated a positive relationship between academic and work place
dishonesty. one of the first studies in this area and found that students who participated in
unethical behavior in an academic setting were also likely to participate in unethical workplace
activities. by examining a larger sample of students from multiple universities. They confirmed a
high correlation between cheating behaviors in academic and workplace settings. Other studies
have produced results to support this relationship. As Ajzen (1991) emphasized in developing his
Theory of Planned Behavior, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
Hypothesis: Ethical academic perceptions is positively related to workplace ethical

perceptions .
Method:
Sample. A total of 293 (response rate of 20%) students enrolled in business classes at a university
in the northwest region of the United States responded to a survey distributed online from
September to November, 2010. Of those who provided demographic information, 50.9% were
men, 49.1% were females, 93.2% were US residents, the average age was 20.75 years, 30% were
freshmen, 34.5% were sophomores, and 23.9% were juniors, and 63.5% of respondents were
business majors.
Results and findings
Academic honesty was positively related to business ethics, was supported. Consistent with past
research ,this hypothesis was supported. There is a strong positive relationship between student
attitudes toward academic honesty and business ethics. This underscores the importance of the
role of educators and business educators in particular in enforcing rules and expectations for
honesty in an academic setting.
GRAVES, Sharron M.. Student Cheating Habits: A Predictor Of Workplace Deviance. Journal of
Diversity Management (JDM), [S.l.], v. 3, n. 1, p. 15-22, july 2011. ISSN 2157-9512.
Topics: cheating, student habits, workplace, deviance, factors of cheating
Background:
todays college students are growing up in a society where ethical values are declining and scandals
involving dishonesty in government, business and other organizations are frequent occurrences.
Research has been conducted on the relationship between academic dishonesty and unethical
business practices.From well-known documented research it is evident that cheating has increased at
least three fold over the last 65 years. As alarming as this is, the numbers have more or less stabilized
over the past 25 years at 70 to 75%.

Method:

A questionnaire survey was developed by the author that included the deviant activities identified
by Hollinger and Clark and included in their retail-sector survey. The retail survey was chosen because
more students have retail work experience than hospital or manufacturing experience. Additional
items were added to reflect todays work environment; e. g. surfing the Web and playing computer
games on company time. The questionnaire also included questions regarding cheating on tests and/or
homework in high school and college. Responses were collected from students in undergraduate and
graduate business courses which included business and non business majors at a public. The twopart questionnaire included sections on cheating habits and deviant activities. When asked about
their participation in deviant activities, students were instructed to indicate whether or not they
had ever engaged in the activities listed. If a student had not had the opportunity to engage in a
particular activity, he was instructed to respond accordingly.
Results and findings
Business students are reported by academic major and all non-business majors are grouped in the
other category. One can see from the percentages that an equal or higher percentage of students
report cheating on homework than on tests in high school, and except for management majors the same
is true for college Although the percentage of students who cheat in college is much smaller, in the final
analysis students who cheat on tests and/or homework in high school engage in a higher
percentage of deviant activities in the workplace. When the responses of all business majors are
combined, they report cheating less in all categories than non-business majors except for cheating on
college tests where the percentages are almost identical. Accounting and marketing majors cheat less on
college tests and homework than other majors included in the study and the average of all business
majors.
Although the results vary by sector in the H & C survey, the percentage of employees who
engage in production deviance is higher in all three sectors than those engaging in property deviance.
The same is true of the student survey. From 13 to 100 percent of students engage in production
deviance, an average of 59 percent, while only 5 to 45 percent, an average of 20.8 percent, engage in
property deviance.
This studys findings are similar to those of other studies focusing on the relationship between cheating
and unethical behavior in the workplace. Students who cheat on tests and/or homework in high school
and/or college are more likely to engage in property- and production-deviant activities than their
counterparts who do not cheat. However, this study indicates that high school cheating habits are a
better indicator of a persons deviant behavior in the workplace.

Bushway, A., & Nash, W. (1977). School Cheating Behavior. Review of Educational
Research, 47(4), 623-632
Topic: cheating behavior, school, factors of cheating, characteristics
Background:
Cheating in the classroom includes many behaviors: using a crib notes on an exam, copying answers
from another students paper, letting others copy a homework paper, plagiarizing and ghostwriting, to
name just a few. These types of behavior can be traced in history through thousands of years. In
response to this problem, a great deal of research has been performed in education and psychology.
Most studies deal with (a) characteristics of cheaters, (b) the situational factors involved in a students
decision about whether or not to cheat, and (c) reasons students often give for cheating three areas

that are vitally importantin determining why cheating occurs.

The majority of the studies indicate that students who are lower in intelligence or school
achievement may cheat more frequently. Concerning the relationship of sex of the students and
incidence of cheating, the findings seem to indicate (with a few exceptions) that the amount of
cheating among females is somewhat less than the cheating engaged in by males. Steigninger,
Johnson and Kirts (1964) found a definite relationship between lack of meaningfulness courses
and cheating.
The moral climate of the school also influences the amount of cheating. Personality and
teaching style of the teacher or professor were found to be other situational determinants.
Related to the situational influences as determinants of cheating are the reasons students give
for their dishonesty in the classroom.
Concerned about grades was most frequently mentioned. Cornehlsen (1965) findings result that
any kind of pressure from administrator, teachers, and/or parents frequently influenced cheating.
Cheating is more frequent when students dont understand the relationship of cheating and
morality.
Findings and results
It can be seen that there are many factors influencing whether or not given student will cheat.
The large number of these factors along with the statistics cited indicates how large a problem
cheating is in school systems of a country.