Assessing Postgraduate Students’ Awareness of Digital Ethics: Insights into Privacy, Security, Responsibility, Equity and Intellectual Property

Abstract

What level of ethical responsibilities do postgraduate students demonstrate in cyberspace as they lead the digital landscape of the future? This study investigates their awareness of digital ethics across five critical dimensions: Privacy, Security, Responsibility, Equity, and Intellectual Property. The study aimed at a crucial objective: to determine the extent to which future leaders grasp the moral standards of their digital conduct and to identify areas of ethical ignorance. This research aligns with technological educational trends because contemporary students require urgent exposure to the subject matter. A survey comprising 30 Likert-scale items was completed by 100 postgraduate students from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh in March 2025 as part of a quantitative research study. The survey included SA and SD scales, enabling researchers to develop an ethical map based on respondents’ strong and weak viewpoints. The results are a revelation. Personal responsibility extends beyond digital devices, according to all students in the study who agreed with this statement, and respect remains an essential ethical duty. Most students (75 to 90%) demonstrated an understanding of personal data protection and sharing boundaries, yet technical complexity sometimes blurred their perception. The data on security measures were stable between 60% and 90%, but participants identified only 60% of fake websites, indicating a need for prompt action. The results for the distribution of equity principles among students were inconsistent (50–90%), indicating that they understood unequal access issues but hesitated to assess platform fairness, suggesting that equity discourse remained hidden. The Intellectual Property survey sample reported explicit agreement on piracy enforcement of 60–100%, although they expressed confusion about copyright regulations. Students bear ethical principles in their character even when their practical digital ethical competencies remain uncertain. The ability to lead with integrity through responsible and private conduct indicates leadership potential, although Security and Equity need to improve their technical proficiency and advocacy strategies. The study aimed to determine the level of awareness of digital ethics among postgraduate students in five dimensions: Privacy, Security, Responsibility, Equity, and Intellectual Property. A total of 100 postgraduate students were the respondents in a structured Likert-scale questionnaire, selected using a descriptive survey approach. The results showed that the Responsibility and Privacy dimensions had high awareness, whereas Security, Equity, and Intellectual Property had moderate awareness, using an uneven distribution. The outcome shows certain aspects in which the postgraduate students are strong ethically, as well as the areas that require their academic intervention.