Comparing the Demographics of Students Reported for Academic Dishonesty to Those of the Overall Student Population

Abstract

Only a small proportion of academically dishonest students ever receive an official report of academic dishonesty, and the sociology of deviance literature is ripe with studies illustrating disproportionalities in detecting, policing, and prosecuting crimes. This study addresses the degree to which disproportionalities exist in the application of relatively few official sanctions levied upon students for academic dishonesty. I compared the demographics of those who have been reported for cheating with those of an entire undergraduate student body and of self-reported cheaters in the literature. I found that international students are much more likely than domestic students to get reported.

Keywords:

• academic dishonesty
• cheating
• deviance
• demographics
• citizenship status

Notes

¹ A detailed analysis of this analysis of open-ended responses by students has been published: Beasley (2014).

² Although I do not have country-of-origin statistics for the international undergraduates reported for academic dishonesty, I can relay country-of-origin statistics for the international student population at MSU. Here are some details about the fall 2011 class (these are from the Office for International Students and Scholars Stats Report 2011): Total: 5,989 students (undergraduate total = 3,341 students). Top five sending countries: China (3,012 students), Republic of Korea (729), India (303), Saudi Arabia (203), and Taiwan (187).

³ Whereas Payan et al. (2010) reported that students with collectivist values are less likely to cheat, Martin, Rao, and Sloan’s (2011) findings indicate that the individualists cheat more than collectivists. Martin et al. also argued that acculturation has an effect on cheating but that race/ethnicity (Caucasian or Asian) does not play a significant role.

⁴ Of course, group-level data do not always predict individual behavior. For example, it may be that international students do cheat more but that domestic students in departments where there are higher concentrations of international students are less likely to cheat than their counterparts in departments with fewer international students. Invalid deduction of this type is often referred to as the ecological fallacy.

⁵ In experiments this number is easier to ascertain, but not many studies have used this methodology, and the studies that have still have to deal with concerns about external validity.

⁶ It is possible that these populations are skewed toward those who do not commit or get reported for academically dishonest acts, as the type of student that get reported may be more likely to drop out of college.