The issue of academic dishonesty concerns many researchers and scientists. In fact, it is the consequence of non-compliance of the academic honesty’s system of rules and values. Many research papers with very interesting topics are published every day. However, how can we know that the authors of these papers mainly themselves developed projects or wrote research paper? They could easily borrow the ideas of other authors.  Plagiarism is not the only form of academic dishonesty. From this, we can make such conclusion that academic dishonesty is the pressing issue of copyright. The main aim of this academic dishonesty essay is to examine the forms of academic dishonesty and methods of struggle with it.

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 What Is Academic Dishonesty?

If we talk about academic dishonesty, we should mention academic honesty at first. In common words, academic honesty is a set of values and principles, which regulate the honesty of each individual during the process of learning and assessment. It is a decent behavior during the writing of any paper, such as essay, test, presentation, coursework and research paper. Rules of academic honesty should be followed by the all participants of academic environment. Therefore, provisions about academic honesty are usually created with this purpose. Their main aims:

• compliance of ethical standards and demands;
• promotion of the education’s quality;
• development of memos and recommendations, which enable to ensure the academic honesty of students;
• regulation of problematic issues in the process of learning in order to prevent cases of academic dishonesty.

Therefore, we can make conclusion that any violation of rules of academic honesty leads to the academic dishonesty. An interesting fact, that such term did not exist in epoch of Antiquity and Middle Ages. It was common thing, when pundits of that time made typical rewriting of other authors. They did not made any impact in digests and comments, which they created. They just copied the papers of other authors, making collections. Citations were not used at all, because of absence of printing press, which appeared centuries later. First mention of academic dishonesty dates back to the Chinese exams. Students did cheating despite of threat of death penalty. In 1800s and late 1900s, plagiarism was ignored by the universities because of absence of realization how to make citations properly. Only creation of MLA and APA formats of paper helped to stop this problem. Nevertheless, majority of students did not consider plagiarism or cheating as shameful occupation.

What types of actions can we refer to academic dishonesty now? We can highlight such forms of academic dishonesty in this essay on dishonesty:

• plagiarism;
• fabrication or falsification of scientific research;
• deception;
• cheating;
• sabotage.

Plagiarism is one of the common forms of academic dishonesty. Papers of students are great example of plagiarism’s existence. Majority of students just copy the texts of other authors into their own paper, which is great example of plagiarism. In common words, plagiarism is grabbing the ideas of other author and statement, that it is your own idea. The main aim of any paper is to create absolutely unique text. In order to do this, students should express their own opinions, which is not so easy. Especially, when the topic is difficult for understanding. Sometimes, students just forget about citations of other authors as an object of copyright. Generally, plagiarism plays on the field of copyright. That is why, plagiarism can be seriously punished.

Fabrication or falsification of scientific research is the next form of academic dishonesty. Usually aim of any research paper is to prove theoretical material with the help of practice. Scientific research is the best example of practical activity. How can we find academic dishonesty here? In this case, violator finds the results of scientific research of other authors and corrects them in such way, that they can be valuable for him. History knows many examples of falsification of various facts. There are also such examples, when violator is included to the authors of monographs and other papers, when he actually did not make part during the scientific research.

Deception is the softest form of academic dishonesty. Usually academic deception means lack of conscience of person. Students are great example of this form of academic dishonesty. They can say that they have forgotten their paper at home or do not bring paper at certain deadline. Any student may say that he has done his test or paper. However, the paper can be not done at all. Violators do not consider themselves as cheaters in this case. Students are just afraid admitting the fact that they have not done their paper and recognizing their irresponsibility. Interesting form of deception is to ask other person to pass exams for you. This method works greatly, when student does not appear in the university time and teacher does not even know how this student looks like.

Cheating has many ways how to violate the discipline in academic environment. It is also great example of academic dishonesty. Different ways of cheating are even shown in films. Generally, it can be divided on such forms:

• asking for help another student during the process of work;
• usage of technical services (for example, audio equipment);
• usage of personal cribs or opening the notes or books during the process of work;
• spread of the information during certain period of time even after certain student passed the work.

Sabotage means breach of the discipline in any institution. This form of academic dishonesty usually consists of interrupting by the one person the work of the other people. Cutting pages from literary books and ripping of experiments. Fortunately, this is rare form of academic dishonesty. It is the place to be in elite schools, where the ratings of classes are important thing.

We can say a few words about rewriting. In fact, it can be considered as a form of plagiarism. However, relation to the rewriting is diverse. It depends of opinion of different universities. Person can do deep rewriting, which is not so easy. Nevertheless, rewriting the research paper do not contain scientific newness, therefore the essence of article is lost. Services of academic writing can be also considered as academic dishonesty. However, in this case not the academic writing service, but student violates the rules of academic dishonesty’s ethics.

How To Deal With Academic Dishonesty?

Fortunately, there are ways of destruction of academic dishonesty. Some ways are effective, but other are not. Let us look on these ways.

1. Usage of effective anti-plagiarism programs. There are many anti-plagiarism programs, such as Copyscape, Advego and so on. They help to detect plagiarism in various forms. However, students learned to deceive these programs. There are various forms of deception, such as usage of synonymisers or doing rewriting. Nevertheless, it takes much time for student to do this deception. For your inspiration, you can use one of our George Orwell essays in order to write good paper.

2. Self-control. Students should be taught, that they should to control themselves and do not give any possibility for cheating.

3. Elimination of the financial aspects for the teacher. Salary of the teacher should not depend on the amount of students, which study well. It must be stable and depends on the other spheres of teacher’s activity.

4. Increasing the number of tasks. It will be good option when teacher will make variants of assignments for all group of students. It will partly help to decide the problem of cheating.

5. Depriving the student the possibility to do cheating. The main aim is to take mobile telephones, books, personal notes of students until the end of work. Another idea consists in installation of cameras in the classes.

6. Cancellation of epistolary tasks and usage of oral tasks. It absolutely decides the problem of cheating. Oral answers on the question adequately shows the level of student’s knowledge.

7. Disciplinary approaches. Student can be expelled from the university due to plagiarism.

Conclusion

Academic dishonesty is the main problem in any institution. It leads to defective education expressing in various forms. There are certain ways to nip this global problem. Not all ways will help to defeat it. The best way is realizing how it is serious and not to succumb this phenomenon.

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