E³ Research

The PACES-1 Study

The E³ Team designed the Perceptions and Attitudes about Cheating among Engineering Students (PACES-1) Study to investigate general issues around undergraduate cheating.

The Work Experiences Study

To examine the connection between college cheating and unethical behavior in the workplace and to more deeply probe the factors that influence student decisions about engaging in unethical behavior in both settings, the E³ Team conducted the Work Experience Study (WES).

The PACES-2 Study

The E³ Team engaged in the PACES-2 Study to develop and test a theoretical model of the decision-making process that students use when deciding whether to engage or not engage in an unethical behavior in college (the modified Theory of Planned Behavior). The team also investigated how this model differs in explaining cheating for engineering and humanities students.

Current Research: The SEED Study

The goal of the NSF-Funded SEED (Student Engineering Ethical Development) study is to enact educational reform by identifying the factors which positively affect the ethical development of engineering undergraduates, and then disseminating those results through broad channels. The first year of the project was preparation for developing a national online survey which will measure the curricular and co-curricular activities, events, and experiences affecting engineering students’ ethical development. We employed qualitative methods – particularly focus groups and interviews – to inform the survey development. Sixteen institutions partnered with us for the full project, two institutions were testing sites for the focus groups and interviews, and one institution will be a testing site for the online survey.

We conducted two pilot visits and eight partner visits during the 2007-2008 year, resulting in 20 administrator interviews and focus groups with 66 engineering students and 59 engineering professors. We will visit the remaining eight partner institutions in 2008-2009 and are currently developing a survey outline and a protocol for online administration. Remaining project tasks include developing, testing, and administering the survey; analyzing the data and identifying factors which affect ethical development; and disseminating the results. Survey administration will occur in 2009-2010.