Report on academic integrity awareness and Open Science recognition levels in Ukraine (2021-2023)

This report presents the results from three consecutive surveys on Open Science (OS) and academic integrity attitudes and behaviors spanning the years 2021 to 2023. The survey data includes a total of 24,705 total responses from members of the student body and academic community of Ukrainian higher education institutions. OS describes a movement aiming to make science more open, transparent, accessible, and collaborative. Academic integrity refers to principles of responsible behaviors in relation to all academic practice, including the conduct of research, as well as student behavior in the context of education. In Ukraine, great efforts have been made to promote both OS and academic integrity. This survey was conducted in the course of the OPTIMA project (Erasmus+, 618940-EPP-1-2020-1-UA-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), which specifically aims to improve higher education and academic integrity, e.g., by raising OS awareness and establishing more OS practices. Despite difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic and war, encouraging progress has been made in Ukraine, such as approving the National Open Science Plan in 2022. Still, there have so far been no large-scale systematic investigations of awareness, attitudes, and behaviors until this study. This survey aims to fill this gap and provide benchmarks for future monitoring. Original data and materials are available from Berezko et al. (2021; 2022, 2023). Translated data and analysis code are available from Kormann et al. (2024). The OPTIMA consortium considers this report a preprint of the upcoming publication of this material in a peer reviewed Open Access publishing venue. This will be done after collecting feedback from stakeholders. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.