Examining the Prevalent Forms of Examination Misconduct in Tanzanian Universities (Published)
This study examined the prevalent forms of examination misconduct in Tanzanian universities. It was guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour developed by Ajzen in 1991. The study employed convergent research design under mixed methods research approach. The target population consisted of 27 universities, which offer Bachelor of education degree in Tanzania mainland, 51,489 students, 708 lecturers, 27 Chief examination officers and 27 Directors of quality assurance from which the sample size of of 460 was selected through purposive and stratified random sampling techniques. Questionnaires, document analysis guide and interview guide were used to collect data. Source triangulation and research experts ensured validity. Reliability was ensured through Cronbach alpha and intercoder agreement techniques. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics whereas qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis. The study found out that, the common forms of examination misconduct included the use of unauthorized materials, copying, collusion, examination leakage and impersonation. The study concluded that, there are diverse forms of examination misconduct in Tanzanian universities. The study recommends that, universities in Tanzania should provide moral education to students to sensitize them about the negative impact of embracing academic misconduct.
Keywords: Forms, Prevalent, Tanzanian universities, examination misconduct
Plagiarism Is A Crime: Towards Academic Integrity in Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana (Published)
Admittedly, students’ academic plagiarism comes in different forms. Surprisingly, little is known about the most common form of student’s plagiarism due to inadequate research. This study was aimed to fill this knowledge gap by empirically examined the most common forms of students’ academic plagiarism in the Wa municipality of Ghana. The choice of the study sitting was influenced by the increasing educational activities in the area. The population of the study comprised of all tertiary students in the municipality. The positivist (quantitative) research design was deployed. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents. Data for the study were elicited from both primary and secondary sources. Questionnaires were the main interment used in gathering primary data. The constructs for the questionnaires were adopted from Sentleng and King (2012) which was modified to address the objectives of the study. The data were analyzed with the aid of Predictive Analytics Software (PASW). The results were presented using Means (M), Standard Deviations (SD), Relative Important Index (RII) and Chi-square Test. The study revealed the most frequent forms of students plagiarism as follows: Invented or altered data (M=4.16, SD= 0.9), Writing an assignment for your friend (M=4.10, SD=0.9),Copy a text without acknowledgement (M=4.05, SD=1.3), Submitted someone’s work without their permission (M=3.41, SD=1.4), Paraphrased without acknowledging the source (M=2.41, SD=1.7), Summarizing a text without acknowledgement (M=2.73, SD=1.4).Chi-square Test revealed that there is a significant difference between Gender and age of students (χ2 -value = 17.98, df =3, p-value<0.05). Moreover, there is significant difference between religion and age (χ2 -value = 6.55, df =3, p-value=0.05). It is concluded that the most common forms of plagiarism among the students were paraphrased without acknowledging the source (Patchworks), Copy a text without acknowledgement, Invented or altered data (Sham),imitating friends work (Pastiches) and. Training on academic writings need to be intensified.
Keywords: Forms, Ghana, Plagiarism, Prevalence, Students, Wa-municipality