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Describing the Attributional Nature of Academic Dishonesty

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Abstract

There is strong evidence that dishonesty occurs amongst medical students, and other allied health students and growing evidence that it occurs amongst medical academics. We believe that accidental dishonesty (or not knowing about the rules of regulations governing academic integrity) is a common attribution describing engagement in dishonesty; however, we believe that dishonest action is more often influenced and determined according to circumstance. In this paper, we aim to work through the literature that frames dishonest action with a focus on medical education, research and publication. We argue that the implications for medical education are far reaching and the root causes of many instances of dishonesty need to be more fully understood so that comprehensive, case-by-case ameliorative strategies can be developed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Marcus A. Henning & Yan Chen

  2. School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Sanya Ram

  3. Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Phillipa Malpas

Authors
  1. Marcus A. Henning
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  2. Yan Chen
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  3. Sanya Ram
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  4. Phillipa Malpas
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Correspondence to Marcus A. Henning.

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Henning, M.A., Chen, Y., Ram, S. et al. Describing the Attributional Nature of Academic Dishonesty. Med.Sci.Educ. 29, 577–581 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00710-8

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