Comparative study of unethical behaviour in computer use among institute of education and Kulliyah of Information Technology students at International Islamic University Malaysia

Abstract

The evolution of Internet and computer technology has changed the way we learn and communicate. A wealth of information is available online ranging from e-book, journals and articles which can easily be accessed and downloaded by students. However, there have been issues related to the ethical use of Internet resources and computer use among students in schools or universities. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the level of unethical behaviour of computer use among students. The samples involved 130 students from Kulliyah of ICT (KICT) and 227 students from Institute of Education (INSTED). The sampling procedure was based on purposive sampling where the students were selected based on the course taken related to issues of Internet resources. The present study utilized quantitative research method to answer four research questions. The instrument was an adapted questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale based on related literatures. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15 displaying descriptive and inferential statistical tools (Independent t-test and correlational analysis). In general, the findings have highlighted the empirical evidence of ethical behavior among students when they use the computers. Only less than 35% responded to violate intellectual property, privacy and misuse of University Resources indicating honesty among the students. Further investigation on each component of unethical use has shown a different scenario. The result indicated a significant difference among gender where males were more inclined towards unethical behaviour than females. When investigated further on the components of unethical behaviour in terms of intellectual property and misuse of University resources, it was found that KICT students have shown higher percentage of violation when compared to INSTED. In terms of privacy issues, INSTED students have shown higher percentage of violation as compared to KICT. Findings of this study provide valuable understanding in the reactions of students from both kulliyahs to unethical use of computer. Despite the knowledge and awareness inculcated, the unethical conduct still persists among the students. This could be due to the factors related to the environment and individuals which further research needs to be carried out. Thus, recommendations were made for the University to enforce the copyright issues with full commitment from all the Kulliyahs.