Knowledge and practices about research integrity among Peruvian university students

Abstract

Background: Lately, the misconduct in research among scientist has been escalating. The use of artificial intelligence has been converted in a double ace card, on one side it has simplificated the way of obtaining valious data for researchers in an easy way, but in the other hand, has promoted that researchers became careless about the scientific method. This situation has become a problem among university teachers since the students are tempt to obtain results in an easy way, leaving ethics aside. The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge and practices regarding scientific integrity among university students in Peru. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted, applying a validated survey on knowledge and practices regarding scientific integrity to 1,420 university students in the Southern Region of Peru, with 60.85% being women. The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions, and data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Robust statistics were applied, and comparisons were made based on gender, age, and region. Ages ranged from 17 to 29 years (M = 21.14, SD = 2.72). Results: The majority demonstrated high levels of knowledge and regular levels of practices regarding scientific integrity. Statistically significant differences were found based on gender (women > men), age (older than 23 years > younger than 22 years), and region. Inappropriate practices were identified in the use of artificial intelligence in academic work. Conclusions: It was concluded that university students have high levels of knowledge regarding scientific integrity; however, they exhibit regular and low levels of application in research projects.