ERIC Number: EJ1244591
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Mar
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1570-1727
EISSN: N/A
A Cross-Sectional Survey Study to Assess Prevalence and Attitudes Regarding Research Misconduct among Investigators in the Middle East
Felaefel, Marwan; Salem, Mohamed; Jaafar, Rola; Jassim, Ghufran; Edwards, Hillary; Rashid-Doubell, Fiza; Yousri, Reham; Ali, Nahed M.; Silverman, Henry
Journal of Academic Ethics, v16 n1 p71-87 Mar 2018
Recent studies from Western countries indicate significant levels of questionable research practices, but similar data from low and middle-income countries are limited. Our aims were to assess the prevalence of and attitudes regarding research misconduct among researchers in several universities in the Middle East and to identify factors that might account for our findings. We distributed an anonymous questionnaire to a convenience sample of investigators at several universities in Egypt, Lebanon, and Bahrain. Participants were asked to a) self-report their extent of research misconducts, as well as their knowledge of colleagues engaging in similar research misconducts and b) provide their extent of agreement with certain attitudes about research misconduct. We used descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression statistics to analyze the data. Data from 278 participants showed a high prevalence of misconduct, as 59.4% of our respondents self-reported to committing at least one misbehaviors and 74.5% reported having knowledge of any misbehaviors among any of their colleagues. The most common type of self-report misconduct was "circumventing research ethics regulations" (50.5%) followed by "fabrication and falsification" (28.6%). A significant predictor of misconduct included a lack of "prior ethics training". Scientific misconduct represents a significant issue in several universities in the Middle East. The demonstration that a lack of "prior ethics training" was a significant predictor of misconduct should lead to educational initiatives in research integrity. Further studies are needed to confirm whether our results can be generalized to other universities in the Middle East.
Descriptors: Incidence, Researchers, Cheating, Developing Nations, Universities, Investigations, Foreign Countries, Deception, Integrity, Ethical Instruction, Predictor Variables
BioMed Central, Ltd. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS), Fogarty International Center
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Egypt; Lebanon; Bahrain
Grant or Contract Numbers: R25TW00709010