Misconduct in Research: Perception and Attitude among Postgraduate Students and Faculty in a Teaching Hospital in Mangalore

Background: Misconduct in research refers to unethical behavior in the conduct of research which includes fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other practices that violate the integrity of the research process. Perceptions and attitudes toward research misconduct differ across individuals and educational systems. Methods: In this facility-based cross-sectional study, 103 faculty and 57 postgraduates of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, were assessed regarding their attitude toward research misconduct using the attitude toward plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire. Institutional Ethics Committee approval was obtained before the commencement of the study. Independent t-test was applied to assess the difference in mean perception and attitude scores between the faculty and postgraduates and P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the faculty and the postgraduate was 38.3 ± 9.3 years and 26.1 ± 2.9 years. The positive attitude ATP scores for the faculty and postgraduates were 31.2 ± 7.9 and 36.6 ± 8.1, respectively, which reflects a moderate approval toward plagiarism. The negative attitude and general perception ATP scores of 21.9 ± 3.8 and 23.8 ± 6.4 depicted a moderate level of disapproval toward plagiarism among the faculty. Postgraduates had a mean negative attitude ATP score of 22.1 ± 3.1 and 28.1 ± 7.0 for subjective norms, also suggesting an overall moderate tolerance toward plagiarism. Overall, the faculty and postgraduates had a low tolerance toward various aspects of research misconduct. Conclusion: Attitudes and perceptions toward plagiarism are complex and context dependent. Promoting awareness of academic integrity and the value of original work is essential to foster a culture that discourages plagiarism and encourages proper citation and acknowledgment of sources.