Research Misconduct Policies on Iranian and Non-Iranian University Portals

Research misconduct is increasing worldwide in both type and prevalence, creating significant issues for universities and research institutions and threatening the trustworthiness of research findings. To curb such malpractices, countries have adopted various policies tailored to their educational, social, and institutional contexts. The present study examines the research misconduct policies of Iran and non-Iranian countries, as reflected on the websites of prominent universities in these countries. The research question was whether policies for addressing research misconduct are available on these university portals and what similarities and differences exist among these policies. The research was conducted in two phases: one in English and the other in Persian. During this period, the portals of 24 selected universities, both within and outside Iran, were reviewed. Content analysis of the textual data revealed that the definitions and types of research misconduct reflected on the portals of Iranian universities closely followed national policies and were highly consistent with those of universities abroad, all extending beyond fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. The findings also showed that the predominant approach in the policies announced by Iranian universities was punitive. Moreover, there were significant differences compared to the policies on the websites of non-Iranian universities, including attention to training and prevention; procedures for investigating and responding to allegations of research misconduct; promoting transparency through plagiarism tariffs, as well as the presence of research misconduct-cognizant committees and/or experts at departmental and/or faculty level. Recommendations were made for adopting educational and preventive approaches to research misconduct and promoting ethical research behaviors in universities and research organizations.