i3S highlights serious shortcomings in academic integrity among students
The results of a European study, involving nearly 3,300 students from four European countries, reveal that secondary school pupils, undergraduates and PhD students find it very difficult to identify questionable practices in citations, authorship, source identification and data handling. The study, which involved the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) at the University of Porto, concludes that PhD students can easily spot an example of plagiarism, but struggle to identify unacceptable practices in situations involving collaboration and data handling.
For example, 45% of undergraduate students admitted to listing classmates as co-authors on group assignments, even though they had not contributed, whilst 14% of PhD students admitted to discarding data that differed from what was expected, “on the basis of a hunch that it was inaccurate”.
The study also shows that the ability to recognise questionable practices does not improve as students progress through their academic careers. In some cases, the opposite is true: around 20% of secondary school pupils were able to identify them, but only 12% of undergraduates and 14% of PhD students did so.
Students “are not prepared” to identify bad practices
For Anna Olsson, a researcher at i3S who led the implementation of the study in Portugal, it is very clear that “students find it difficult to deal with situations that are not ‘black and white’. It is essential to teach them to think about these ‘grey areas’ and not just about clear-cut violations,” adds the head of the i3S “Laboratory Animal Science” group.
The study, which involved students from Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and Switzerland, was coordinated by Mikkel Willum Johansen of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). The scientist highlights the seriousness of the findings: “It is precisely ambiguous situations that can inadvertently lead to malpractice, and it is clear that students are not adequately prepared to identify them.”
The article, now published in the scientific journal PLOS One, is the fifth and final paper resulting from the INTEGRITY project, funded by the European Commission and dedicated to building students’ capacity in the area of academic integrity.
In addition to the studies, the researchers have developed educational materials aimed at secondary and higher education students, including two modules on animal experimentation and genetic testing, prepared by i3S.
“Ethics cannot be imposed; it must be proposed”
The findings of this study underscore the relevance of the institutional approach that i3S has been developing. In 2019, the Institute established the Responsible Research Conduct Unit, coordinated by Susana Magalhães, which provides training, mediation and ethical support to researchers.
“People do not usually act in bad faith. Often they are unaware that certain practices may be ethically problematic,” says Susana Magalhães, adding: “Ethics is not imposed, it is proposed. Our role is to create a safe space for these conversations to take place before problems arise.”
Through annual training sessions, support for the ethical review of research projects, conflict mediation, and coordination with various internal bodies, this unit at i3S has been recognised as an example of institutional best practice, and demand for its support from researchers and students has risen steadily. One of its most visible contributions is the annual course on ethics and integrity, which has been “particularly sought after for the diversity of topics and the opportunity for dialogue with researchers from other national and international institutions”, notes Anna Olsson.
