Academic ethics: Attitudes and behaviours

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are a bane of the education system. Cheating scams at secondary and higher education levels make headlines regularly in India, indicating that the problem is endemic. We conducted a survey on the perceptions towards cheating and plagiarism among undergraduate students of a liberal arts college of a public-funded central university. We find that most students recognize what constitutes academic dishonesty, however, a vast majority has indulged in unethical practices, seemingly because of a pressure to “score well”.