Enhancing Academic Writing Skills and Ethical Awareness among Sociology Department Students at Halu Oleo University through Reference Management Training

This program was conducted at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Halu Oleo University, to address challenges in scientific writing, particularly in reference management, academic ethics, and citation formatting. Students often struggled with these issues, hindering their ability to write quality academic papers. The program aimed to equip students with skills to organize references, compile bibliographies, and apply citation formats using Mendeley. The program’s success was reflected in a 40% improvement in reference management skills, a 45% increase in Mendeley usage, and a 35% improvement in understanding academic ethics. Additionally, students’ ability to correctly format citations and compile bibliographies improved by 45%. Final-year students showed substantial progress, enhancing their academic writing capabilities. These results highlight the importance of integrating Mendeley training into the curriculum, and it is recommended that such training be regularly incorporated into research methodology courses to foster long-term academic success.

University based academic Research Ethics Boards (REB) face the particularly difficult challenge of trying to achieve representation from a variety of disciplines, methodologies and research interests. Additionally, many are currently facing another decision – whether to have students as REB members or not. At Ryerson University, we are uniquely situated. Without a medical school in which an awareness of the research ethics review process might be grounded, our mainly social science and humanities REB must also educate and foster awareness of the ethics review process throughout the academic community. Our Board has had and continues to have students as active members. While there are challenges to having students as Board members, these are clearly outweighed by the advantages, for both the academic community and the future of ethically sound research in the social sciences and humanities. Moreover, the challenges are often based on misconceptions and can be easily overcome through increased education and understanding of the research ethics review process by the academic community at large. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the experiences, advantages and challenges of having students as REB members. The advantages of having students as REB members include the following: (1) Students are the proposed participants in many of our reviewed protocols and student members may illuminate unique issues of participation. (2) Students are active and highly engaged members of the REB. (3) Having students on the REB enhances awareness of research ethics within the University. (4) Student REB members have an opportunity to mentor other students and provide leadership for both undergraduate and graduate students. (5) Students are more vigorously recruited than faculty members and often apply for student positions with enthusiasm and preparation. (6) In creating an atmosphere of excellence in research, engaging students at the beginning of their research career will help in creating tomorrow’s leaders in research and research ethics. The challenges of having students as REB members include the following: (1) Faculty members may be uneasy regarding the prospect of students reviewing protocols. (2) Faculty members may be concerned about confidentiality and respect with students reviewing faculty research protocols. (3) There may be an increased burden for students who serve as members on an REB. (4) There is concern that students will offer less continuous service to the REB. (5) There is a common misconception that students do not have the experience to carry out ethical reviews. While there are challenges from faculty members and others regarding having students as REB members, these challenges are often based on misconceptions about the nature of the REB work and the ethics review process in general. These challenges are also often based on the misconception of the ethics review process as one of peer review and evaluation, instead of a community-based and inclusive process. Having student members is a long-term strategy for both overcoming the misconceptions of the REB as a “necessary evil” and for fostering an awareness of the imperative for ethically sound research in the social sciences and humanities.

The ability to write scientific papers that adhere to academic standards is an important skill for students, especially those in the Economics Education Study Program. One of the common challenges faced by students is the proper management of references and citations. To address this issue, a training program was conducted on the use of the Zotero application as reference management software. The service activities were carried out thru lectures, discussions, and hands-on practice, attended by students from the Economics Education program at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Halu Oleo University. The training results show that participants were able to understand the basics of reference management, install and integrate Zotero with Microsoft Word, import references from various sources, and generate automatic citations and bibliographies according to APA style. Although there were some technical constraints, such as difficulty installing the plugin in Word and fixing metadata, these constraints were overcome thru direct guidance. Overall, this training successfully improved students' ability to manage references effectively, efficiently, and in accordance with academic standards.

Emphasising academic ethics throughout the educational process is crucial for all learners. The applied research project at Tallinn Health University of Applied Sciences, titled ʻAcademic ethics as lecturer’s toolkit in the teaching process – adapting to the changing environmentʼ, explores how faculty perceive ethical values and how they communicate these values during distance learning. The study aims to describe how faculty perceive and convey academic ethics in the context of distance learning. An inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data from twenty semi-structured interviews conducted with faculty members of Tallinn Health University of Applied Sciences. The analysis revealed four main categories that describe faculty perceptions regarding the nature and conveyance of academic ethics to students during distance learning. The interview data indicated that faculty primarily rely on peer support and prior experiences when navigating ethical issues. The interviews consistently reflected four key themes: academic integrity, ethical communication, peer collaboration in maintaining academic discourse, and the promotion of and adherence to established guidelines. Faculty also highlighted ethical dilemmas in distance learning, such as academic dishonesty during examinations and the challenges of monitoring student activities online. The study identified several key factors, including faculty awareness of academic ethics, the importance of colleague and institutional support, and the unique ethical challenges posed by distance learning. The findings suggest that faculty not only comprehend academic ethics but also actively promote these values, thereby enhancing studentsʼ understanding of their significance.

Academic ethics refer to the moral standards and behavioral codes that must be upheld by all members of the academic community. Despite their critical role in shaping intellectual integrity, violations such as plagiarism and dishonesty remain prevalent among students. These issues are often driven by academic pressure, limited ethical awareness, and weak enforcement of institutional regulations. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of students’ responsibility in upholding academic ethics as a foundation for building a culture of scientific integrity in higher education. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with selected university students actively engaged in academic and organizational activities. The data were analyzed thematically to identify key patterns related to ethical awareness, challenges, and practices. The findings reveal that while students generally acknowledge the importance of ethical behavior, there remains a significant gap between ethical understanding and its application. Factors such as insufficient training on academic norms, unclear institutional policies, and the lack of exemplary leadership contribute to ethical lapses. The study emphasizes the importance of clear academic codes of conduct, continuous ethical education, and role-model leadership. Institutions must also implement transparent and fair enforcement systems to foster an environment where ethical values are internalized and practiced. A sustainable academic culture rooted in integrity is essential for advancing knowledge and cultivating morally responsible graduates.

Medical students are expected to cultivate professionalism as a core competency, which is reflected in their perceptions of academic ethics. This study examined how students' perceptions of academic ethics, both for themselves and their peers, evolve during their time in medical school and whether these changes differ by sex. We surveyed 87 medical students enrolled in a South Korean medical school in the years 2020 and 2023. The survey was designed to measure medical students' perceptions of academic ethics and comprised questions regarding both self-perception and peer perception. Data analysis was performed using paired t-tests. Both male and female students reported continuous improvement in their academic ethics as they progressed through medical school. Female rated their academic ethics more highly than male and demonstrated a more significant change in scores over time. Additionally, female observed an increase in their peers' academic ethics, whereas men perceived a decline. Notably, upper-year students rated their peers' academic ethics more favorably than did lower-year students. This study reveals differences in the evolution of academic ethics perceptions between male and female students, highlighting the need for sex-specific academic ethics education in medical school curricula. Moreover, it demonstrates how medical students' perceptions of academic ethics evolve over time, emphasizing the importance of academic ethics education across school years. These findings offer practical insights for improving medical school curricula and underscore the potential of academic ethics education in fostering ethical awareness among future medical professionals.

Aim: To identify the academic ethical awareness among the undergraduate nursing students of Khyber Pukhtankhwa Pakistan. Methodology: The study was conducted in October – November 2022 in Nursing Institutes of Khyber Pukhtankhwa while using descriptive cross-sectional design through purposive sampling technique. The data was collected through valid and reliable questionnaire having chronbach of 0.95. Data was analyzed through Microsoft excel and SPSS 20 after ethical approved by institutional review board. Results: The ethical awareness mean score of male students were 2.4±0.91 higher than female students 2.01±0.76. Furthermore the mean score of 7th semester students were higher 2.7±0.91 than other semester students. The overall means score regarding ethical awareness among nursing students was 2.32±0.89. Conclusion: Study concludes that the level of awareness improves with advancement to next semesters and is significantly associated with gender, age and semester. Implications: The findings will help the nursing educators to assess the current ethical practices of undergraduate nursing students and to improve further the academic and clinical ethical practices among nursing students. Keywords: Undergraduate nursing students, academic ethics, ethical practices

General Background: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has transformed students' approaches to learning and task completion. Specific Background: One of the most prominent AI tools, ChatGPT, offers rapid assistance with academic work, yet raises concerns about over-reliance and ethical misuse. Knowledge Gap: Despite growing global discourse, there remains limited empirical research on AI usage in smaller, non-urban institutions in Indonesia. Aims: This study investigates how students at STKIP Muhammadiyah Pagaralam utilize ChatGPT to complete assignments, examining usage patterns, benefits, ethical awareness, and dependence. Results: Based on responses from 353 students, 95.8% reported using ChatGPT, primarily for essays and reference gathering. While 92.8% found it helpful for efficiency, 91.1% cross-verified its content, and 61.2% claimed continued task capability without it. Novelty: Unlike prior studies with conceptual or qualitative scopes, this research provides the first quantitative insight into ChatGPT's academic role in a Muhammadiyah institution. Implications: The findings highlight a balanced integration of AI, underscoring the need for institutional policies that encourage ethical use while fostering digital literacy and independent learning.Highlight : ChatGPT is widely used (95.8%) but students remain critical—91.1% verify its outputs with other sources. Most students benefit from faster task completion and improved understanding without over-relying on the tool. Ethical awareness is high—83.4% recognize plagiarism risks and support responsible AI use in education. Keywords : ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, Academic Tasks, Technology Dependence, Academic Ethics

Preservation and Incorporation of Valuable Endoscopic Innovations (PIVI) on the use of endoscopy simulators for training and assessing skill

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has had a major impact on education, making learning more interactive and efficient. ChatGPT, as an implementation of AI, allows students to get information quickly, but there are still challenges related to digital literacy and understanding academic ethics. Many students and educators have not fully mastered this technology, so its use is not optimal. This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach by utilizing a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) based questionnaire to explore the perceptions of FKIP UMRAH students regarding the use of ChatGPT. The research results show that ChatGPT is widely accepted as an effective tool in completing academic assignments and increasing learning efficiency. However, challenges such as a lack of understanding of academic ethics, the risk of plagiarism, and over-reliance on technology are still problems. Educational institutions can increase digital literacy through special training and implementing stricter regulations regarding the use of AI. These findings make an important contribution to the literature on the acceptance of AI in education and offer practical solutions for policy use of learning technologies such as ChatGPT. Future research is expected to expand the sample scope and explore the long-term impact of AI on students' critical thinking abilities.

Cardiothoracic surgery training in the United Kingdom

Main objective of this paper is to assess the information literacy needs of the fresh M.Ed. students at the AKU-IED and to measure the impact of the information literacy sessions over the students by using the pretest and posttest tool.Document the users’ reflections to improve the forthcoming information literacy sessions. Pretest questionnaire was sent to the M.Ed. students of AKU-IED to know the information literacy needs, and to know about their understanding about collection, OPAC and e-resources. As aresult needs identified through this questionnaire were addressed in the information literacy session. This hands-on information literacy session was complimented with the handouts and assignments were given to the students as well. After the information literacy session, posttest questionnaire was sent to the users. This posttest questionnaire was having some questions taken from the pretest with a purpose to measure the impact the session had made over the students. This measurement was carried out by comparing the responses collected in the pretest and posttest. Posttest questionnaire was also having the questions to know the users reflections about the weak part of the session, strongest part of the session and their opinion to improve the forthcoming sessions. Present results showed the weak areas of the students which include the concepts of call number, classification number, author mark, ways to access the library collection, use of OPAC, databases, full-text articles were needed to be covered in the IL session. Some areas needed less attention and time during the sessions because majority of the students were already familiar to them. These were concepts of on-campus access, type of searches through OPAC and the definition of OPAC. Posttest analysis showed us the impact the session has made.

Psychologists and Hurricane Katrina: Natural disaster response through training, public education, and research.

Worldwide pharmacy revolution: Advocating for pharmacy at home and abroad

Using the research ethics scale (Huang et al., 2021) and follow-up interviews, this study examined Chinese social sciences graduate students’ understanding of research ethics of empirical studies involving human subjects. The participants included 463 Chinese graduate students majoring in teacher education, English education, management, and economics. The quantitative findings suggested that these graduate students had a fairly good understanding of researchers’ ethical responsibilities and developed general human subjects’ ethical awareness; furthermore, there existed significant research experience and gender-by-research experience interaction effects on their understanding of researchers’ ethical responsibilities and human subjects’ ethical awareness, respectively. The qualitative results indicated that the participants had realized the importance of ethics reviews for social sciences research including human subjects; and they identified best ways to promote research ethics education for social sciences graduate students in Chinese higher education. Implications for Chinese university leaders, program developers, and research methods professors are discussed.