Improving Undergraduate Attitudes Towards Responsible Conduct of Research Through an Interactive Storytelling Game

Abstract

Responsible conduct of research (RCR) is an essential skill for all researchers to develop, but training scientists to behave ethically is complex because it requires addressing both cognitive (i.e., conceptual knowledge and moral reasoning skills) and socio-affective (i.e., attitudes) learning outcomes. Currently, both classroom- and web-based forms of RCR training struggle to address these distinct types of learning outcomes simultaneously. In this paper, we present a study providing initial evidence that playing a single brief session of Academical, a choice-based interactive narrative game, can significantly improve players’ attitudes about RCR. We further demonstrate the relationship between engagement with the game and resulting attitudes. Combined with our previous work showing Academical’s advantages over traditional RCR training for teaching cognitive learning outcomes, this study’s results highlight that utilizing a choice-based interactive story game is a uniquely effective way to holistically address RCR learning outcomes that drive ethical research behavior.