Vol. 9, Issue 4, Part D (2023)

Background: Publication ethics is the cornerstone of academic and scientific integrity, ensuring the trust and credibility of scholarly research, particularly in the academic and dental communities. Ethical research and transparent publications are the foundation for dental progress. The present study was designed to assess the knowledge and awareness of ethical publication among emerging and experienced researchers.

Method: A self-structured questionnaire comprising seven sections and 46 questions was constructed and distributed online to students and faculty at private dental colleges in Tamil Nadu. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics.

Result: The outcomes reveal the respondents' experiences with publications and level of ethical consciousness. The majority of research participants were well informed about authorship concerns in publications; of 172, 65 (37.8%) were aware about the definition of plagiarism. Majority of the participants, 33 (19.2%) expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of not considering plagiarism in papers with great scientific value; 39 (22.7%) research participants recognised that publishing multiple times was unethical. Out of the total participants, 79 (46.0%) expressed agreement with the article draft's disclosure of conflicts of interest. Merely 29 individuals, (16.9%), believed that manipulating or creating fake data to submit a study was not acceptable.

Conclusion: This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on publication ethics awareness and practice within the dental community, offering insights to further strengthen ethical standards in dental research and publication.