In this post, I’d like to give a shoutout to Beatriz Moya, who led a rapid review on academic integrity and artificial intelligence.
Title page of “Academic Integrity and artificial intelligence in higher education (HE) contexts: A rapid scoping review”.
Here is the reference:
Moya, B. A., Eaton, S. E., Pethrick, H., Hayden, A. K., Brennan, R., Wiens, J., & McDermott, B. (2024). Academic integrity and artificial intelligence in higher education (HE) contexts: A rapid scoping review. Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/cpai.v7i3
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) developments challenge higher education institutions’ teaching, learning, assessment, and research practices. To contribute evidence-based recommendations for upholding academic integrity, we conducted a rapid scoping review focusing on what is known about academic integrity and AI in higher education before the emergence of ChatGPT. We followed the Updated Reviewer Manual for Scoping Reviews from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting standards. Five databases were searched, and the eligibility criteria included higher education stakeholders of any age and gender engaged with AI in the context of academic integrity from 2007 through November 2022 and available in English. The search retrieved 2,223 records, of which 14 publications with mixed methods, qualitative, quantitative, randomized controlled trials, and text and opinion studies met the inclusion criteria. The results showed bounded and unbounded ethical implications of AI. Perspectives included: AI for cheating; AI as legitimate support; an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens into AI; and emerging recommendations to tackle AI implications in higher education. The evidence from the sources provides guidance that can inform educational stakeholders in decision-making processes for AI integration, in the analysis of misconduct cases involving AI, and in the exploration of AI as legitimate assistance. Likewise, this rapid scoping review signals possibilities for future research, which we explore in our discussion.
Keywords
academic integrity, artificial intelligence, academic misconduct, higher education, rapid scoping review, large language models (LLM)
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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity
It has been a while since I have blogged. Life has been non-stop this year, but I wanted to take a moment to share some good news. I have been promoted to the rank of Professor, effective July 1, 2024. A few months back, I was also named as the Werklund Research Professor, which is a prestigious research chair in the Werklund School of Education.
I have long had a passion for integrity and ethics. I am grateful to have an opportunity to focus on ethics in my scholarship, advocacy, and leadership. The Werklund Research Professorship is a prestigious research chair, internally funded through the philanthropic generosity of Dr. David Werklund, the named patron of the Werklund School of Education. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time anywhere in the world that a research chair role has focused on academic and research integrity. I am honoured to take up this work to advance scholarship related to ethics and integrity in higher education.
I was a first-generation student. Neither of my parents finished high school. When I was a child, my mother drilled into me that there was nothing more important than getting an education, working hard, and being independent. I have written about this, and part of my early life here. I started working when I was 15 and my first job was in a grocery store. When I first applied to university after graduating from secondary school, I had no idea how to go about filling out the application. Like many first-in-family students, I did not even know what questions to ask. I received modest scholarships throughout my studies, but I also worked, often at multiple part-time jobs, to pay the bills (including tuition), buy books, and put food on the table. I wasn’t something that I felt was a hardship, it was just something I did.
The promotion to full professor comes after 30 years of teaching at the University of Calgary. From 1994 to 2016, I taught on contract as a sessional instructor. After 22 years of precarious employment, I secured a tenure-track role in 2016. In 2020, I was promoted to associate professor with tenure. When considered in the context of the entirety of career, advancements are neither quick, nor easy. For more than two decades, I worked on semester-to-semester contracts, never knowing for sure if I would be employed in the following term until the contract actually came through. I established and successfully ran a consulting company that I maintained for twenty years, serving clients in industry, non-profit, and government. I enjoyed that work (mostly), but there were many aspects of running a business that I was horrible at.
There are plenty of things I am not good at, but I have always excelled at writing, reading, and synthesizing large amounts of information. I love working with students and I am well suited to online teaching and graduate supervision. I have not always had the luxury of being able to do work that I am good at and I recognize that it is a privilege to have a job where I can use my talents. For me, being a professor more than a job, though. It has been a lifelong dream. The reality of higher education is much harsher, more exhausting, and outright merciless than I ever imagined, and yet, I still want to be here.
One reason for this, is that there is much work to be done to preserve and sustain ethics and integrity in science, scholarly publication, teaching, learning, and educational administration. Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) has brought new twists on perennial challenges. Systemic barriers to academic success persist and there is plenty of research to show that corrupt and unfair systems can contribute to academic and research misconduct. Although I am interested in helping individuals uphold academic integrity, it is a fool’s errand to ignore the systemic inequities, barriers, and discrimination that are embedded into educational systems that perpetuate harm.
As I reflect back and plan forward, my goal now is to focus on doing what I can to leave the higher education system better than I found it. I plan to do this by raising awareness about systemic ethical issues and advocating for change to benefit students and staff, particularly those from equity-deserving groups. I look forward to continuing and expanding international collaborations (especially with colleagues at CRADLE Deakin University, where I hold the role of Honorary Associate Professor) and mentoring and supervising doctoral students, along with teaching and serving in leadership roles in the coming years.
This blog has had over 3.6 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity
A question I am often asked is: Is it considered self-plagiarism to publish an article or some other output from one’s thesis?
I will start with a disclaimer: The contents of this post may not represent the views of my employer, an editor, or a publisher. There is no singular or universally accepted definition of self-plagiarism (or even plagiarism, for that matter). This post is based on my expertise as a scholar of plagiarism and academic misconduct. I have written about self-plagiarism in this peer-reviewed article and I dedicate an entire chapter to the topic my book, Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity.
In this post, I use the word ‘thesis’ to include any kind of student final summative written work including dissertations or other forms of final projects. A thesis can refer to undergraduate (often honours) work or graduate work, which is also called post-graduate work in some countries. In this post, I am talking specifically about student academic work that is supervised by a professor and receives approval and validation through formal evaluation such as a written appraisal of the work, an examination, and/or an oral defence.
In this post I am talking more about a thesis with a traditional format (e.g., five or six chapters) than about a manuscript-based thesis (also called ‘thesis by publication’ or ‘PhD by publication’). The queries I get about self-plagiarism are almost always about theses that follow a historically dominant structure with chapters, which is the kind of thesis that remains prevalent in the humanities and social sciences.
With these details covered, let’s get to the good stuff. Firstly, it is both expected and encouraged that students will publish from their thesis. After the oral defence or final thesis evaluation, a student’s work can be further refined and developed in order for it to be ready for publication. In many cases, student work may require substantive revisions (or even a complete overhaul) before it is suitable for publication in a journal or a book. It is foolhardy to assume that just because a student thesis has passed that it is automatically suitable for publication elsewhere. In some cases, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Here are the few things to think about after the thesis has been approved by the university authorities:
Archiving the Thesis in a Digital Repository
Our friendly institutional librarians at the University of Calgary have clarified for me on a previous occasion that theses are considered ‘unpublished’. Adding a thesis to a digital repository means it is archived, but not published. Learning that distinction was helpful for me.
Request an embargo on the release of the thesis into the public domain
Students can ask for an embargo on the release of the thesis until the results are published (e.g., journal article, book chapter or any other format). There seems to be a distressing but growing predatory practice around graduate student theses (or the data therein) being misappropriated, repackaged, and published under someone else’s name. I have heard of two such instances recently and, anecdotally, it seems this practice is growing internationally, though I have no data to substantiate this assertion.
This recommendation stems not from protecting oneself from self-plagiarism, but rather from predatory bad actors who have the intention of harvesting your work before you yourself have published it.
An embargo on a thesis should be requested for a reasonable and finite period of time, with the goal of making the research publicly accessible at some point within a couple of years of graduation, unless there is a compelling reason to extend the embargo longer than that.
Advice About How to Avoid Allegations of Self-plagiarism
To avoid questions about academic or research misconduct, and specifically self-plagiarism, that can emerge when a student publish works derived from their thesis, there are two points to consider: communication and transparency. Both points should be taken into consideration.
Communication: Correspond with the Editor Prior to Submission
I recommend that students/graduates correspond with the journal editors prior to, orat the time of manuscript submission, in writing, to ensure full transparency. State clearly that the manuscript is drawn from the thesis and parts of it may be replicated exactly (e.g., methods section). Other parts of the manuscript may be derived (and/or significantly revised) from the thesis and if that is the case, offer some details, but avoid going overboard. Ask directly if such a submission would be considered by the journal / publisher. There is no harm is being clear and transparent with journal editors in this regard.
If the journal editor says no, then consider withdrawing the manuscript and trying a different publication. It is important to recognize that editors have the authority to make such judgements, so don’t be rude or try to convince the editor that their decision is wrong. Maintain a polite and professional tone at all times. Thank them for considering your request and move on.
If the editor says yes, then you are ready to proceed. Ensure you are attending to the matter of transparency during the preparation of your manuscript.
If you communicate with an editor orally (e.g., a face-to-face conversation or a video call), follow up in writing to document the conversation. Ask for confirmation that you have understood the agreement correctly.
I recommend keeping a record of your written correspondence in case you ever need it again in the future.
Transparency: Declare the re-use of previous content in the manuscript itself
As you prepare your manuscript for submission, ensure you are being transparent about the re-use of content derived from your thesis. This can be done in a couple of ways:
Explicit transparency statement: Add a declaration to the article/chapter/knowledge output stating that it is derived from your thesis. This way, you are declaring there may be some duplication helps to mitigate concerns about self-plagiarizing. You do not need be excessive with your statement. You can keep it short and simple. Here is some sample text that you are welcome to use, re-use, or adapt (as in, I am openly giving anyone permission to use or adapt this statement):
“This work is derived from my doctoral dissertation. Portions of the text resemble or may replicate the original text from my unpublished PhD thesis and have been reproduced as such with the permission of the editors”.
Note that if you use this statement verbatim, it may (ironically) be picked up by text-matching software used by publishers (i.e., flagged for possible plagiarism). I won’t take responsibility for that, so use some judgement in how you prepare your transparency statement.
Attribution: Self-citation is a contested issue in academic publication and it is prudent to avoid over-citing oneself. There are some circumstances in which self-citation is appropriate and this is one of them. When you are deriving work from your thesis, it is appropriate to cite your thesis in the list of references of your publication.
Be careful and attentive when it comes to attribution in publications derived from your thesis. You still need to cite any original works that your thesis drew from. I once saw a manuscript derived from a student thesis and the only work listed in the references was the student thesis! This is disrespectful to the authors of any original works the student thesis was drawn from, so be sure to give credit where it is due. Ensure you give attribution to the authors whose work informed your thesis and any subsequent publications.
This does not mean that you need to replicate the entire bibliography from your thesis in subsequent publications, unless, of course, you are specifically citing every single source in the publication. Instead, be meticulous and mindful to ensure that the specific sources that inform subsequent publications are cited appropriately. Details matter, and if you are going to publish from your thesis, it is worth it to focus on producing the highest quality publication possible.
Finally, assuming that you have a good relationship with your supervisor, I recommend that you keep them informed. In some cases, co-publication with the supervisor may be appropriate, but not in all cases. Co-publishing with one’s supervisor is a topic for another blog post, so I won’t delve deep into those complexities here. Suffice to say that staying in touch with your supervisor about the publication of your work may be beneficial to you, depending on the circumstances.
The bottom line is that concerns about self-plagiarism might be solved with open communication and transparency.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Eaton, S. E., & Crossman, K. (2018). Self-plagiarism research literature in the social sciences: A scoping review. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 49(3), 285-311. https://rdcu.be/YR5u
Roig, M. (2005). Re-using text from one’s own previously published papers: An exploratory study of potential self-plagiarism. Psychological Reports, 2005(97), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.97.1.43-49
Roig, M. (2008). The debate on self-plagiarism: Inquisitional science or high standards of scholarship? Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 8(2), 245-258.
Roig, M. (2024). On Recycling Our Own Work in the Digital Age. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Second Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 361-380). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_15
This blog has had over 3.7 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity
The handbook is now in its final stages of production, and the standalone second edition will be released in hard copy in January, 2024. To celebrate, Dr. Zeenath Reza Khan, who serves as one of the handbook’s section editors and contributors, and was a co-chair of the 1st Asia -Middle East – Africa Conference on Academic and Research Integrity (ACARI) 2023, 17-19 December led the organization of the soft launch for the handbook during the conference.
The launch was held during the closing ceremony of the conference on the final day in an auditorium at the prestigious Middlesex University Dubai, was both festive and scholarly, as it brought together educators, researchers, and advocates for academic integrity. In addition to conference delegates, a number of esteemed dignitaries attended including, His Excellency, Jamal Hossain, Consul General of Bangladesh to UAE; Dr. Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, Award-winning Expert Wildlife Specialist, Dubai Municipality, along with Professor Cedwyn Fernandes, Pro Vice Chancellor of Middlesex University and Director of Middlesex University Dubai. Special thanks to Ms. Rania Sheir, Senior Specialist, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ministry of Education, UAE, who not only attended the launch, but also posted about it on LinkedIn.
The Handbook, meticulously curated by leading experts in the field, is a compendium of insights, strategies, and best practices aimed at upholding the ethical practices in academia and research. It covers a diverse range of topics, from plagiarism to artificial intelligence, to the promotion of ethical behaviour in academic research, and much more. The multidimensional approach of the Handbook of Academic Integrity ensures that it caters to the needs of educators, administrators, and students alike.
A number of contributing authors were in attendance, including:
Dr. Zeenath generously gifted two colleagues and me with authentic saris that we wore during the closing ceremony and the launch. As you can see from the photo below, I was given one in dark green and I just love it! I had an opportunity to say a few words about the book and its importance in the field, and to thank the organizers and authors. Each contributor was gifted a symbolic souvenir cut-out of the front cover of the handbook and following the formalities, we signed the back of one another’s covers.
The book launch culminated in a celebratory atmosphere, with attendees leaving inspired. The Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.), now poised to be a cornerstone in the field, builds on the first edition and stands as a testament to the collective commitment to nurturing a culture of integrity throughout every level of education and research.
This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
It has been a while since I’ve posted. The new job has kept me busier than I ever imagined. There’s been lots going on in the academic integrity and artificial intelligence space and I’ll share some updates about that work soon. For now though, I wanted to reflect on my recent visit to Kamloops, British Columbia, which included a stop at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation. What a profound and emotionally charged experience. The school, once a site of assimilation policies and cultural erasure, stands as a stark reminder of Canada’s colonial history and the enduring impact it has had on Indigenous communities.
Approaching the school grounds, the weight of the history and the gravity of the space were palpable. The imposing school building, now weathered and repurposed, stood as a silent witnesses to the atrocities that took place at that site. I couldn’t help but reflect on my positionality as a settler and the privilege that comes with it. It was a powerful moment to acknowledge the painful truths of the past and to confront the systemic injustices that persist today.
Walking through the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, I felt a mix of emotions – sorrow, anger, and a profound sense of responsibility. The stories of the Indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their families and subjected to cultural suppression echoed. I did not go inside, but as I stood outside and looked at the windows, I sensed that each room — and every inch of that building — told a story of resilience and survival, but also of loss and trauma that transcends generations.
One of the most haunting aspects of the visit was being in the place for the remains of the first 215 children were found in 2021 in unmarked graves on the school grounds. This added a layer of grief to the already heavy atmosphere. I was quiet for most of the time we were there, processing an overwhelming sense of sorrow. The weight of the knowledge that these children had been forgotten, their stories erased, and their lives devalued, was a somber reminder of the need for reconciliation and justice.
I choked back tears as I stood in front of the memorial at the school. The emotional impact of the visit extended beyond the physical building and the grounds of the school. It prompted deep introspection about the role of settlers in the process of decolonization. Confronting the painful history of the residential school system requires more than acknowledgment; it demands active engagement and commitment to dismantling the ongoing structures of oppression. I felt a renewed sense of responsibility to educate myself, to amplify Indigenous voices, and to advocate for justice.
The power and psychological impact of witnessing the aftermath of cultural genocide is something I find difficult to express… and simultaneously, it also cannot be understated. I realized that I was not only recognizing — but reckoning with — my privilege in more visceral way than I ever had before, which further galvanized my commitment to challenging the systems that uphold colonial legacies.
The visit concluded with a walk through the healing garden with 215 plants, one for each body of a missing child buried at the site. With winter approaching, the garden is done for the season and the symbolism of visiting the garden when the plants were withered was symbolic and profound. Nevertheless, I sensed the hope and healing as we walked through the space were plants will grow again next year.
The experience of visiting the former Kamloops Indian Residential School was transformative and the memory of it will stay with me for a long time. It served as a reminder of the deep wounds inflicted by colonialism and the ongoing responsibility of settlers to actively participate in the process of decolonization. The emotional and psychological impact of confronting this painful history underscored the need to work towards a more just and equitable future for all.
Visiting a former residential school is both individual journey, and also part of our collective responsibility to decolonization and social justice. This visit provided tangible connection to the painful legacy of colonialism, fostering empathy and understanding — and it is an experience that I recommend. To bear witness, confront uncomfortable truths, and actively contribute to reconciliation are just a few of the reasons why I would recommend a visit a former residential school (and this one in particular). A visit to a former residential school is a step towards Truth and Reconciliation; one step in a long journey, and one that is well worth it.
This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
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