Donald D. Carpenter

The theory of planned behavior as a model of academic dishonesty in engineering and humanities undergraduates

This study examines the use of a modified form of the theory of planned behavior in understanding the decisions of undergraduate students in engineering and humanities to engage in cheating. We surveyed 527 randomly selected students from three academic institutions. Results supported the use of the model in predicting ethical decision-making regarding cheating. In particular, the model demonstrated how certain variables (gender, discipline, high school cheating, education level, international student status, participation in Greek organizations or other clubs) and moral constructs related to intention to cheat, attitudes toward cheating, perceptions of norms with respect to cheating, and ultimately cheating behaviors. Further the relative importance of the theory of planned behavior constructs was consistent regardless of context, whereas the contributions of variables included in the study that were outside the theory varied by context. Of particular note were findings suggesting that the extent of cheating in high school was a strong predictor of cheating in college and that engineering students reported cheating more frequently than students in the humanities, even when controlling for the number of opportunities to do so.

Influence of Planting Soil Mix Characteristics on Bioretention Cell Design and Performance

Municipalities are increasingly interested in using rain gardens, or bioretention cells, as a “best management practice” (BMP) for storm-water management and as a component of low impact development. However, improved technical reference materials are needed to determine the influence of planting soil mix design on the hydrologic and water quality performance of bioretention cells. This article describes three investigations undertaken to determine the influence of planting soil mix characteristics. The first was to identify the bioretention cell design characteristics and methodologies used by different agencies. The second was a laboratory investigation on the soil characteristics that influence performance including field capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil moisture content, organic content, dry bulk density, porosity, and sediment grain size distribution. The third was to quantify the effectiveness of bioretention cells as a storm-water BMP by designing, constructing, and monitoring two f...

The current state of research on academic dishonesty among engineering students

Academic dishonesty, or cheating, has become a serious problem at colleges and universities. This is particularly true of engineering students who, are among the most likely to cheat in college. The present paper reviews the literature as a basis of broadly understanding academic dishonesty. This discussion focuses on three primary issues: (1) perceptions of and attitudes towards cheating, (2) reasons for student cheating, and (3) methods of promoting academic integrity. A current research project being developed by the authors is also discussed. The premise of this research is that students are constantly making ethical judgements between the pressure to cheat and their own moral beliefs and social norms. The goal then is to uncover the reasons for and frequency of student cheating and to develop best practices for helping engineering students avoid this pressure. Particular topics of discussion include a rationale for the research methodology, an outline of the questions we hope the survey will answer and a discussion of the ethical implications of conducting research of this type.

Using Structural Equation Modeling to Validate the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Model for Predicting Student Cheating

The purpose of this paper is to validate the use of a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for predicting undergraduate student cheating. Specifically, we administered a survey assessing how the TPB relates to cheating along with a measure of moral reasoning (DIT- 2) to 527 undergraduate students across three institutions; and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling. Results confirmed using the modified TPB as a model for predicting student cheating and the importance of understanding how cheating varies for students in different periods of moral reasoning development, namely moral consolidation and moral transition.

Student preceptions of institutional and instructor based techniques for dealing with academic dishonesty

Research suggests that a large percentage of engineering students engage in some form of academic dishonesty. To investigate this very serious concern, the authors have undertaken a research project on the Perceptions and Attitudes toward Cheating among Engineering Students (PACES). The premise of this research is that a combination of pressures, rather than malicious motivations, account for most student cheating. This paper focuses on a portion of the PACES survey; student opinions on what actions might prevent cheating. The authors examined data collected from approximately 350 engineering and pre-engineering undergraduate students at 5 institutions. In the survey, the students were presented with 23 institutional and instructor based actions and asked to comment on whether itch actions would prevent them from cheating if they might have been inclined to cheat under other circumstances. Student responses to those actions along with subsequent statistical analysis are reported. Practical implementations of several student-identified techniques are then discussed.

Work in progress - A mixed-methods approach to developing an instrument measuring engineering students' positive ethical behavior

Ethics education and the drive to produce ethical professional engineers is an important focus of one body of research on engineering education. This research often defines the positive outcome of ethics education as students and professional engineers choosing not to engage in unethical behavior. This paper discusses a portion of a larger research project and details efforts to identify and validate a definition of ethical behavior that includes the decision to engage in a positive behavior, defined as a service to a larger community. Through a series of interviews and focus groups with engineering administrators, faculty, and students, the authors attempt to confirm the construct validity of service participation as ethical behavior. They also investigate the validity of the aspects of service participation to be included as a part of a national survey on engineering ethics education practices and outcomes. They then discuss the final steps that will be taken to test and further validate the development of the service participation portion of the survey.

A case study on research in engineering education: designing, testing, and administering the PACES-2 survey on academic integrity

Most engineering educators excel at planning and conducting technical research in their field, but few are proficient doing this for a project in engineering education. Recently, however, there has been increased emphasis on conducting rigorous research in engineering education. This paper provides practical advice for planning and conducting such research. The authors use their long term project to predict academic dishonesty in engineering college students as a case study representing one approach to research in engineering education. In particular, the authors present the design, testing, and administration of a two-part survey instrument to collect information from college students about their decisions related to cheating

Work in progress - building the survey of engineering ethical development (SEED) instrument

When developing surveys, researchers can readily identify the concepts they intend to study, but how do they create individual survey items that will most accurately measure those concepts? Here we describe the first year of a four-year NSF project in which the E3 Team (Exploring Ethical Decision Making in Engineering) prepared to develop a national survey of the curricular and co-curricular activities, events, and experiences affecting the ethical development of engineering undergraduates. As this survey is likely to be the most comprehensive assessment of ethical development - both in content and scope - ever administered to engineering undergraduates, it is critical the development process includes rigorous and thorough educational research methods. By using such methods, we greatly increase the probability our survey instrument will appropriately measure the determinants of ethical behavior in engineering undergraduates.

The Implications of Academic Dishonesty in Undergraduate Engineering on Professional Ethical Behavior

Student academic dishonesty, commonly referred to as cheating, has become a serious problem at institutions of higher education. This is particularly true of engineering students who, according to previous research, are among the most likely to cheat in college. In addition, research on college students in all fields has indicated that such behavior is more common among students who participate in academic dishonesty at the high school level and that it is correlated with other deviant or unethical behaviors, such as petty theft and lying. If, in fact, such correlations do exist, one might hypothesize that there is also a relationship between academic dishonesty in college and deviant or unethical behavior in professional practice. Placing this relationship in the context of higher levels of academic dishonesty among engineering students only increases the seriousness of the problem for engineering educators, professionals, corporations, and society. To investigate this concern, the authors have undertaken two research projects. The first project focused on the Perceptions and Attitudes toward Cheating among Engineering Students (PACES1). The goal of the research was to develop a better understanding of what students and faculty perceive as cheating and to use this knowledge to help instructors and institutions increase the level of academic integrity. The second project examined the correlation between academic dishonesty and unethical behavior with a majority of the students in the sample having worked for a considerable period of time during their college years. This provided a unique opportunity to study the connection between academic dishonesty and professional behavior within the same sample of individuals. This paper will discuss some of the implications of academic dishonesty on professional ethical behavior and provide an overview of the two investigations conducted by the authors.

The role of moral philosophy in promoting academic integrity among engineering students

Academic dishonesty is nothing new, yet it is particularly disturbing to find among engineering students, whose professional lives need to be guided by the highest ethical standards. Moral philosophy may illuminate some of the conditions for recovering a sense of the ethical for engineering students. Classical moral philosophers held that people belong to communities in ways that inform their sense of obligation. Recognition of these communities would make concrete the engineers responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of the public. A further difficulty is that the primary community that students know is simply that of their peers in school or the workplace, which does not form a sufficient context for the sense of moral obligation inherent in the engineers role. This paper seeks to define the moral obligation of the engineer using traditional moral philosophy and describe how this obligation might be translated into a more positive definition of success. It also addresses means by which educators can help engineering students to better understand their moral obligation.