  Many institutions are changing the focus of their introductory physics labs
from verifying physics content towards teaching students about the skills and
nature of science. As instruction shifts, so too will the ways students
approach and behave in the labs. In this study, we evaluated students' lab
notes from an early activity in an experimentation-focused lab course. We found
that about 30% of student groups (out of 107 groups at three institutions)
recorded questionable research practices in their lab notes, such as subjective
interpretations of results or manipulating equipment and data. The large
majority of these practices were associated with confirmatory goals, which we
suspect stem from students' prior exposure to verification labs. We propose
ways for experimentation-focused labs to better engage students in the
responsible conduct of research and authentic scientific practice.
