Journal of Academic Ethics最新文献

Ethics and integrity should be intertwined within the concept of Responsible Research. Integrity Officers should also be Ethics Officers, enforcing compliance with rules and norms, but also raising awareness on the meaning of ethics in researchers’ daily work. Paul Ricoeur’s definition of Ethics – “the aim of living a good life with and for others in just institutions” (Ricoeur in Oneself as Another. University of Chicago Press, 1994) –, points out the relational dimension of Ethics that matters to all the stakeholders in scientific research. The dialogical interaction between Ethics and Integrity can help to prevent researchers from assuming self-regulation as the only possible path to be followed. In this paper, the challenges and the opportunities posed by this approach will be outlined and discussed, mainly, the challenges of building trust bottom up, while setting up restrictions to comply with rules and norms top down. Concerning the opportunities, the focus will be on making better science and building a solid network among the various stakeholders of the research system.

To determine factors affecting successful research and publication among medical students, a cross-sectional survey study was carried out at four Thai medical schools during 2018–2022. Medical students who had previously performed research under research advisors’ supervision and their research advisors were included. There were 120 participants, 78 medical students and 42 research advisors. The most common problems reported by the students were student’s lack of knowledge of research design (78%) and research topic (53%), while the most common problems reported by the advisors were student’s lack of knowledge of research topic (55%) and how to prepare documents for ethics committee approval (48%). The promoting factors for research success commonly reported by the students and advisors were “an advisor helps with protocol writing and reviewing the manuscript”, “research teaching in the curriculum”, “provision of an example of a written ethics committee protocol”, and “arranging a special session so that advisors can talk to students about their research of interest”. Among the 78 participating students, 20 (26%) had successfully published their research in journals. These 20 students were more likely than those without publications to be from an institute that had a special research project or conference for medical students (20% vs. 0%,) and to suggest that teaching protocol writing helped in promoting research success (70% vs. 43%). These findings suggest that teaching research, a special research project or conference for medical students, and faculty development of research advising could potentially increase the success rate of students’ research publications.

Examination dishonesty is a global problem that became particularly critical after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote learning. Academic research has often examined this phenomenon as only one aspect of a broader concept of academic dishonesty and as a one-dimensional construct. This article builds on existing knowledge and proposes a novel, two-factor model of examination misconduct, dividing it into individual and collective forms of dishonesty. A study conducted on a large sample of 462 Polish students confirmed the psychometric quality of the new Examination Dishonesty Intention Scale (EDIS) and the superiority of the two-factor model over the unidimensional model. In addition, we tested the psychological correlates of both types of academic dishonesty and demonstrated their divergent validity. The results suggest that EDIS can be a valuable tool for exploring the intentions of exam dishonesty and has potential for practical applications in academic integrity policy and research.

Ethics in research can be broadly divided into two epistemic dimensions. One dimension focuses on bureaucratic procedures (i.e., procedural ethics), while the other focuses on contextually and culturally contested practice of ethics in research (i.e., ethics in practice). Researchers experience both dimensions distinctly in their qualitative research. The review of ethics in prospective research through bureaucratic procedures aims to measure compliance with documented requirements relating to research participants, data management, consent, and ensure researchers can demonstrate their ethical competence before they commence their research. However, researchers often experience unanticipated ethical issues within the context of their research; sometimes ethics-related situations, including language sensitivity, cultural humility, and data processing experienced by researchers can be very different from what was included in bureaucratic procedures. In this study, phenomena related to research ethics in practice, as experienced by social scientists (n = 5) in their qualitative research, are hermeneutically explored and interpreted. The selected phenomena represent the researchers’ lived experiences regarding the practice of participant autonomy, specifically exploring participants’ right to withdraw from research. These phenomena are interpreted from the theoretical perspectives of situational relativism and self-determined autonomy. The interpreted phenomena reveal the current practices in ethical management of data collected from participants before their decision to withdraw from research (i.e., withdrawal data), are predominantly focused on tangible forms of data (i.e., the information that can easily be distinguished from other data), but ethical concerns associated with intangible forms of data are often neglected. The intangible forms of data are experiential knowing and understanding that include, feeling, emotion, courage, respect, celebration, anger, and the sense of being and belonging. The study recommends that researchers and research professionals should exercise ethical sensitivity and humility towards intangible forms of data collected during qualitative research when participants withdraw their consent.

Abstract

Retractions have traditionally been reserved for correcting the scientific record and discouraging research misconduct. Nonetheless, the potential for actual societal harm resulting from accurately reported published scientific findings, so-called information hazards, has been the subject of several recent article retractions. As these instances increase, the extent of support for such decisions among the scientific community and lay public remains unclear. Undergraduates (Study 1) and federally funded researchers (Study 2) reported their support for retraction decisions described as due to misconduct, honest errors, or potential information hazards. Participants supported retraction on the former two grounds more than the latter. Despite limited support, women remained more receptive to retractions based on information hazards. Activist tendencies additionally predicted undergraduate men’s receptivity. Receptivity toward retraction due to information hazards was unrelated to scientists’ engagement in activism, suggesting that formal scientific training affords researchers an ability to separate personal and professional values in scientific discourse. Findings could inform the development of educational materials that may aid less experienced scientists and the lay public in understanding retraction ethics.

This study conducted on a sample of 295 Dutch and Italian undergraduate and graduate students aims to investigate how psychopathic personality traits (meanness, boldness and disinhibition) may lead to cheating behavior, and to study whether there are correlations between psychopathic traits, motivation, moral disengagement, the perception of seriousness of academic dishonesty and frequency of academic dishonesty to try to better understand what causes students to cheat and engage in dishonest conduct. Results confirmed the key role of psychopathic traits, particularly the disinhibition aspect in predicting academic dishonesty. In addition, it was shown that students’ perceptions of what constitutes academic dishonesty and what does not are also important in predicting the frequency of dishonest behavior. Furthermore, the role of motivation and moral disengagement in predicting and mediating the relationship between traits of psychopathy and academic dishonesty were analyzed through mediation and regression analysis.

Abstract

Ethical decision-making is often evaluated in the literature through deontological and teleological approaches, commonly referred to as ethical positions. Ethical decision-making requires an awareness of ethical sensitivity and ethical dilemmas. It involves understanding the emotional experiences of others and assisting them. In cases of alexithymia, where there is difficulty in understanding and expressing emotional experiences, empathy may be limited, and emotions may not be effectively used. In this research, the impact of the level of alexithymia on ethical positions in students of the School of Health Services, along with demographic variables, was evaluated. In this descriptive research using a quantitative research approach, data was obtained using the "Ethical Position Scale-EPQ" and the "Toronto Alexithymia Scale-TAS." Analysis was performed using the reliability testing, t-test, One-Way ANOVA Test, LSD multiple comparison test, and Pearson Correlation and Regression Analysis test were used. In ethical decision-making, it has been found that women are more idealistic than men, while men tend to be more alexithymic and deficient in outward thinking. As students' levels of alexithymia increase, they are determined to adopt a more relativistic approach. It has been observed that relativism increases and idealism decreases significantly among individuals with high alexithymia scores. These findings indicate that the level of alexithymia has a significant impact on ethical positions. The fact that individuals with high levels of alexithymia adopt a subjective position that is less concerned with the consequences of an action on others and resembles egoism suggests that these individuals may have difficulty in empathizing due to emotional inadequacy.

The teaching of ethics in teacher education programs is crucial for fostering the moral and ethical development of prospective teachers and shaping them into ethical role models for future students. This study, employing qualitative case study research, gathered data from undergraduates in teacher education programs to explore the best approaches for ethics education. It found that combining digital and case-based pedagogical methods, fostering an open-minded attitude among lecturers, and implementing a blend of Socratic and active learning techniques leads to the most favorable outcomes. Additionally, continuous formative assessment throughout the academic year is essential. To cultivate a teaching workforce with strong ethical and moral values, undergraduate courses in ethics and morality should be thought-provoking, integrating real-life cases with a mix of digital and tangible resources. The ethics course lecturer should not only serve as a role model and exhibit a caring disposition but also use effective teaching methodologies. The paper details key themes and categories for successful ethics instruction and offers specific recommendations.

This study investigated cheating behaviours, contributing factors, and strategies to enhance the integrity of assessment in an online learning context. The researchers conducted an analysis of the literature on students’ motivation to cheat in online modules and noted that there is limited research on the specific reasons why students cheat in online learning contexts. To contribute to this knowledge gap, this study set out to understand cheating in two English modules with first-year second language students, in an open distance and e-learning institution in South Africa. The purpose of this study is (1) to investigate why students cheat in their online assessments, (2) to explore the contributing factors of cheating behaviours, and (3) to determine strategies to minimise cheating. Using qualitative methods such as focus group discussions with students, evaluation questions with markers, and one-on-one interviews with lecturers, the study found that cheating is a significant issue in distance education, with students admitting to various forms of cheating in online assessments. Using the social cognitive theory of moral disengagement, the study found that cognitive mechanisms motivate students to engage in unethical behaviour such as cheating. The study recommends implementing an interactive module design, lecturer training on student support, and stringent academic integrity policies to minimise cheating. There is a need for studies that explore the impact of cheating and the effectiveness of different strategies for minimising cheating and enhancing integrity in online assessment.