An examination of social and cultural factors that may affect engagement in study activities linked to academic writing skills

It is vital for students to understand and uphold the principles of academic integrity throughout their studies. Although this is often a value that is promoted by higher education institutions from the outset, academic misconduct does appear to be a growing problem. This may be explained by lockdown depriving students of the social support systems that increase their confidence in their writing. As a result, an increased number of students sought assistance from other sources, many of which may be considered in appropriate (Maryon, et al., 2022).

Although there has been an increase in cases of academic misconduct, this does not necessarily mean that students are engaging in this knowingly. Indeed, there may be an argument that many cases are due to naivety; and that unscrupulous methods used by essay mills to make students upload their work, unaware of its end use, putting students in a vulnerable position. This research seeks to examine student’s understanding and confidence in their academic writing and related skills.

Through an online survey we present a range of learning activities and will ask students how likely they were to engage in each type, some of which were more desirable ways of seeking help than others. We then specify a range of activities linked to producing an assignment and will ask for their confidence level for each. To examine their understanding of academic integrity we will outline a range of scenarios that are linked with preparation of an assignment, and will ask students whether each approach suggested could be considered acceptable.

Along with the demographic features elicited from the survey, we intend to examine whether there are social or cultural trends in understanding and confidence in academic writing skills, and whether there are relationships between these features. Through a deeper understanding we may be able to review the information and training offered to students, to prevent cases of academic misconduct.

Maryon, T., Dubre, V., Elliott, K., Escareno, J., Fagan, M. H., Standridge, E. & Lieneck, C. (2022). COVID-19 Academic Integrity Violations and Trends: A Rapid Review. Education Sciences, 12(12), 901.