Psychological Research in Iran: Review the Structure of Scientific Research Articles

Several studies indicate that the structure of scientific articles in Phycology, particularly in methodology, have not met the required scientific standards. To achieve standardization, it is required to analyze the structure and configuration of articles as well as the components such as research design, characteristics of sample groups, instruments, and statistical methods. The present study aims to analyze scientific articles in different branches of psychology, in order to identify condition of the research papers based on: authors’ interest, diversity, gaps, inconsistencies, and deficiencies in methodology. One thousand one hundred twenty-six original articles from scientific research journals approved by Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology during the 2007 - 2010 period were reviewed. Nine postgraduate students extracted the data and the four authors re-examined them. This study has a descriptive design, and data is displayed in frequency tables. The results indicate that, the use of some research designs, sample groups, instruments, and statistical methods were very low or non-existent; and in contrast, some other research design, instruments, and methods were widely applied in the studies. The findings were compared to the frame work suggested by known scientist associations, and suggestions for improving the structure and writing style of methodologies are put forth.