Plagiarism And Ethnicity

Here’s an intriguing notice, in its entirety, from Inside Higher Ed today:

A new study aims to bust the stereotype that Asian students are more inclined to plagiarize than their peers are, concluding that how closely students identify with an ethnic heritage is more clearly associated with plagiarism than their ethnicity i

If you follow the link to the new study you will find the following:

Abstract:

Ethics have received increased attention from the media and academia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct – plagiarism – is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnicity. Considerations and implications for training and managing international students and workers are discussed.

I wasn’t able to download the study itself, but I’d love to hear if it really argues, as the IHE note and even the authors’ abstract seems to say, that the more Asians (and Hispanics and blacks?) identify with their “ethnic heritage,” the more likely they are to plagiarize.

Say What?