Ethics Research

Research Question:
Is it wrong to use sites like spark notes?


Graham, David. "Catch Me If You Can." Toronto Star Mar 6 2008: n.p. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source . Edina High School. 6 Dec 2008. http://www.sks.sirs.com

David Graham is a journalist for the Toronto Star, a newspaper from Toronto, Canada. In this article, Graham explains that cheating has turned our generation into "a culture of cheaters and excuse-makers." Following examples from parents that "cheat on each other for sport" and professional athletes that say they "took one (steroids, for example) for the team," students are becoming lazier and cheating more often. This article will help my research because it clearly states that cheating is wrong and that students shouldn't "lift information from the Internet and call it their own." Also, the article explains that students who cheat in school end up cheating on things like their marriage, taxes, and resumes later in life.


Gulli, Cathy. "The Great University Cheating Scandal." Maclean's Feb 12 2007: 32-36. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 7 Dec 2008. http://www.sks.sirs.com

Cathy Gulli's article appears in Maclean's 120th volume. In this article, Gulli tells that cheating is on the rise in universities, which means that "the value of a degree is being debased." Universities aren't doing enough to stop this epidemic of cheating. This article will help me with my research because it has many statistics, including 40 percent of students admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet and at the University of Toronto, instances of plagiarizing has risen from "92 a decade ago to 298 in the 2003-2004 school year." Students no longer see cheating as cheating "it's just a way to survive the system." Cheating has redefined a 'good' student- they are no longer the smart ones who listen and take good notes and study hard, but the clever ones who can get by on someone else's work.