Explaining Factors Affecting Students' Research Ethics and Comparing their Contribution in Various Educational Subgroups in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

The encouragement and development of research ethics in university graduates is of great importance in the higher education systems of leading countries and upstream documents of Iran's universities. The purpose of the research was to identify the factors affecting the observance of research ethics among students of different educational groups and determine the importance and contribution of these factors.

The study was a correlational one and the statistical population included all graduate students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the academic year of 2014-2015. Sample size was determined by Cochran's formula and quota sampling method and amounted to 400 persons. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire designed and evaluated to determine the ethics of research and the factors affecting it. To answer the research questions, multiple regression and variance analysis tests were used.

The results showed that only two components of time constraints and environmental pressures have the ability to predict the ethics of research. The results of the tests showed that there is a significant difference between the research groups in obeying the ethics of research. The average amount of research ethics in the Animal Sciences-Agricultural Department was higher than other groups, Then, the research ethics ranked second in the basic sciences and humanities departments, and third in the engineering department.

Given the impact of research on the fate of society, the bias of ethics in research can be the cause of the formation of immoral behaviors; therefore, it is better to understand other factors in order to improve the observance of research ethics in universities.