Thank you for your continuous support and guidance throughout the entire process of my research project. Special thanks to my mother Mateboho Maloka, my son Thapel Maloka, thank you for your understanding when I was not at home.
Introduction and background
Similarly, the perceptions of 586 Taiwanese graduate students regarding their judgments and severity of academic dishonesty were examined. Apart from developed countries, cases of academic dishonesty are also reported in developing countries.
Problem statement
Aim
Objectives of the study
Research questions
Signficance of the study
Definition of concepts
The findings of this current study revealed that the majority of respondents were female; 77%. This could be the reason why most respondents in this study stayed in the school residence. The purpose of the study is to explore nursing students' perceptions regarding the occurrence of academic dishonesty.
The title of the study is: Analyzing the perceptions of nursing in relation to academic dishonesty.
Theoretical framework
Conclusion
The researcher adapted questionnaires used by (Theart and Smit, 2012a) to measure academic integrity status among nursing students in the Western Cape. This is the result of counting or measuring the attributes of the study population (Polit and Beck, 2014). To reiterate, the purpose of the study was to analyze and describe nursing students' perceptions of academic dishonesty.
The findings in the research indicated that nursing students in training at the selected university were aware of the occurrence, frequency and consequences of academic dishonesty.
Introduction
Incidences of academic dishonesty amongst nursing students
Factors influencing academic dishonesty
- Individual factors
- Contextual factors
- Personality traits of students who cheat
- Differing views of cheating behaviours
- Faculty factors
- Fostering academic integrity
Faculty should consider the different needs and norms of international students by developing clear policies on academic dishonesty. Instead, students should be supported while in the classroom so that they understand the meaning of academic dishonesty.
Control of academic dishonesty
- Honour codes
- Examples of student plagiarism
- Prevention of plagiarism
- Defeating plagiarism: Strategies for nurse educators
- Detecting plagiarism using manual search viz software
The teachers in higher education institutions without automatic plagiarism software have an obligation to protect the integrity of academia; therefore, they need to respond to the problem of plagiarism. Many higher education institutions use Turn-it-in plagiarism detection software because of the quality of feedback it provides in detecting plagiarism.
Conclusion
In developing countries such as Tanzania, lecturers are faced with the problem of the lack of automatic plagiarism detection systems and are forced to use a manual detection system that is time-consuming, uneconomical, inefficient, and serves only a few documents. Computer technology makes a positive contribution to addressing the weakness of manual plagiarism detection in academia.
Introduction
Research paradigm
Marshall and Rossman (2006) dictated that the positivist learning view commits that research can be value-free where the researcher and the research are not connected in the research process. The researcher administered questionnaires as data collection tool to ensure the objectivity of the information.
Research approach
The quantitative approach used a systematic method to collect the necessary information and this was followed by the statistical analysis of the data. A quantitative study uses a scientific approach to inquiry where a general set of well-ordered, disciplined procedures are used to acquire reliable and useful information (Polit and Beck, 2014), and this is what the researcher intended to do in this study.
Research design
In descriptive research, the researcher selects a specific event, condition, or behavior, makes observations, and records the phenomenon. The goal is to determine the nature of the phenomenon, determine what is going on, and determine what factors are associated with the phenomenon.
Research setting
Burns and Grove (2012) stated that the purpose of research design is to achieve greater control of variables, thereby improving the validity of the study in examining the study problem. An exploratory design was used to explore facts related to the phenomenon under study in order to achieve a richer understanding of this phenomenon (Polit and Beck, 2014).
Population of the study
Brink (2012) and Polit and Beck (2012) state that the population of a study is the entire group of subjects, persons, objects or elements which have the same characteristics of interest to the researcher. The target group for the current study was composed of 283 registered nursing students for the academic year 2017 and consisted of: 82 first-year students, 80 second-year students, 60 third-year students and 61 from the fourth year of study.
Sample size, sampling techniques and procedure
Inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria
- Criteria for inclusion
- The exclusion criteria
Data collection instrument
Data collection procedure
Validity and reliability of the instrument
- Validity of the instrument
Validity refers to the degree to which the instrument measures what the researcher wants to measure. The validity of the instrument used in this study referred to the variables related to the objectives of the study.
Ethical consideration
Data analysis
The questionnaires were coded and the data recorded in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24, and checked to eliminate any errors. The distribution of the data was analyzed by calculating the results of the Chi-square and t-Test test (normality test), where values >0.05 were considered as a normal distribution of the data.
Data management
Quantitative data were generated and analyzed to provide information on the perceptions of nursing students regarding academic dishonesty at HEIs. Numerical data were summarized by measures of central tendency and measures of variability such as mean, standard deviation, mode and median, range, minimum and maximum values, and range, according to whether the data were normally distributed or skewed.
Data dissemination
Conclusion
Data analysis
Sample realisation
Demographic characteristics of the respondents
The year of study of the respondents
Type of residence of the respondents
The majority of respondents n indicated that they never used material from another student's paper without acknowledging the original author, n used another's material once, n used another's material more than once times and n=14 (6.3%) used someone else's material. Many times. Lying about medical or other circumstances to postpone a test or exam in order to have more time to study for it.
Awareness of the involvement of other students in cheating behaviour
Attitude towards cheating
Impact of peer pressure
The findings of this study showed that n strongly disagreed and n strongly disagreed that pressure would cause them to try to cheat when they knew other students had gotten away with it. Help a friend who asks me for help with a task that I know is supposed to be his/her job.
Actions taken by the students when they become aware of another student cheating
Factors that cause the cheating behaviour
The results further indicated that the majority of respondents (70%) strongly disagreed and disagreed that cheating was sometimes justified in order to succeed academically, compared to 30% of respondents who strongly agreed and agreed that it was justified. The results of this study indicated that the majority of respondents (82%) strongly agreed and agreed that they engaged in cheating behavior due to pressure to succeed academically compared to 18% who strongly disagreed and disagreed, that this was a motivating factor.
Prevention of cheating behaviour
Awareness of institutional policies regarding cheating behaviour
The t-test result value was -3.213, with df: 219 and a p-value of .002 (2-sided), which indicated that there was a significant statistical relationship between residence and copying from another during a test or exam. The average score of 2.88 for the respondents staying in the school accommodation compared to the average score of 2.62 for.
Conclusion
In comparison, 22% of respondents strongly agreed and agreed with the statement and were thus of the opinion that it was not a serious offence. The results of this study further showed that the majority of respondents (72%) strongly disagreed and disagreed, compared to 28% who strongly agreed and agreed that they would allow another student to copy their assignments because of group pressure.
Introduction
Discussion of the findings
Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
The survey results indicated that the majority of respondents (63%) strongly disagreed and disagreed, compared to 37% of respondents who strongly agreed and agreed, with the statement that cheating was justified when a close friend asked for help. The majority of respondents in this study (67%). strongly agreed and agreed that students would be caught if they cheated, while 33% strongly disagreed and disagreed that it would happen.
The incidence and frequency of academic dishonesty amongst nursing students
Awareness of the involvement of the other students in cheating behaviour
The majority of students (61%) said they had never brought unauthorized notes to a test or exam site, while 39% admitted to having done so. Some 62% of respondents had never personally used unauthorized notes during a test or review, while 38% admitted to having done so.
Attitude towards cheating
In this study, the T-test result showed that male respondents were more likely not to report other students for cheating and not to feel guilty when they cheated themselves compared to their female counterparts. The T-test result further showed that men strongly agree and agree that using material from another author's work without citing it is not a serious offense; more than female participants.
Impact of peer pressure
These results thus supported the study conducted by Simpson (2016), which showed that men cheat more often than women. who strongly agreed and agreed with this view. This was supported by a study conducted by Saana et al. 2016) who stated that the main reason why students engaged in academic dishonesty was the pressure to get good grades to increase their job prospects and observing other students who got away with cheating.
Actions taken by the students when they became aware of other students cheating
Factors that caused cheating
The findings further revealed that the majority of respondents (77%) strongly agreed and agreed with the statement that their attitude towards assignments and tests caused them to cheat, while 23% of respondents strongly agreed disagreed and disagreed. The findings also revealed that the majority of respondents (77%) strongly agreed and agreed with the statement that having to pay back their scholarship if they failed caused them to cheat; However, 23% of them disagreed with this statement.
Prevention of cheating behaviour
It was found that 72% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed that strict punishments would prevent students from cheating, while 28% strongly disagreed and disagreed that it would have the desired effect. In this study, 70% of respondents strongly agreed and agreed, compared to 30% of respondents who strongly disagreed and disagreed that encouraging students to monitor their peers' behavior would prevent them from cheating.
Awareness of institutional policies regarding cheating behaviour
Recommendations
Faculty
Nursing education
Further research
Limitation of the study
The status of academic integrity among nursing students at a nursing training institution in the Western Cape. The title of the proposed study is “Analyzing the perception of nursing students regarding academic dishonesty in a selected university in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Conclusion
Information Given to Participants
Informed Consent Form
Questionnaire
Application for Permission to conduct the study
Permission to conduct a study from Head of School
Ethical Clearance
Proof of editing letter
