Blog #15- Abstract and Bibliography

Abstract

My final project brings to question the prevalence of academic dishonesty among collegiate athletes and how this academic dishonesty can be explained. The first reason I found to explaining the prevalence of academic dishonesty is the fact that many times the athletes do not consider themselves student athletes in any sense, but rather just athletes. However, it is not only the athletes who view themselves this way, but so does every person who becomes connected and intrigued by college sports. One of the major theories that is used to explain the prevalence of academic dishonesty is the Neutralization Theory which analyzes the tendencies of criminal to rationalize their criminal acts. I found through research that Neutralization Theory should not be used to generalize academic dishonesty among college athletes because there are too many complexities involved in why athletes are likely to cheat. One of the major complexities is the fact that many times the athletes are not aware that they are cheating because they have either been influenced, directly or indirectly, to be involved with certain acts. The students are influenced by the higher authorities of college athletics. In a sense there is no reason for the athletes in cases like these to neutralize their behavior because someone else has already taken that step. This falls in line with a study done by Michael Macy and Andreas Flache which focused on why certain organizations are more likely to be involved in corruption compared to others. The prevalence of academic dishonesty can without a doubt be considered one form of many forms of corruption that exist in collegiate athletics. Macy and Flache write that in order for certain organizations to accomplish their "missions", all the people involved must be devoted to that mission. They also explain that there is a hierarchical system in place for these organizations and collegiate athletics fits seamlessly in with this idea. The main mission of collegiate athletics is to make money and all people involved- athletes, coaches, presidents, professors, and spectators- conform to this mission. The "seamless cooperation" that is required in order to achieve the final goal- making money- many times leaves academics as an after product. Many times academics are viewed as the factor of college that holds athletes and athletic programs back from being as successful as they can be. This is a damaging mindset to have and it is crucial that American universities take some necessary steps to fix this.

Bibliography

Bouville, Mathieu. "Cheating and Neutralization." Diss. University of Cambridge, 2008.

Cheating and Neutralization. University of Cambridge. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.

neutralization.pdf>.

Dowling, W. C. Confessions of a Spoilsport: My life and Hard Times Fighting Sports Corruption

at an Old Eastern University. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.

Print.

Florida State University, Case No. M286. Division I Committee on Infractions of the National

Collegiate Athletic Association. 18 Oct. 2008. Print.

Hale, Robert. “Learning Theories of Crime” MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. 30 Nov.

2006.Web. 28 Feb. 2010. .

Hodge, Frank, and Lloyd Tanlu. "Finances and college athletics." New Directions for

Institutional Research 2009.144 (2009): 7-18. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7

Apr. 2010.

Macy, Michael W., and Andreas Flache. "Learning dynamics in social dilemmas." Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99.10 (2002): 7229.

Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr. 2010.

Stearn, A. "The Structural Element of Neutralization Theory" Paper presented at the annual

meeting of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY, Atlanta Marriott Marquis,

Atlanta, Georgia, 13 Nov. 2007. Web. 1 March 2010

/p201169_index.html> .

Storch, Jason B., Eric A. Storch, and Philip Clark. "Academic Dishonesty and

Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes."

Journal of College Student Development 43.6 (2002): 921-30. OmniFile Full Text

Mega. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

Pytel, Barbara. "Cheating Is On The Rise." Educational Issues (2007). Classroom Issues. 16

Sept. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.

ting_is_on_the_rise>.

Wolverton, Brad. "As Graduation Rates Rise, So Do Fears of Academic Shortcuts." Chronicle of

Higher Education 53.7 (2006): A38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr.

2010.

Yaeger, Don, and Alexander Wolff. "Troubling questions." Sports Illustrated 87.1 (1997): 70.

Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.

Blog#14- Your Story

Over the semester, my paper has really evolved. I can't even really remember what my first topic idea was, but I remember that it had nothing to do with anything that I am writing about now! I really enjoyed reading all the available research and writings that were related to my topic. Athletics in college is very interesting to me because I have known many people who have been involved with intercollegiate athletics at varying levels. They have had varying experiences that were largely dependent on the dynamics of the teams they were on and role academics played. I would say that the book by William Dowling, Confessions of a Spoilsport had the biggest impact on my final paper topic. The stories I read in that book really got me interested in really reading into why athletes are more likely to cheat. It was interesting to investigate the various theories about social learning and the role of environment on an individuals actions. I am happy with the direction that my paper went in and I learned that when I am interested in something, I really don't mind reading and researching for hours at a time even if it does not yield any particularly helpful information. This is the first really intense research paper that I have done and I am happy about the way it has turned out so far!

Blog #13- Visual Aids

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES, MALE AND FEMALE ANTHONY G. COPELAND DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, MWSC

Sponsored by: BRIAN CRONK (cronk@missouriwestern.edu)

http://images.google.com/imgresimgurl=http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/upload/4410.gif&imgrefurl=http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/44.php&usg=__VLc9Rn-2wwFbraixZUcXQgOAwtg=&h=623&w=911&sz=10&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=3ZJjcG0pP6ztZM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dathletic%2Bdishonesty%2Bamong%2Bathletes%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den-us%26tbs%3Disch:1

This Visual Aid graphically presents that prevalence of academic dishonesty that occurs among athletes relative to non athletes in colleges.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS3vDLt-8B6D9CMYyuveu6Tb2gbMG_9f_fZgB1Gf-eBKtPUxQTWHJQ2SdOyAyh8KBM9aIQzJ01H5vCEF8JCOp8ygcrKYUV8F6MBcy2isEtNWG_y-0H3lXzaF7UrK5YuYoFv8aqqhqGp4/s320/athletes+verse+non+athletes.png
http://www.offthemarkcartoons.com/cartoons/2003-08-02.gif

Both of these images visually represent the problem of corruption in college athletics. They both deal with the claim that too much money is being funneled into athletics rather than academics therefore underwriting the purpose of college which is education and academics.

Blog #12- Outline

Intro:
Discuss Academic Dishonesty in general and its prevalence. Introduce the subject of academic dishonesty among college athletes and the application of Neutralization Theory to understanding why athletes cheat. REVISION to first rough draft: give specific instances of why academic dishonesty of athletes is so popular e.g. stricter requirements set down by NCAA, yet the increasing graduation rate and how does that line up with the increasing focus that is put on sports at many schools- it just does not line up
Body:
1. Discussion of the Neutralization Theory and the controversy that exists between the studies done by Bouville and Storch.
2. Specific Cases such as FSU and Sports Illustrated case involving cheating on SATs; analyze the cases as to whether or not they fit in with the Storch interpretation of Neutralization Theory or Bouville's.
3. Talk about (using Dowling) how academics have come second to athletics in some colleges. (use statistic regarding how long it takes for an athlete to graduate in most cases) This causes the athletic programs to become too powerful and it undermines the academic basis of the institution.
4. Talk about how the athletes are influenced by the corrupt nature that has inevitably and undeniably become a part of college athletics. Introduce the idea that regardless of whether or not an athlete neutralizes his behavior (based on the application or non-application of the Neutralization Theory), the athletes behavior is largely influenced and guided by the bad behavior of the higher authorities of college athletics.
Conclusion:
College athletics cultivates an environment that in a multitude of cases down plays the academic side of college and reinforces the concept of being an athlete first and a student second. This accompanied with the corruption that exists in college athletics becomes a lethal combination and may be the explanation of why academic dishonesty is so prevalent among college athletes.

Blog #11- The Case

The Case I am most interested in for my research paper is the FSU Cheating Scandal in which about 60 student athletes (varying from 10 different sports) were involved in academic dishonesty in an online course. This case got a good amount of press coverage and the transcripts from the NCAA hearing involving the president and other authorities of Florida State and the tutor/learning specialist at FSU, Brenda Monk. Brenda Monk supposedly encouraged the student athletes to cheat by providing them with answers to an online exam in a music history course. The allegations also say that the athletes allowed staff members to type their papers during the 2006/2007 school year.
The interesting thing with this case is that a good deal of the blame is put on the tutor/learning specialist rather than the athletes themselves. Even though about 10 scholarships were relinquished from athletes who were proven to have cheated, the question arises of whether that was really a just punishment considering that Brenda Monk (someone not really involved with athletics at FSU) has become the scapegoat for the whole incident. The case requires more investigating; however at first sight this is my interpretation of this case.
This case can fit in with the Neutralization Theory/ Corruption theme that I am hoping to develop in my paper. The corruption side can fit in with why Brenda Monk has become the face of the scandal and the academic dishonesty of the athletes can be used to better understand if the Neutralization Theory can accurately be applied in order to understand academic dishonesty among athletes.

Some useful links include articles about the scandal and the official transcripts:
1. /www.associatedcontent.com/article/1542209/florida_state_cheating_scandal_results_pg2.html?cat=14
2. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113840355
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/sports/15ncaa.html
4. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/sports/20091015-ncaa.pdf

Blog #10- The Debate

The debate that I have centered my paper around is whether or not the Neutralization Theory can be applied to the rationalizations athletes have when it comes to committing acts of academic dishonesty. One side of the debate is Storch with is study of the application of Neutralization Theory directly to academic dishonesty among athletes. The other side of the debate comes from Bouville who insists that Neutralization Theory can not be applied to academic dishonesty, regardless of who commits it. Obviously the Storch argument is one of the center pieces of my paper; however the Bouville piece provides an interesting insight. In that piece he writes about how academic dishonesty cannot be studied in terms of Neutralization Theory because students know that cheating is wrong. One of the articles that I have found that discusses the key concepts of Neutralization Theory says that Neutralization Theory is contingent on the fact that the individual knows the difference between right and wrong. Bouville's argument about Neutralization Theory did get me thinking though that maybe students cheat because they think they are expected to and even though they know its wrong, that's why they still do it. After thinking about this, I started thinking about the public perception of athletes and how that must affect the athletes. Maybe the athletes get involved in bad behaviors because they feel that that is what they are expected to do. They are not expected to succeed morally, but rather to get involved in bad behaviors such as academic dishonesty or maybe something much worse. Using this idea and the Neutralization Theory, I feel that the two sides of the Neutralization Theory debate can almost be meshed in a way while introducing a new concept of public perception of athletics into the mix.

Here is the link for the transcripts from the FSU cheating case: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/sports/20091015-ncaa.pdf

Blog #9- My Project as of now

As of now, I feel that I have most of my key resources and a frame for my paper. I still need to find a couple of more resources because I feel that there must be some more out there that would be extremely valuable. I am going to look into some documentaries about student athletes and try to see if I can grab anything for a primary source from these resources. I am planning on using next week (spring break) to catch up on a lot of the reading I have to do for the books and articles that I have not had a chance to get to yet. I feel like there is plenty of information based on this topic or useful for this topic, it is my responsibility to actively seek it out. That's where my project stands now and I am excited to begin the final drafting stage!

Blog #8- Research Question in Conversation

I feel that one of the most prevalent and most interesting debates within the spectrum of college sports is the corruption that exists on many levels of college sports. It is true with college sports, and many other situations such as politics, that not all people who are involved are corrupt however in the eyes of the public a "few sour apples can spoil the bunch". With the direction of corruption that exists in college sports, I want to bring it down another level to research how people's perceptions of the college sports world effects the ways that athletes act. It has been researched and documented many times that athletes are more likely to commit academically dishonest acts than non athletes. These findings can be based on many different reasons as to why a student athlete would cheat; however I want to focus specifically on the Neutralization Theory and how it seems that student athletes unconsciously apply this method of rationalization to committing acts of academic dishonesty. I know that not all athletes cheat and not all college sports authorities are corrupt; however it is important to research why close to a majority of these people are involved in less then honest dealings. I will be using a study conducted by Storch et al. regarding the application of the Neutralization Theory, proposed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza to originally understand the reasons behind criminal's actions, to academic dishonesty. This study will provide the frame for my paper. However, I will also be using information from books such as, Unpaid Professionals by Andrew Zimbalist and Confessions of a Spoil Sport by William Dowling, to investigate the findings that other researchers/ journalists have found in regards to corruption in college sports. I have recently found a new article entitled "Learning Theories of Crime" by Robert Hale which focuses on the social theories ( specifically the Social Learning Theory and the Neutralization Theory) and I think that this resource (and the resources used as references for the writing) will be very useful in providing background for the theories behind social behavior and will make it easier to see how it can be applied to college sports and the actions of college athletes.

Blog #7- Annotate two sources

Storch, Jason B., Eric A. Storch, and Philip Clark. "Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes." Journal of College Student Development 43.6 (2002): 921-30. OmniFile Full TextMega. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. This study connects the Neutralization Theory, proposed by Gresham Sykes and David Matza, to the endemic of academic dishonesty in colleges and university. The study lists four main techniques used by students when rationalizing their dishonest behavior; denial or responsibility, denial or injury, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. The study went one step further and specifically applied the Neutralization Theory to academic dishonesty of college athletes. The results indicated that, when compared to nonathletes, athletes reported higher rates of academic dishonesty, which reaffirmed results of other studies dealing with this topic. The results also indicated that, in terms of the Neutralization Theory, athletes were more likely to use techniques to rationalize academic dishonest acts, with the most common technique being appeal to higher loyalties. This means that most athletes who commit academic dishonest acts are likely to rationalize their acts based on the actions of their peers. This article provides a strong and interesting starting point for my research project and it provides valid and helpful references.

Bouville, Mathieu. "Cheating and Neutralization." Diss. University of Cambridge, 2008. Cheating and Neutralization. University of Cambridge. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.. Mathieu Bouville critiques the use of the concept of Neutralization to study cheating at college universities. He argues that there are no clear, concise definitions about Neutralization and college cheating offered by any studies. This is going to be a good writing to use because it offers a counterpoint to the study done by Storch et al. (Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes). Bouville writes that the studies surrounding the Neutralization Theory and academic dishonesty is paradoxical because students actively partake in something they know is wrong and should not partake in. He uses many of the same references used in the Storch et al. study. This is a great resource to use because it offers a counterpoint and it is opposed to the views that are supported by my research. It will strengthen my own argument if I am able to break down Bouville’s argument.

Revised Blog #6- Research Question

After doing the in class assignment, I have thought of how I can make my question a bit more focused.
I was thinking about...
What are the actions/behaviors of the average college athlete? Do the actions of the athletes change depending on where they attend school or what level of college sports they play on? Also, in a broader sense, I want to research as to whether or not there is a correlation between the pressures the athletes face and the actions of the athletes?

Blog #6- Research question

Some of my ideas for research questions so far are:
1. Does the pressure put on college athletes from many different sources make them more prone to cheat (academically and athletically)?
2. What are the psychological effects on college athletes as a result of the pressures and stereotypes that they face?

I know that I want my topic to deal with college athletes, dishonesty, and the pressures put on the athletes. So far this is what i have thought of in terms of research questions.

Blog #5-Sources for research topic

My topic is going to deal with pressure on college athletes, narrowing down to cheating and collegiate athletes.

5 Scholarly Sources:
1. NCAA Athlete Graduation Rates: Less Than Meets the Eye

Eckard, E. Woodrow. "NCAA Athlete Graduation Rates: Less Than Meets the Eye." Journal of Sport Management 24.1 (2010): 45-58. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

2. College Athletics and student achievement: the evidence as small colleges

Emerson, John, Rachelle L. Brooks, and Elaine Croft McKenzie. "College athletics and student achievement: The evidence at small colleges." New Directions for Institutional Research 2009.144 (2009): 65-76. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

3. The Influence of Student Engagement and Sport Participation on College Outcomes Among Division I Student Athletes.

Gayles, Joy Gaston, and Shouping Hu. "The Influence of Student Engagement and Sport Participation on College Outcomes Among Division I Student Athletes." Journal of Higher Education 80.3 (2009): 315-333. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

4. Academic dishonesty and Neutralization theory: a comparison of intercollegiate athletes and non athletes

Storch, Jason B., Eric A. Storch, and Philip Clark. "Academic Dishonesty and Neutralization Theory: A Comparison of Intercollegiate Athletes and Nonathletes." Journal of College Student Development 43.6 (2002): 921-30. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

5.BEYOND SYMPTOMS: Unethical Behavior In American Collegiate Sport and The Problem of The Color Line.

Edwards, Harry. "BEYOND SYMPTOMS: Unethical Behavior In American Collegiate Sport and The Problem of The Color Line." Journal of Sport & Social Issues 9.2 (1985): 3-13. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

some other sources:
- As Graduation Rates Rise, So Do Fears of Academic Shortcuts.

Wolverton, Brad. "As Graduation Rates Rise, So Do Fears of Academic Shortcuts." Chronicle of Higher Education 53.7 (2006): A38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

- Unpaid Professionals: commercialism and conflict in big-time college sports
Zimbalist, A. S. (2001). Unpaid professionals : Commercialism and conflict in big-time college sports. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

-An article responding to Unpaid Professionals (Book)

Pedersen, Paul M. "Unpaid Professionals (Book)." Journal of Sport Management 14.4 (2000): 366. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

Blog #4- Rutgers RIOT

On the Rutgers RIOT program I did three sections (Finding Sources, Selecting Keywords, and Evaluating Sources). The tutorial was very helpful in that it pointed out a lot of specifics about how to get the best results for your research. The selecting keywords tutorial was helpful because it told you how to optimize your results so you can find better sources faster and spend more time writing and less time researching. Also, the finding sources tutorial told you about all the different databases and how they are each different. Because they are different, they have different sources and yield different results when you are searching. The tutorial encourages you to try all the databases and not to get frustrated if you hit a wall in one, but rather to refine your search a little bit more because it is possible that you can then find even better sources then you had.
I think that the Rutgers RIOT is a great teaching device. Since it is interactive it keeps you engaged and the length of time for each module is not that much. Also, if you were only interested in one part of the tutorial then you can go right to that module. The review notes are also helpful.
In terms of improving the tutorials, I really don't think they need any improvement. They were straight forward, short, and helpful. Eventually they will need to be updated to include more amenities of the Rutgers library system; however for now they are very up to date and very helpful.

Blog #3- Questions for Librarian

My questions for the librarian are:
1. Where can I find stats related to the number of student athletes who receive athletic scholarships each year? And which schools give the most scholarships?
2. Do you know of any books that deal with the topic of sports and schools? Is there a section that would have a lot of these types of books?
3. Where can I find stats linked to how much a school earns from sporting events held at that school? Also is there any way to find out how many contributions to a school are related to their athletics programs?

Research Blog #2:Scouting the Territory

Ok, so now that i have been thinking more and more about my topic I think I would like to focus my attention on sports and their role in college life. I have been thinking about a lot of different topics- the role of alcohol in college, academics in college, etc.- however, sports has stuck the longest just because i think it is the one I am most interested in because of my personal experience with it. I have two siblings who were/are involved with college sports at the division 1 level, I had the option to play a sport in college but declined because I knew it would affect my academics, and my boyfriend currently transferred from a division 1 school where he was a scholarship starting baseball player to play at a division 3 school because there was a lot about the system that annoyed him. Having these various views of the role of sports in college, I feel that I have a lot to write about the topic.
In terms of research, a simple Google search of "the role of sports in college" revealed a lot of interesting websites and articles. There is one that discusses the difference between sports in large universities and sports in small colleges. Also, it came up with a couple books that seem that the could be useful in my research. Some titles are "The mission of the university and the role of intercollegiate athletics" and "the game of life". Both of these books, and others, have very interesting and helpful information after reading the summaries offered by the authors.
An idea that I got from my search for my topic is the role of the athletes for the university. the university uses the athletes as a way to make money and what do the athletes get in return. Yes, scholarship money but at the price of waking up at the crack of dawn to train and finding spare moments in the day that can be fully devoted to academics.
there are many controversies over the rules and regulations of the NCAA and whether or not some of the rules are necessary. Another controversy is the stereotypes that athletes receive in certain schools and teachers views of the athletes.
Some things that I still need to find are more resources that present both sides of one argument about the role of sports. I want to make sure that i am well-read and well-researched in the topic in order to make sure i am doing justice to all sides in order to effectively make my arguments.

Research Blog #1: Initial topic Ideas

The title of this course, College!, initially caught my attention just by the simple fact that hey, I am in college so this should be an interesting topic. However, once I started to read the course description I noticed that all my feelings about the different views and ideas people hold about college start to flare up. All my (mostly negative) feelings about the admissions process and cost and all my (mostly positive) feelings about being independent and creating an identity separate and unique from the one that had been created for me during my middle school and high school years. After the first class, I started to think about all the different views people have about college. Students view it as a chance to break free (proven by the enormous amounts of students who opt to live on campus rather than commute); parents view it in multiple ways 1. as a way to experience and explore before buckling down into real life mode, 2. as purely a means to a degree, or one of many others; athletes view it as a chance to physically develop themselves in order to make it to the next level of competition; and there are many many many more views offered by the professors, legislators, and so on about the purpose of college. With all of these different ideas about what college is meant to it seems appropriate to wonder which is the right view? Or if there even exists a right view? Another question that arises is in regards to the difference between smaller, larger, private, or public schools- where do students get the most effective learning experience or college experience? With all these differences in opinions and ideas the topic of college is an instant conversation starter and interest flarer.