Dr Xin Zhao and Dr Laura Sbaffi, Information School
Academic Integrity is at the heart of excellent learning and teaching. An often unacknowledged precondition is that students view the significance of Academic Integrity in the same way as staff expect them to. Most notably, a significant barrier appears to be the use of complex terminology in discussions around Unfair Means and their related roles and procedures. Terms such as “Unfair Means” are not self-explanatory; some students misunderstand the term, believing ‘unfair treatment’ refers to the treatment they receive from the department.
This blog article is based on a research project which aims to explore the perspectives of international students on the Unfair Means definitions, processes, and consequences, to inform the development of an improved student support strategy. The project includes three main phases:
- Phase one: A combination of online surveys and focus group interviews were conducted with students at the Information School in January 2020 to explore student perceptions and learning needs.
- Phase two: Based on data analysis from phase one, we designed and implemented a number of introductory tasks (e.g., gamified quizzes, an animated e-booklet with Unfair Means examples, interaction videos, and drop-in sessions) for the 2020-2021 student cohort as part of the Elevate Digital Retreats project.
- Phase three: Student feedback was collected through an online survey in November 2020, to further evaluate the effectiveness of our project.
In this blog, we showcase some of the material we have developed to support the academic transition of our students on the topic of Academic Integrity as well as the student feedback. Additionally, the blog outlines our project reflections for further improvement.
For inclusivity purposes, we have included a description of all figures and tables.
Illustrations of our practices
According to the analysis of the survey and focus group data during phase one, students considered terminology and explanatory text on Unfair Means complex and abstract. They recommended that Unfair Means (UMs) related information include easy-to-follow and relatable ‘examples with analysis’ and ‘scenario-based questions’. Based on the findings, we implemented several resources, including: introductory videos, gamified Blackboard Quizzes, an UMs e-booklet with detailed definitions, examples of effective and ineffective practices, illustrated scenarios on different types of Unfair Means, and drop-in sessions. We organised the materials into five steps for students to complete during the first few weeks and provided students with a step-by-step work chart (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. An example of introductory tasks for students to complete at the beginning of their studies (figure 1 description)
E-booklet on Unfair Means
An extract from the e-booklet we designed to help students understand direct plagiarism is illustrated below; sources, text with plagiarism, detailed analysis, and good practices are referenced in the booklet.
Figure 2. A screenshot of Unfair Means e-booklet (figure
2 description)
Scenario-based Unfair Means quizzes
Another example of the introductory resources is the scenario-based Unfair Means quizzes. We adopted a storytelling approach, using cartoon characters to illustrate the breaches of Academic Integrity. Below is an example of one of the quiz questions (Figure 3).
Figure 3. A screenshot of Unfair Means quiz (figure 3 description)
Live Drop-in UM sessions
We offered students a total of four live drop-in sessions in the first semester. The student participation was high, with over 170 students attending each session. The first teacher-led session offered essential instructions on how to submit an assignment (video recording available), listed the most common mistakes to avoid, and shared the results of the survey to students. Moreover, we asked students to feedback their preferences on information to be delivered in future sessions. Thus, subsequent sessions were student-centred, inquiry-based drop-ins; we displayed examples of Turnitin reports, offered tips on common issues and referencing styles, and provided examples of both good and bad Academic Integrity practices. This delivery mode proved quite effective as students engaged throughout the sessions and actively contributed.
Student feedback on our introductory resources
Table 1 shows how Information School students rated the UM resources that the School provided. Each aspect was ranked on a scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) and the overall mean average was calculated. The table shows a steady improvement of all aspects of the UM resources from the January 2020 survey (phase one) to November 2020 (phase three), which was conducted after we introduced the new suite of resources in the form of introductory tasks.
Table 1. Mean values of key aspects of UM resources before (January 2020) and after (November 2020) implementation of introductory tasks. (Table 1 description)
All aspects taken into account show a net increase; however, the new introductory tasks appear to have had the strongest impact on how useful the resources are perceived to be (from a mean of 3.79 to 4.27), and their understandability (from a mean of 3.62 to 4.09). Trustworthiness appears to have increased the least (from a mean of 4.10 to 4.20); nevertheless, this particular aspect was initially the strongest. This is an encouraging result that demonstrates the effectiveness of our project. With these promising results, we are currently planning further materials for the next academic year.
Future improvements and reflection
Despite the success of our digital retreat project on Unfair Means, we noticed an essential issue caused by the pandemic. The lack of peer-to-peer support and of a ‘cohort spirit’ has translated into severe forms of insecurity and individualised panic among our students when they encounter Unfair Means emails.
Unfair Means can be a scary topic; being called to an interview to assess the potential use of UMs can be a stressful experience. However, until last year, students could talk to each other about this process; they could share stories, discuss their understanding of what to expect, and somehow ‘normalise’ the experience. However, during the pandemic, students are expected to attend lectures delivered online. Students rarely know anyone else on their programme, except for sporadic opportunities of group work; they lack a sense of belonging to a particular group, cohort, or community. They are, in every respect, isolated. Discussing UM with others becomes, therefore, an impossibility.
When the dreaded invite to a UM interview comes, they can only ask for guidance from university staff (e.g., UM officers, personal tutors, professional services). They send a series of pleading and distressed emails as they have no knowledge of what is about to happen to them. To prevent this surge of panic in the future and to offer further support, regardless of the teaching scenarios playing next academic year, we propose the following actions:
- Use animated videos to illustrate the UM
interview process step-by-step, including the potential consequences and
coursework resubmission process.
- Online and printed versions of Unfair Means
booklet.
- A comprehensive FAQ document to include common questions from students.