Ethical, Legal and Social Competency of Using Information among Science Post-Graduate Students in Universities of Karnataka State, India: A Study

Abstract

The present study examined the ethical, legal, and social competency of using information among Science post-graduate students studying in the final year of  selected twelve universities in Karnataka State, India — Akkamahadevi Women's University, Bangalore University, Central University of Karnataka, Davanagere University, Gulbarga University, Karnataka University, Kuvempu University, Mangalore University, Mysore University, Rani Chennamma University, Tumkur University, and Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University. A survey questionnaire, designed using the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education — particularly Standard Five, which addresses the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of information use — was distributed to 1,320 students, yielding 1,208 valid responses (91.5% response rate), comprising 544 male students (45.0%) and 664 female students (55.0%). Findings reveal significant gaps in students' competency: only 49.0% correctly identified the meaning of plagiarism; fewer than half could accurately recognize the legal concepts of intellectual property (45.4%) and fair use (43.4%); and less than 60% correctly matched real-world scenarios to their corresponding legal categories. In contrast, students demonstrated comparatively stronger awareness that library-purchased databases are licensed for restricted use (93.0%), that not all web information is free (88.0%), and of email netiquette (67.3%). The study proposes targeted interventions to strengthen library-led information literacy programs on plagiarism, copyright, intellectual property, and fair use — competencies essential for ethical engagement with information in academia and beyond.

Keywords: Information literacy; ethical use of information; legal issues; social issues; plagiarism; ACRL Standard Five; postgraduate students; Karnataka

DOI: 10.7176/IKM/16-3-04

Publication date: October 30^th 2026