The Increased Need for Academic Integrity in the Digital Age

There is an increased need for academic integrity in the digital age due to the increased use of technology in and out of schools. Previously, students had access to very limited resources: encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, teacher/parent provided materials, and the library; if there was a computer at school, it was located in the library and/or administrative offices. In today’s society, students have access to technology at their fingertips via their cell phone or personal computer. Although there is an increased need for academic integrity; there is also a need for additional instruction and guidance to students on how to properly research and cite sources.

Academic standards are continually increasing but instruction is decreasing due to various reasons: shortage of educators, budget cuts, decreased requirements for language arts, and increased reliance on technology. Throughout the United States many schools, districts and States are increasing graduation standards and academic requirements for students to graduate high school. Many states have incorporated tests that students must pass in order to proceed to the next level. Standards are increasing but the reasons mentioned previously are affecting the amount of time that educators have to cover subjects in depth and the quality of education that the students receive. As students are required to meet more requirements to “make the grade”, they sometimes resort to academic dishonesty whether it is by seeking assistance from others or sources readily available, such as the Internet. At no time should someone knowingly or intentionally take another’s idea but if not given the proper guidance, it may occur unknowingly.

Given the increase of reliance on technology (i.e., plagiarism checkers) for instruction and grading, schools should also increase their instruction, especially when requiring papers (research, literature reviews, etc), on how to properly lookup and cite sources. Students should begin receiving instruction on how to research and cite sources at the time that they begin receiving writing assignments/requirements. As a graduate student, I am not always sure how to reference/cite some sources that I may use in my literature reviews and/or when conducting research. Given the individual’s background and lower education received, the student may or may not have been taught the correct way or fully understand that although they may paraphrase they must still give proper credit to the author/source that the idea originated from.

As with any use of technology there must be a check and balance system in place and an accounting for human error. There are some that will intentionally misuse technology for their individual gain; for example, purchasing a term paper from one of the “term paper mill” sites and submitting the work as their own, which is a deliberate act of plagiarism. There are other instances where an individual may simply overlook placing a quote in quotation marks or forget to add the citation for a source. As the amount of information becomes readily available via digital technology, the need for academic integrity will continue to increase.