A Vignette-based Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Impact of Research Climate on Research Practices of Doctoral Students

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study aims to evaluate the impact of research climate on PhD students' research practice (i.e., an environment where their peer (i.e., a post-doc researcher) had detrimental practice in a similar situation)

Detailed Description
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PhD students are the next generation of researchers and will present the field in the future. However, several environmental factors might influence their research practice. In this study, the investigators will evaluate the impact of research climate on PhD students' research practice (exposure to an environment where their peers commit a detrimental practice). Objective: To evaluate the impact of research climate on PhD students' research practice Design: A randomized controlled trial Intervention: Participants will be shown two case vignettes describing dilemma situations in research reported with and without research climate factor. Participants: The participants will be PhD students in all biomedical disciplines. Sample size will be 300 participants Primary outcome: In each vignette, participants will have to indicate which solution they prefer on a semantic differential scale, rated from - 5 to -1 (preference for solution A) and from 1 to 5 (preference for solution B). Participants will be forced to make a choice between the 2 solutions. The primary outcome will be the mean preference score. This study is approved by ethics review regulations by INSERM (CEEI-IRB): IRB00003888

Official Title
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A Vignette-based Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Impact of Research Climate on Research Practices of Doctoral Students Facing Dilemma Situations

Conditions
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The Study Focus on no Specific Condition

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Vignette with emphasis on research climate


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: PhD students in biomedical disciplines Exclusion Criteria: NA

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Vignette with research climate<br>Participants in this arm will receive vignettes describing a dilemma situation in research (e.g adding honorary author) with additional sentence describing research climate (i.e. an environment where their peer had detrimental practice in a similar situation) | Other: Vignette with emphasis on research climate<br>* A vignette describing a dilemma situation for a researcher (e.g. adding an honorary author) with or without a research environment factor (i.e. an environment where other researchers commit detrimental research practice)<br>|
| Active Comparator: Vignette without research climate<br>Participants in this arm will receive vignettes describing a dilemma situation in research without the additional sentence describing research climate | Other: Vignette with emphasis on research climate<br>* A vignette describing a dilemma situation for a researcher (e.g. adding an honorary author) with or without a research environment factor (i.e. an environment where other researchers commit detrimental research practice)<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| mean preference score | In each vignette, participants will have to indicate which solution they prefer on a semantic differential scale, rated from - 5 to -1 (preference for solution A) and from 1 to 5 (preference for solution B). | Immediate assessment | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| proportion of students who chose the detrimental research practice (DRP) | Proportion of students rated from -5 to -1 for the DRP. | Immediate assessment |