Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative study of 401 students is to identify common motivations for Chinese students to plagiarize on written English assignments and ultimately to demystify and understand the mindset of Chinese students who do plagiarize. According to a regression analysis of these data, the most significant factor relating to likelihood to self-report plagiarism for Chinese students is the belief in a “standard answer,” which represents the correct answer to a given question. The regression results also suggest that students who believe that imitation of experts is important to learning are more likely to self-report plagiarism, and that business students are more likely to self-report than non-business students. The other factors examined in our model, such as English writing ability; ability to express one’s self in English writing; embarrassment about English writing ability; concern for accuracy of English writing; and concerns about grade point average, were not significant predictors of self-reported plagiarism. These results give a key insight into the English writing plagiarism behaviors of Chinese students studying in Western higher education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brown, B., & Choong, P. (2003). A comparison of academic dishonesty among business students in a public and private Catholic university. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 12(1), 27–48. doi:10.1080/10656210309484942.
Brown, B., & Choong, P. (2005). An investigation of academic dishonesty among business students at public and private United States universities. International Journal of Management, 22(2), 201–214.
Bugeja, M. (2004). Don’t let students “overlook” Internet plagiarism. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 70(2), 37–43.
Bureau, U. S. C. (n.d.). Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation, Table EEO-ALL01R. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/people/eeotabulation/data/eeotables20062010.html
Chan, S. (1999). The Chinese learner—A question of style. Education+ Training, 41, 294–304.
Chandrasegaran, A. (2000). Cultures in contact in academic writing: Students’ perceptions of plagiarism. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 10, 91–113.
Crittenden, V. L., Hanna, R. C., & Peterson, R. A. (2009). The cheating culture: A global societal phenomenon. Business Horizons, 52(4), 337–346. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.02.004.
Crown, D. F., & Spiller, M. S. (1998). Learning from the literature on collegiate cheating: A review of empirical research. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(6), 683–700.
Daniel, L. G., Blount, K. D., & Ferrell, C. M. (1991). Academic misconduct among teacher education students: A descriptive-correlational study. Research in Higher Education, 32, 703–724.
Eastman, J. K., Iyer, R., & Eastman, K. L. (2006). Addressing academic dishonesty: The implications for business schools, professors, and students. Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education, 9, 1–8.
Flint, A., Clegg, S., & Macdonald, R. (2006). Exploring staff perceptions of student plagiarism. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 30(02), 145–156. doi:10.1080/03098770600617562.
Flowerdew, J., & Li, Y. (2007). Plagiarism and second language writing in an electronic age. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 27, 161–183. doi:10.1017/S0267190508070086.
Franklyn-Stokes, A., & Newstead, S. E. (1995). Undergraduate cheating: Who does what and why? Studies in Higher Education, 20(2), 159.
Getty, L. (2011). False assumptions: The challenges and politics of teaching in China. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(3), 347–352. doi:10.1080/13562517.2011.560058.
Goldberg, L. R., Johnson, J. A., Eber, H. W., Hogan, R., Ashton, M. C., Cloninger, C. R., et al. (2006). The international personality item pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 84–96.
Haines, V. J., Diekhoff, G. M., LaBeff, E. E., & Clark, R. E. (1986). College cheating: Immaturity, lack of commitment, and the neutralizing attitude. Research in Higher Education, 25, 342–354.
Hammond, S., & Gao, H. (2002). Pan Gu’s paradigm: Chinese education’s return to holistic communication in learning. In X. Lu, W. Jia, & R. Heisey (Eds.), Chinese communication studies: Contexts and comparisons (pp. 227–244). Westport, CT: Ablex.
Hayes, N., & Introna, L. D. (2005). Cultural values, plagiarism, and fairness: When plagiarism gets in the way of learning. Ethics and Behavior, 15(3), 213–231. doi:10.1207/s15327019eb1503_2.
Haynie, D. (2014). Number of international college students continues to climb. U.S. News & World Report.
Heuchert, D. (2004). On my honor: Report spotlights cheating accusation. Retrieved from http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/11_15_2004/honor.html
Holmes, P. (2004). Negotiating differences in learning and intercultural communication: Ethnic Chinese students in a New Zealand university. Business Communication Quarterly, 67(3), 294–307. doi:10.1177/1080569904268141.
Hu, G., & Lei, J. (2012). Investigating Chinese university students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward plagiarism from an integrated perspective. Language Learning, 62(3), 813–850. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00650.x.
Huang, C. (2015). Rote learning harms students’ courage. Global Times. Retrieved from www.globaltimes.cn/content/939204.shtml
Iyer, R., & Eastman, J. (2006). Academic dishonesty: Are business students different from other college students? Journal of Education for Business, 82(2), 101–110.
McCabe, D. L. (1996). Classroom cheating among natural science and engineering majors. Science and Engineering Ethics, 3(4), 433–445.
McCabe, D. L. (2005). Levels of cheating and plagiarism remain high. Honor codes and modified codes are shown to be effective in reducing academic misconduct. Center for Academic Integrity. Duke University, Clemson, South Carolina.
McCabe, D. L., & Trevino, L. K. (1997). Individual and contextual influences on academic dishonesty: A multicampus investigation. Research in Higher Education, 38(3), 379–396.
Meade, J. (1992). Cheating: Is academic dishonesty par for the course? Prism, 1(7), 30–32.
Mehta, R., Anderson, R. E., & Dubinsky, A. J. (2000). The perceived importance of sales managers’ rewards: A career stage perspective. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 15(7), 507–524.
Michaels, J. W., & Miethe, T. D. (1989). Applying theories of deviance to academic cheating. Social Science Quarterly, 70, 870–885.
Ming, Z. (2012). What’s wrong with Chinese education. Worldcrunch. Retrieved from www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/what-s-wrong-with-chinese-education/c3s5799/
Mooney, P. (2006). Plagued by plagiarism. Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(37), A45–A46.
Pappamihiel, N. E. (1999). The development of an English language anxiety assessment instrument for Mexican middle school English language learners. (Doctorate), University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Park, C. (2003). In other (people’s) words: Plagiarism by university students–literature and lessons. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5), 471–488. doi:10.1080/02602930301677.
Pecorari, D. (2015). Plagiarism in second language writing: Is it time to close the case? Journal of Second Language Writing, 30, 94–99.
Pecorari, D., & Petrić, B. (2014). Plagiarism in second-language writing. Language Teaching, 47(3), 269–302. doi:10.1017/S0261444814000056.
Pennycook, A. (1996). Borrowing others’ words: Text, ownership, memory, and plagiarism. TESOL Quarterly, 30(2), 201–230.
Phakiti, A., & Li, L. (2011). General academic difficulties and reading and writing difficulties among Asian ESL postgraduate students in TESOL at an Australian university. RELC Journal, 42(3), 227–264. doi:10.1177/0033688211421417.
Richter, U. H., & Xiaofeng, S. (2014). China’s educational challenge when going global. Fair Observer. Retrieved from www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/chinas-educational-challenge-when-going-global-01470
Selwyn, N. (2008). “Not necessarily a bad thing…”: A study of online plagiarism amongst undergraduate students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(5), 465–479. doi:10.1080/02602930701563104.
Shi, L. (2006). Cultural backgrounds and textual appropriation. Language Awareness, 15(4), 264–282. doi:10.2167/la406.0.
Shields, J., Scott, D., Sperling, R., & Higgins, T. (2009). Rewards communication in Australia and the United States: A survey of policies and programs. Compensation & Benefits Review, 41, 14–26. doi:10.1177/088636870934668610.1177/0886368709346686.
Stone, C. (2008). What plagiarism was not: Some preliminary observations on classical Chinese attitudes toward what the West calls intellectual property. Marquette Law Review, 92, 199–889.
Sutherland-Smith, W. (2005). The tangled web: Internet plagiarism and international students’ academic writing. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 15(1), 15–29.
Thompson, L. C., & Williams, P. G. (1995). But I changed three words! Plagiarism in the ESL classroom. Clearing House, 69, 27–29.
Tian, J., & Low, G. D. (2012). To what extent are postgraduate students from China prepared for academic writing needed on UK master’s courses? Language, Culture and Curriculum, 25(3), 299–319.
Ukpebor, C. O., & Ogbebor, A. (2013). Internet and plagiarism: Awareness, attitude and perception of students of secondary schools. International Research: Journal of Library & Information Science, 3(2), 254–267.
Witherell, S. (2015). Open doors 2015: International students in the U.S. up ten percent to nearly one million; highest rate of growth in 35 years; increases reported in 44 states. Study abroad by American students picks up momentum [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/en/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2015/2015-11-16-Open-Doors-Data
Xiang, Z. (2015). Education reform key to mass innovation. China Daily. Retrieved from www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015twosession/2015-03/11/content_19783458.htm
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com
Software, B. T. (n.d.). Babylon 10 Online Dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.babylon-software.com
Yan, S. (2016). Chinese flock to America to work for companies they’ve bought. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/21/news/economy/china-u-s-expat-visas/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
James, M.X., Miller, G.J. & Wyckoff, T.W. Comprehending the Cultural Causes of English Writing Plagiarism in Chinese Students at a Western-Style University. J Bus Ethics 154, 631–642 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3441-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3441-6