Academic Misconduct in Physics: Completely Counterproductive

Cheating in physics is not only unethical, it counters the very reason one studies physics.  It is definitely not a path to physics success
to copy or draw from solution sets.  If I were to take someone else's results, put my name on them and submit them to a research
journal as my own work, I would be guilty of professional misconduct and face consequences both from the University and from the journal if
not a number of journals.  Once a scientist loses credibility, it is difficult to regain it.  University students, as future professionals,
should be held to the same standard.

     I spoke with Brad Peterson, a co-author of our textbook ("Foundations of Astrophysics"), and he stated that "using the answer
key for homework is like sending someone to the gym to lift weights instead of going in person".  Just like strength does not come at the
moment weights are lifted over one's head, but rather in a continuous process starting from the struggle to pick them up from the ground,
learning does not come from seeing the final answer, but rather in the struggle to learn the thinking behind each step and principle for each
part of a problem.  This is why seeing the complete answer all at once may save time to get homework done to a deadline, but is a terrible
way to learn, and does not lead to retaining knowledge.  The consequences come at midterm and final exam time. 

     I noticed a strong anti-correlation between "Chegg index" and midterm performance  in my class in Autumn 2020.  See this plot,
which shows the  "Chegg Index" vs. grade on the first midterm.  I graded 18 homework problems for the class, and
gave scores of 3 points for verbatim copying (plagiarism), 2 points for paraphrasing, 1 point for some similarity and 0 points for
complete originality (including a wrong answer).  Total verbatim copying for all the problems is a Chegg index of 54.
I normalized scores in case students did not turn in all of the questions.




     If I were to take someone else's results and put my name at the top to claim them as my work, I would be guilty of professional
misconduct.  I would get in trouble with my employer, my professional society and any research journal where I would try to
publish the results.  I could lose my job and be blacklisted from my field, ending my career.  Once a scientist loses credibility, it is very
difficult to reclaim it.  University students, as future professionals, should be held to the same standard.

     Companies like Chegg, Quizlet and CourseHero are set up to make money.  They are not altuistic organizations interested in students
learning.  The answers are crowd-sourced and prone to errors and irregularities which are red flags to teachers.  Their solutions are
often not the best way to to do problems, and carry the danger that students will learn the wrong, mistake-prone way to arrive at
solutions.  It is far better to ask for help.  A good teacher will ask leading questions so that you go step by step on your own to learn the
principles behind solving problems.  I do my best to provide that for all of my students, and am happy to help all of my students out.

     If you are studying physics beyond the first year, it must be because you want to go on in the field.  It is a contradition to cheat
to attempt to get a qualification which you cannot show in practice. If you have to look up answers to every little problem, you cannot
apply the concepts to more complex problems, and you will not succeed competing against people who really can solve problems because they
know the concepts and techniques that you do not.

     In addition, science is an endeavor which searches for the truth, and relies on truthful reporting to make advances.  The lack of
integrity required for cheating will also make it very difficult to have integrity in research -- which will make for a quick exit from
science.  Once a scientist (or science student) gets a reputation for cheating, it is difficult to reclaim the respect of one's peers.  This
will make it difficult to get papers accepted, win grants or convince other people to work with you, much less accept your ideas.

     If you are having problems in physics, step back and learn the basics.  It is possible to learn them.  Repeat courses if necessary --
or apply your skills in some other field.  Physics, like sports, music and languages, is built on a tower of knowledge and ability.  There is
no way to master advanced concepts without mastering the basics, and no way to cheat yourself to the top without a 100% chance of failure.