What Is the Academic Misconduct Index? A Complete Guide
The Academic Misconduct Index (AMI) measures academic cheating across countries on two axes — Prevalence and Response Quality — placing 39 countries into four quadrants. This guide explains what it is, what it measures, and how to use it.
TL;DR
The Academic Misconduct Index (AMI) is a country-level index measuring academic cheating across 39 countries on two axes: Prevalence Score (P) and Response Quality Score (R). Countries fall into four quadrants. Published annually under CC BY 4.0.
TL;DR
The Academic Misconduct Index (AMI) is a country-level index covering 39 countries. It scores each country on two axes — Prevalence (P) and Response Quality (R) — and places them in four quadrants. Published openly under CC BY 4.0. Version 1.5 launched May 2026.
What the AMI measures
The index measures two things at the country level:
Prevalence Score (P)
An estimated rate of academic misconduct, built from six dimensions:
- D1 Contract cheating — paying someone to complete academic work
- D2 AI-generated submissions — passing AI-generated content off as one's own
- D3 Exam impersonation — having someone else sit an examination
- D4 Plagiarism — submitting copied work without attribution
- D5 Collusion — unauthorised collaboration on individual assessments
- D6 Data fabrication — fabricating or falsifying research data
Each dimension is scored on a 0–100 scale within the current country set, then weighted and combined.
Response Quality Score (R)
How robustly institutions detect, investigate, and deter misconduct, built from four components:
- Legislation — statutory frameworks targeting academic misconduct (essay mill bans, research integrity laws)
- Detection tools — deployment of plagiarism detection and AI detection systems
- Disclosure — mandatory institutional or governmental reporting of misconduct
- Penalties — formal frameworks for institutional sanctions
The four quadrants
| Quadrant | Pattern | Diagnosis |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 — Best in class | Low P, strong R | Low estimated prevalence and mature institutional response |
| Q2 — Aware and fighting it | High P, strong R | High prevalence acknowledged and actively tackled |
| Q3 — Crisis zone | High P, weak R | Primary target for intervention |
| Q4 — Probably not looking | Low P, weak R | Low apparent prevalence likely reflects under-detection |
Q2 is currently empty in v1.5 — no country combines high prevalence with strong response. This is itself a significant finding.
What the AMI is not
The AMI is not a measure of individual student behaviour or capability. Country-level scores reflect institutional infrastructure and aggregate measurement, not the integrity of any individual student or graduate.
The AMI is not a definitive count of misconduct cases — it is an estimate based on the best available indicators. Some dimensions rely on demand signals (Google Trends) rather than confirmed incidence; the methodology documents this explicitly.
The AMI does not rank universities. Country-level scores aggregate across diverse institutions; substantial within-country variance is expected.
How to use the AMI
As a researcher
Cite the dataset for cross-country comparative analysis. The CSV is downloadable. The methodology document specifies how to interpret scores and quadrant placements.
As a policymaker
Benchmark national integrity infrastructure against peers. The R-Score breakdown identifies specific institutional levers (legislation, detection, disclosure, penalties).
As an employer or admissions officer
Use country-level signals as one input among many. Quadrant placement carries more information than precise score values. Institution-level signals — particularly for countries with high within-country variance — remain important.
As a journalist
Quote scores, quadrant placements, and dimension breakdowns. The dataset is openly licensed.
Versions and updates
The AMI is updated periodically:
- v1.0–1.2 (2026 early) — initial 28-country index
- v1.3 (April 2026) — methodology consolidation
- v1.4 — Russia, Ukraine, Iran added
- v1.5 (May 2026) — current version, 39 countries
Future versions will add expert perception surveys, expand country coverage, and improve data quality for dimensions currently using regional extrapolation.
Licence and citation
The AMI methodology, dataset, and source code are published under CC BY 4.0. Cite as:
> Booth, F. (2026). Academic Misconduct Index, Version 1.5. academicmisconductindex.com
Further reading
- Full methodology — detailed explanation of data sources and calculations
- The four quadrants explained
- How the P-Score is calculated
- How the R-Score is calculated
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is the Academic Misconduct Index?
The Academic Misconduct Index (AMI) is an independent country-level index measuring academic cheating prevalence and institutional response across 39 countries. It scores each country on two axes — Prevalence (P) and Response Quality (R) — and assigns them to one of four quadrants. The index draws on Retraction Watch data, Google Trends, FOI disclosures, and the ICAI McCabe surveys.
Who maintains the AMI?
The Academic Misconduct Index is an independent project. The methodology, dataset, and source code are published openly under CC BY 4.0. The principal aim is to provide policy-grade evidence on cross-country variation in academic integrity, modelled on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
How is the AMI used?
Researchers use the AMI for cross-country comparative analysis. Policymakers reference it to benchmark national integrity infrastructure. Employers and admissions offices use the quadrant placements as one input among many when assessing credentials. Journalists cite it for cross-country reporting. The dataset is downloadable for any of these uses.
How to cite this article
APA: Booth, F. (2026). What Is the Academic Misconduct Index? A Complete Guide. Academic Misconduct Index. https://academicmisconductindex.com/blog/what-is-ami-complete-guide
BibTeX: @misc{booth2026what, author={Booth, Francisco}, title={What Is the Academic Misconduct Index? A Complete Guide}, year={2026}, url={https://academicmisconductindex.com/blog/what-is-ami-complete-guide}}
Francisco Booth
Independent researcher, founder of the Academic Misconduct Index
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