Assessment of the knowledge and attitudes of the Iranian medical faculty toward plagiarism

ABSTRACT

This study is among the few investigations that assesses knowledge and attitudes of faculty members of medical sciences universities regarding plagiarism. This investigation focused on the relationship between personal factors and knowledge and attitudes toward plagiarism among Iranian faculty members of medical sciences affiliated with the Ministry of Health. This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 247 participants using demographic questionnaires that collected data on attitudes toward plagiarism and knowledge of plagiarism. The questionnaires were uploaded on Porsline. The subjects were provided with the purpose of the study, informed consent, and the link to the questionnaire through WhatsApp. The mean scores of knowledge variables and different domains of attitude were calculated, and then, the obtained averages were compared in terms of age, gender, and participation in ethics workshop using univariate tests. Finally, the MANCOVA was used considering five dimensions of the questionnaire to assess attitude, as multiple response variables, and independent variables, including gender and participation in the ethics workshop and control of knowledge and age. The mean age of the subjects in this study was 38.9 ± 8.4. 79.4% of the participants were women. Overall, 79.8% of people participated in ethics workshops, of whom 78% were women, and 86.5% were men. The mean score of knowledge in men and women was 1.35 ± 0.19 and 1.56. ± 0.24, respectively, which was higher in women than men (PV <0.001). The mean score of total attitudes was 3.19 ± 0.46. There was a high level of knowledge of plagiarism and positive attitudes toward plagiarism avoidance or prevention among participants in this study, which may spread to students, and help to promote integrity in the educational and clinical environment in Iran.

KEYWORDS:

• Plagiarism
• attitude
• knowledge
• Iran

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical consideration

The study was approved by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee (IR.IUMS.REC.1398.983). Participants were informed about study aims and procedures that participation was voluntary.

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization and Study design: Saleheh Tajalli, Mansoureh Ashghali Farahani and Azam Shirinabadi Farahani; practical performance: Saleheh Tajalli and Azam Shirinabadi Farahani; Preparation of the Manuscript: Saleheh Tajalli, Mansoureh Ashghali Farahani, Azam Shirinabadi Farahani, Fatemeh Heydari, Sanaz Motefakker, Statistical Analysis Roqayeh Aliyari Critical Review of the Manuscript: Saleheh Tajalli and Azam Shirinabadi Farahani, Roqayeh Aliyari.

Ethical considerations

The study was approved by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee (IR.SBMU.RETECH.REC.1398.233). Iranian medical faculty members were informed about the aims and procedures of the study and their participation was voluntary.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences .