National Survey On Responsible Conduct Of Research Among Researchers In Malaysia: A Pilot Study

Lai, Hwa Yu (2020) National Survey On Responsible Conduct Of Research Among Researchers In Malaysia: A Pilot Study. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Responsible conduct of research (RCR) is the foundation that ensures integrity of a research by establishing the ethics and responsibilities of the stakeholders in scientific research. In Malaysia, the discourse on RCR is relatively new and the view of researchers towards RCR is unknown. Therefore, there is a need to understand the perceptions and attitudes of researchers in Malaysia towards RCR. The overall goal of this study is to understand the attitudes and perceptions of researchers in Malaysia towards RCR, the factors leading to infringement of RCR and the prevalence of detrimental research practices. We hypothesised that researchers in Malaysia with different research experience and background have different perceptions and attitudes towards RCR. A survey instrument consisting for 6 sections was designed and hosted on the SurveyMonkey® platform. Each section addresses various aspects of RCR such as attitudes and behaviours as well as prevalence of detrimental research practices. We conducted a pilot study to validate this survey instrument before launching it nationally. This survey included polar questions and Likert scale questions. The results in each section were analysed and association analysis such as chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis test were conducted. 122 respondents completed the survey and majority of them are from the medical/health sciences disciplines. We found that the respondents have varying attitude towards different issues regarding RCR. Some detrimental research practices were deemed clearly unacceptable while others had varying degree of acceptance. All of the detrimental research practices were observed in Malaysia, with plagiarism as the most prevalent practice. Pressure to satisfy key performance factor were ranked as the top factor causing detrimental research practices. In conclusion, this pilot study provides a preliminary view of what research conduct are deemed more acceptable and the prevalence of detrimental research practices. It also highlights the key contributing factors towards detrimental research practices. We also identified areas to improve the research instrument. A national survey will be launched after these improvements are made. This national survey will ultimately guide us in establishing a more precise national RCR policy and education programme to foster research integrity in Malaysia.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms. Nor Safa'aton Saidin
Date Deposited:	23 Aug 2023 00:33
Last Modified:	23 Aug 2023 00:33
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1287

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