Canary in the Mine: An LLM Augmented Survey of Disciplinary Complaints to the Ordre des ing\'enieurs du Qu\'ebec (OIQ)

TL;DR

This paper employs large language models to analyze disciplinary incidents in Quebec's engineering community, revealing patterns and root causes to inform improvements in engineering education and professional ethics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel LLM-based thematic analysis approach to study disciplinary incidents, providing empirical insights into causes and trends in engineering misconduct.

Findings

Identified common disciplinary incident themes

Analyzed root causes of violations

Provided recommendations for education and policy improvements

Abstract

This study uses pre-trained LLMs to conduct thematic analysis to investigate disciplinary incidents involving engineers in Quebec, shedding light on critical gaps in engineering education. Through a comprehensive review of the disciplinary register of the Ordre des ing\'enieurs du Qu\'ebec (OIQ)'s disciplinary register for 2010 to 2024, researchers from engineering education and human resources management in technological development laboratories conducted a thematic analysis of reported incidents to identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement. The analysis aims to uncover the most common types of disciplinary incidents, underlying causes, and implications for the field in how engineering education addresses (or fails to address) these issues. Our findings identify recurring themes, analyze root causes, and offer recommendations for engineering educators and students to mitigate similar incidents. This research has implications for informing curriculum development, professional development, and performance evaluation, ultimately fostering a culture of professionalism and ethical responsibility in engineering. By providing empirical evidence of disciplinary incidents and their causes, this study contributes to evidence-based practices for engineering education and professional development, enhancing the engineering education community's understanding of professionalism and ethics.