Journal of Academic Ethics最新文献

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.

The scientific community has tried to implement the FAIR guiding principles to foster open science actions in data-driven research in higher education since 2016. However, what strategies work and do not in fostering open science actions still need to be determined. This article is the first step to closing this research gap by examining one strategy, the effectiveness of FAIR training in higher education. With a pre-post test design, the study evaluates the short-term effectiveness of FAIR training on students’ scientific suggestions and justifications in line with FAIR’s guiding principles. The study also assesses the influence of university legal frameworks on students’ inclination towards FAIR training. Before FAIR training, 81.1% of students suggested that scientific actions were not in line with the FAIR guiding principles. However, there is a 3.75-fold increase in suggestions that adhere to these principles after the training. Interestingly, the training does not significantly impact how students justify FAIR actions. The study observes a positive correlation between the presence of university legal frameworks on FAIR guiding principles and students’ inclination towards FAIR training. The study underscores the training potential in driving the transition towards open science actions in higher education and shows how much university legal frameworks can push toward such training. Students rate FAIR training as very useful and satisfactory. Important learning factors in effective FAIR training seem to be creating a safe space, letting students contribute, and encouraging students to engage in the training. However, the study also reveals the need for further training improvement, particularly in enhancing students’ ability to justify FAIR actions.

The relation of social ethics to knowledge production is explored through a study about academic research enquiry on minoritised and racialised populations. Despite social change related to migration and ethnicity being a feature of contemporary Northern Ireland, local dynamics and actors seemed under-studied by its research-intensive ‘anchor universities’. To explore this, a critical discourse analysis of published research outputs (n = 200) and related authors’ narratives (n = 32) are interpreted within this paper through conceptualisations of consciousness. Insiders’ perspectives on the influences and structures of the research journey demonstrate the ways in which research cultures (mis)shape the politics of representation, authorship and ethicality. Societal and political disregard for the new publics, reproduced within universities’ hidden curriculum, has been negotiated and to some extent resisted in the research practices of those marginalised (such as women academics), those entering the system (migrant academics), and those local-born whose referential frames were developed external to local universities. Of concern is that the few research enablers were characterised by techno-rationality and doublespeak, impoverishing the depth of theorisation, complexity and intellectual debate necessary for challenging the existing dysconscious racism and xenophobiaism of the social imaginary.

Academic misconduct by students is a serious issue that threatens the public trust in higher education institutions. In the current study, we examine whether SACCIA (Sufficient, Accurate, Clear, Contextualised and Interpersonally Adaptive) communication predicts lower academic misconduct via attitudes towards cheating and understanding what ‘counts’ as academic misconduct. Participants (N = 319) completed an online questionnaire in Qualtrics measuring SACCIA-adherent communication, academic misconduct, positive attitudes towards cheating and understanding what constitutes misconduct, along with control variables (Big 5 personality traits and Honesty-Humility). The results indicated that the effect of SACCIA communication on academic misconduct was exerted via attitudes, but not via understanding of what constitutes ‘academic misconduct’. The more SACCIA-conforming the communication was, the lower the positive attitudes towards cheating, and the lower the positive attitudes the less self-reported misconduct. The findings suggest that universities could facilitate negative attitudes towards cheating and subsequently lower misconduct if they communicate about academic integrity in a SACCIA-adherent manner.

In all research, ethical considerations are crucial to reliability and quality and researchers are guided by various national and international documents and ethical committees. Despite different strategies to guide researchers and to ensure quality, there still seems to be uncertainty in educational science about how research ethics should be positioned and handled in practice. The aim of this study is to phenomenologically explore what meanings the phenomenon research ethics are given in Swedish doctoral dissertations in educational research based on how doctoral researchers position, frame and present research ethics in their ethical elaborations. The empirical data consists of 60 doctoral dissertations in educational science at Swedish universities from the past year. The result indicates very different meanings of ethical considerations despite a quite common point of departure in the Swedish Research Council’s guidelines and knowledge of the Ethics Review Act. Some variations can be related to the differences in the studies’ designs, but regardless of such explanations, the conclusion is that consensus regarding ethical considerations in research is largely lacking.