Students’ Research Ethics Competences and the University as a Learning Environment

Abstract

The study focuses on the ethical sensitivity of university students in light of their research ethics skills and the university as a learning environment. Eighty-seven students in the behavioural sciences (psychology and educational science) responded to a questionnaire that included three vignettes and measures of empathy, socialisation, and experiences of ethical aspects of the learning climate. The vignettes were designed to measure sensitivity to ethical issues in research. The relationship between socialisation into the practices of the profession and the institution and the ability to recognise ethical issues in research suggests that students who have already ‘worked out’ the norms and values for themselves have committed to these ethics and are willing to apply them in practice.