Journal of Academic Ethics最新文献

Since becoming independent from the Soviet bloc in the early 1990s, the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have established strategic priorities focused on the globalization and internationalization of higher education. These have emphasized the modernization of university systems with a focus on research to produce impactful knowledge and enhance global standing in knowledge production. Yet, the espoused strategic priorities have not been supported by policy development associated with research ethics. This article addresses the need for research ethics policy to facilitate internationalized knowledge production and dissemination. Developing research ethics policy is not without its difficulties. In many developing research contexts, commentators have criticized policy internationalisation which involves the direct transfer of research ethics policy from the Global North rather than engaging with and adapting policy to other cultural contexts. In the light of recent scholarly debates over policy borrowing and translation, this mixed methods study considers how and in what ways higher education research ethics policy can or should develop within Central Asia.

Academic cheating is a pervasive issue in tertiary education, with implications for the competency of university graduates and their future ethical workplace behavior. Past research indicates that understanding academic cheating according to its different levels of severity allows for a more nuanced understanding of its aetiological factors, and an investigation into dispositional traits can further aid this. The primary aim of this study was to explore the synergistic relationships between trait mindfulness, self-regulatory efficacy, and academic cheating intention using purpose-designed vignettes, with a view to providing a foundation for the development of targeted academic cheating interventions. The secondary aim of this study was to examine these relationships in the context of minor and serious academic cheating intention (MACI and SACI), to better capture the nuances of academic cheating. First-year university students from an Australian university (N = 200) completed a questionnaire measuring trait mindfulness and self-regulatory efficacy and responded to vignettes corresponding to MACI and SACI. The results of this study indicated that high self-regulatory efficacy was correlated with low overall academic cheating intention (OACI), as well as lower MACI and SACI. Self-regulatory efficacy also amplified relations between trait mindfulness and OACI, such that high trait mindfulness was associated with lower OACI, in the context of high self-regulatory efficacy. This result was replicated for MACI, but not SACI. Interestingly, no direct associations were found between trait mindfulness and any of the measures of academic cheating intention. These results highlight the necessity of developing nuanced understandings of academic cheating. They further point to the potential role of self-regulatory skills in developing future interventions, while de-emphasizing the relevance previously attributed to mindfulness in supporting students at risk of academic misconduct.

Throughout the history of science, novel ideas that diverge from mainstream thought have often been met with condemnation, derision, and ad hominem attacks. These reactions have sometimes led to the premature rejection of such ideas, only for them to be later revived and even accepted as the prevailing paradigm. While robust debate is essential in science, the use of derogatory language is unethical, for it discourages research on existing hypotheses, deters funders, corrupts the scientific record, and delays or prevents the advancement of science. In this article, I discuss the case of unethical language repeatedly used against proponents of the hypothesis that an extraterrestrial impact event triggered the Younger Dryas cool period.

Academic file-sharing services encourage students to upload materials, sometimes their own study notes for example, but can also include copyrighted university documents, in exchange for access to downloading resources from a common repository. In this process, the lines between legitimate study help and academic misconduct are unclear. Integrity-based strategies to combat these transactions have been limited. Removal by copyright mechanisms has been identified as a potential approach but has been hampered by the enormity of the task and the resource intensity required to make an impact at scale. This explorative study at a large Australian university sought to remove a percentage of copyrighted material from two commonly used academic file-sharing websites and to understand the experience of users in uploading files. Findings from the study were encouraging and informative, resulting in a suite of initiatives being introduced across the institution to prevent uploading in the first instance as well as, where possible, addressing misconduct when it occurred. Limitations included that the study was only undertaken as one university and therefore does not represent the contexts of different institutions. Further, it only investigated two websites out of many available. Future research could explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by academic file-sharing services to retain existing users and attract new ones. This work provides a clearer picture of how an institution’s copyrighted material is hosted on two academic file-sharing websites and offers an effective and potentially scalable copyright approach that could be adapted by other higher education institutions.

This paper attempts to investigate various facets of the multi-layered dynamics of open-book exams, from student perceptions, preferences, academic performance and satisfaction, to the highly relevant issue of academic integrity. Unfortunately, despite some controversies regarding academic integrity and the repercussions of open-book exams, very few studies have directly investigated the relationship between satisfaction and perceived academic performance and preference in open-book exams. A survey of 250 students from both science and non-science disciplines randomly selected from one public university was conducted in Malaysia. An online survey was utilized to gather the data. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling technique, a second-generation multivariate statistical model, was utilized to analyze the data that. This approach employs both PLS-SEM’s outer model and inner model. The findings indicate that open-book exams that do not undermine the overall academic standards are more likely to lead to students’ satisfaction. The high engagement levels might mediate this relationship by contributing to the perceptions of satisfaction. Additionally, the level of academic integrity was found to affect student satisfaction with the practice by moderating the relationship in the opposite direction. This study provides robust theoretical and practical implications on several interactions between the dependent variable of academic integrity, the mediating variable of student reaction, and the independent variable of student satisfaction and performance with open-book exams. This understanding is crucial for stakeholders as higher education’s organizational expectations continue to evolve and revolve around these variables to create a conducive learning paradigm.

The rapid evolution of scientific research has created a pressing need for efficient and versatile tools to aid researchers. While using artificial intelligence (AI) to write scientific articles is unethical and unreliable due to the potential for inaccuracy, AI can be a valuable tool for assisting with other aspects of research, such as language editing, reference formatting, and journal finding. Two of the latest AI-driven assistants that have become indispensable assets to scientists are ChatGPT and Gemini (Bard). These assistants offer comprehensive support from literature review to journal suggestion, and they have the potential to revolutionize research. In the present study, a comprehensive set of queries and responses were designed to assess the capabilities of ChatGPT-3.5 and Gemini as scientific assistants. The results showed that Gemini achieved a perfect score of 100%, while ChatGPT-3.5 scored a less impressive 70%. Notably, ChatGP-3.5 fell short in specific areas that includes providing assistance with scientific paper explanations, exploring bibliographic databases, and formatting references. The qualitative assessment of responses also suggests that both the AI chatbots can be valuable tools for researchers, however, Gemini seems to be more appealing and accurate through the whole procedure of scientific writing. This work shall open new research dimensions in identifying adequate scientific utilization of the evolving AI tools and technologies, as embracing these advancements will be essential for staying at the forefront of scientific research.

Online tools are increasingly being used by students to cheat. File-sharing and homework-helper websites offer to aid students in their studies, but are vulnerable to misuse, and are increasingly reported as a major source of academic misconduct. Chegg.com is the largest such website. Despite this, there is little public information about the use of Chegg as a cheating tool. This is a critical omission, as for institutions to effectively tackle this threat, they must have a sophisticated understanding of their use. To address this gap, this work reports on a comprehensive audit of Chegg usage conducted within an Australian university engineering school. We provide a detailed analysis of the growth of Chegg, its use within an Australian university engineering school, and the wait time to receive solutions. Alarmingly, we found over half of audit units had cheating content on Chegg is broadly used to cheat and 50% of questions asked on Chegg are answered within 1.5 h. This makes Chegg an appealing tool for academic misconduct in both assignment tasks and online exams. We further investigate the growth of Chegg and show its use is above pre-pandemic levels. This work provides valuable insights to educators and institutions looking to improve the integrity of their courses through assessment and policy development. Finally, to better understand and tackle this form of misconduct, we call on education institutions to be more transparent in reporting misconduct data and for homework-helper websites to improve defences against misuse.

The purpose of this research is to gain a complete understanding of how students and faculty in higher education perceive the role of AI tools, their impact on academic integrity, and their potential benefits and threats in the educational milieu, while taking into account ways to help curb its disadvantages. Drawing upon a qualitative approach, this study conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of faculty members and students in higher education, in universities across Lebanon. These interviews were analyzed and coded using NVivo software, allowing for the identification of recurring themes and the extraction of rich qualitative data. The findings of this study illuminated a spectrum of perceptions. While ChatGPT and AI tools are recognized for their potential in enhancing productivity, promoting interactive learning experiences, and providing tailored support, they also raise significant concerns regarding academic integrity. This research underscores the need for higher education institutions to carefully navigate the integration of AI tools like ChatGPT. It calls for the formulation of clear policies and guidelines for their ethical and responsible use, along with comprehensive support and training. This study contributes to the existing literature by presenting a comprehensive exploration of the perceptions of both students and faculty regarding AI tools in higher education, through a qualitative rich approach. By delving into the intricate dynamics of ChatGPT and academic integrity, this study offers fresh insights into the evolving educational landscape and the ongoing dialogue between technology and ethics.

This cross-sectional study investigated the efficacy of an extended theory of planned behavior in predicting academic dishonesty among students of higher education. The participants comprised 328 undergraduates drawn from Nigerian and Malaysian public universities. Existing measures were adapted and validated using Cronbach’s alpha statistics and confirmatory factor analysis approach. The fit statistics of the extended model (χ²/df = 2.08, CFI = .926, and RMSEA = .057) were adequate. Findings revealed that academic dishonesty, especially cheating, was common in the sampled population. The key psychological factors contributing to this problem were positive attitude towards the conducts, lack of strict sanctions against the conducts, and a perceived self-confidence of some students to cheat successfully. Another strong factor was the belief that intellectual material is “public property.” The modified model was not gender-bias, suggesting that the underpinning factors were similar irrespective of the gender-type of the students. Hence, a unified, non-gender discriminating approach will be effective in planned actions towards reversing the trend.

This opinion article addresses pressing issues in academic publishing, advocating for an independent intermediary institution to safeguard authors’ interests and ensure transparency in the peer-review process. It highlights growing inequality between authors and editors or reviewers and proposes solutions to promote respectful cooperation and enhance transparency and accountability. Urging collaborative efforts within the academic community, the article emphasizes the need to address these issues to uphold the integrity of academic publishing.