Rathore Farooq A, Fatima Noor E, Farooq Fareeha, Mansoor Sahibzada N
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, PNS Shifa Hospital, DHA II, Karachi 75500, Pakistan.
Department of Medicine, CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Shami Road, Lahore Cantt.
Cureus. 2018 May 28;10(5):e2698. doi: 10.7759/cureus.2698.
Introduction Scientific misconduct is a global issue. There is low awareness among health professionals regarding plagiarism, particularly in developing countries, including Pakistan. There is no formal training in the ethical conduct of research or writing for under- and post-graduate students in the majority of medical schools in Pakistan. Internet access to published literature has made plagiarism easy. The aim of this study was to document the effectiveness of focused workshops on reducing scientific misconduct as measured using a modified version of the attitude towards plagiarism questionnaire (ATPQ) assessment tool. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with participants of workshops on scientific misconduct. Demographic data were recorded. A modified ATPQ was used as a pre- and post-test for workshop participants. Data were entered in SPSS v20 (IBM< Armonk, NY, US). Frequencies and descriptive statistics were analyzed. An independent sample t-test was run to analyze differences in mean scores on pre-workshop ATPQ and differences in mean scores on post-test scores. Results There were 38 males and 42 females (mean age: 26.2 years) who participated in the workshops and completed the pre- and post-assessments. Most (59; 73.75%) were final-year medical students. One-third (33.8%) of the respondents had neither attended workshops related to ethics in medical research nor published manuscripts in medical journals (32.5%). More than half (55%) admitted witnessing unethical practices in research. There was a significant improvement in attitudes toward plagiarism after attending the workshop (mean difference = 7.18 (6.2), t = 10.32, P < .001). Conclusions Focused workshops on how to detect and avoid scientific misconduct can help increase knowledge and improve attitudes towards plagiarism, as assessed by the modified ATPQ. Students, residents, and faculty members must be trained to conduct ethical medical research and avoid all forms of scientific misconduct.
引言
科学不端行为是一个全球性问题。卫生专业人员对抄袭的认识较低，尤其是在包括巴基斯坦在内的发展中国家。巴基斯坦大多数医学院校的本科生和研究生都没有接受过关于研究或写作道德规范的正规培训。通过互联网获取已发表文献使得抄袭变得容易。本研究的目的是使用修改后的抄袭态度问卷（ATPQ）评估工具，记录聚焦研讨会在减少科学不端行为方面的有效性。
材料与方法
对参加科学不端行为研讨会的人员进行了横断面研究。记录了人口统计学数据。使用修改后的ATPQ作为研讨会参与者的前后测试。数据录入SPSS v20（IBM，美国纽约州阿蒙克）。分析了频率和描述性统计数据。进行独立样本t检验，以分析研讨会前ATPQ平均得分的差异以及测试后得分的平均差异。
结果
共有38名男性和42名女性（平均年龄：26.2岁）参加了研讨会并完成了前后评估。大多数（59人；73.75%）是医学专业最后一年的学生。三分之一（33.8%）的受访者既没有参加过医学研究伦理相关的研讨会，也没有在医学期刊上发表过手稿（32.5%）。超过一半（55%）的人承认目睹过研究中的不道德行为。参加研讨会后，对抄袭的态度有了显著改善（平均差异=7.18（6.2），t=10.32，P<.001）。
结论
如修改后的ATPQ所评估的，关于如何发现和避免科学不端行为的聚焦研讨会有助于增加知识并改善对抄袭的态度。必须对学生、住院医师和教职员工进行培训，以开展符合伦理的医学研究并避免所有形式的科学不端行为。
