A Comparison of the Effects of Ethics Training on International and US Students

Abstract

As scientific and engineering efforts become increasingly global in nature, the need to understand differences in perceptions of research ethics issues across countries and cultures is imperative. However, investigations into the connection between nationality and ethical decision-making in the sciences have largely generated mixed results. In Study 1 of this paper, a measure of biases and compensatory strategies that could influence ethical decisions was administered. Results from this study indicated that graduate students from the United States and international graduate students studying in the US are prone to different biases. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for developing ethics education interventions to target these decision-making biases. In Study 2, we employed an ethics training intervention based on ethical sensemaking and used a well-established measure of ethical decision-making that more fully captures the content of ethical judgment. Similar to Study 1, the results obtained in this study suggest differences do exist between graduate students from the US and international graduate students in ethical decision-making prior to taking the research ethics training. However, similar effects were observed for both groups following the completion of the ethics training intervention.

A student perspective of ethics in the Zambian construction industry

“…Ludlum and Sergey (2005) however suggests that training can also help to encourage students to act more ethically. Similarly Steele et al (2016) demonstrated a generally positive linkage between ethics training and ethical decision making of students. While the present study does not concern itself with the relationship between ethics training and ethics conduct, it considers that the awareness of unethical behaviour by students is an important step in influencing their ethical conduct.…”

The Role of Culture and Acculturation in Researchers’ Perceptions of Rules in Science

“…In the workplace setting, culture influences people’s views, practices, and interactions, such as their approaches to teamwork, strategies for negotiation, and attitudes to leadership (Dickson et al 2003; Gelfand et al 2013; Ralston et al 1997; Ramesh and Gelfand 2010; Aycan and Gelfand 2012). However, only recently have members of the scientific community begun to consider the role of culture in the work of researchers and in research integrity (Heitman 2014; Hwang 2013; InterAcademy Parternership 2016; Steele, Johnson, Watts, MacDougall, Mumford, Connelly, & Williams, 2016; Nho 2016; Steneck 2013). Scholars have considered the need for cultural sensitivity with regard to culturally diverse research participants (Benatar 2000; Calamaro 2008; Marshall 2008), but generally have not examined such issues among culturally diverse researchers working together.…”

Engineering Students' Ethical Perceptions: The Case of Civil Engineering at Harran University, Turkey

“…Bu nedenle müfredatta yer alan etik öğretiminin tamamen mühendislik odaklı olması gerekmediği, öğrencilerin mümkün olduğunca etik profesyonel mühendislik rol modellerine maruz bırakılması gerektiği ve bunun biçimsel ders veya özel ders şeklinde olabileceği, ancak mühendislik danışmanlığı ve etik davranışların akademik mühendislik personeli tarafından modellenmesi şeklinde olduğunda çok daha faydalı olabileceği belirtilmiştir [8]. Bununla birlikte etik ve ahlaki gelişim üzerine yapılan bazı çalışmalar, profesyonel mühendislik etiği eğitiminin öğrencilerin etik davranma eğilimini güçlendirdiğini ortaya koymuştur [10][11][12].…”

“…Steele vd. [12], ABD'deki lisansüstü öğrencilerin ve ABD'de okuyan uluslararası öğrencilerin etik algılarını karşılaştırmış ve öğrencilerin uyruğunun öğrencilerin etik algıları üzerinde önemli bir etkisi olduğu sonucuna varmıştır. İki grupla yapılan bir odak grup çalışması etik eğitimine katılan bir grup ile katılmayan bir grup arasında etik karar verme konusunda önemli bir farklılık olmadığını ortaya koymuştur.…”

“…Cinsiyet veya uyruk dikkate alındığında önemli farklılıklar gözlemlenememiştir. Steele vd [12],. ABD'deki lisansüstü öğrencilerin ve ABD'de okuyan uluslararası öğrencilerin etik algılarını karşılaştırmış ve öğrencilerin uyruğunun öğrencilerin etik algıları üzerinde önemli bir etkisi olduğu sonucuna varmıştır.…”