Technical University Students' Media Literacy When They Choose Scientific Journals for Reading and Publishing

The aim of the study was to identify students' attitudes to scientific journals as a source of scientific information and the platform for publishing their own scientific results. The study was conducted in National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (Kyiv, Ukraine). Quantitative analysis of 7 closed ended responses, and qualitative analysis of 20 open ended responses were done. The study population included students (n = 720) of the fourth and fifth courses. The survey questionnaire captured the attitudes of students about scientific journals and their role in professional development, found out what percentage of students reads scientific journals, revealed whether the students understand information from them, as well as their ability to identify predatory journals thanks to media literacy. Predatory journals use to disseminate falsified, plagiarized, manipulative information, conspiracy theories, deviating from the publishing standards of editing and reviewing. Predatory publishing threats science, scientific communication, and the reputation of authors. We evaluated the level of critical thinking of students when choosing a source to publish scientific results, found out the reasons why students use or do not use scientific journals for their educational purposes, revealed how scientific journal can be used for education, and collected opinions about barriers that may prevent students from publishing scientific articles.