Abstract

Academic misconduct is a prevalent issue in higher education with detrimental effects on the individual students, rigor of the program, and strength of the workplace. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have reinvigorated concern over academic integrity and the potential use and misuse of AI. However, there is a lack of research on academic integrity in doctoral dissertations. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore academic misconduct in dissertations, specifically investigating the prevalence of AI use and plagiarism. Considering debate over the accuracy of technology in detecting AI-generated text, dissertations were also analyzed from before widespread AI availability, as a point of comparison. A sample of 200 dissertations from 2013 and 2023 were analyzed through Turnitin to flag plagiarism and AI-generated text. Results did not support any significant differences in plagiarism. However, 6% of analyzed dissertations from 2023 were positive for AI-generated text (AI scores over 20%). This is significantly different from 2013 dissertations, which only had 0% or< 20% AI scores. The findings of this study suggest that some students may be relying on generative text or editing from AI in their dissertations. Dissertation committees and awarding institutions have an obligation to ensure the students’ educational and ethical development and promote academic integrity at every level of education.