During the last year we had observed different types of misconduct in the submitted manuscripts into the editorial office. Those are included attempted theft of data, presence of ghost authors, gift authorship, dual submissions, salami publications, falsification and some other types of fraud. Our analysis in the editorial office led us to conclude that research fraud is an important issue and should be discussed clearly. The emphasis on competition and pressure to produce published materials, while internal intention to discover the scientific truth may foster a conflict between personal career goals and human intellectual motivation; finally may induce research misconduct. Having accurate and good knowledge in this field is mandatory for researchers especially the younger ones. In the first part of this article we will discuss a short but important part of the history of this problem and in the second part definition and editorial response will be reviewed.

Background: The increase in research misconduct among Iranian researchers has become challenging in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the researcher’s experiences about the reasons of research misconduct and their proposed strategies to prevent them.Method: This was a relational content analysis study using purposeful sampling. In this study, 10 non-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with PhD students. Data were analyzed using open code software.Result: We extracted three main categories from the data including research misconduct situations, reasons and strategies to control them. The quantity based evaluation system, not being aware of the rules, and lack of clear rules for the journals were important reasons for the research misconduct. Establishing quality based evaluation systems, improving morals and rule awareness, establishing a system to identify violations and setting clear rules for the journals were the proposed strategies to control research misconduct.Conclusion: Research misconduct in Iran has become a major concern of researchers and necessary actions should be taken.

Misconducting research tarnishes the reputation and credibility of research institutions. This study examines the attitudes and perceptions in a group of accounting researchers about misconduct research and its determinants or related factors in the Iranian accounting research environment. To collect the data needed for the study, we prepared an adapted scientific misconduct questionnaire, and then, asked for answers from the accounting researches. First, a descriptive analysis of the answers was performed, using data frequencies of the answers. Then, Likert scale responses were transformed into dichotomous answers. At the end, one sample sign test was performed to analyse the research questions.The results showed that the Iranian group of accounting researchers perceive that scientific misconduct is commonplace in their accounting research environment, and that they are concerned about the negative effects of scientific misconduct on the credibility of scientific research. It is recommended that researchers should be empowered with the knowledge and virtues required for self-regulation that advance research integrity. Also, research institutes should take steps towards regulating the current state and fostering responsibility for research ethics to discourage misconduct.

Background: Cheating rate is rising and engages newer methods. This study performed to estimate the rate of re-search misconduct in the thesis of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in 2015. Methods: In this cross sectional study, all undergraduate and postgraduate medical students graduated during the study period in 2015, from the School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran were asked to fill a small checklist anonymously. It consisted of two demographic questions and two other ones for estima-tion of research misconduct. All three major types of research misconduct were explained in the checklist. We used the Randomized Response Technique for sensitive question in this survey. We asked the respondent to choose one question randomly and answer to it. The probability of selection of each question was equal. Results: There were 149 filled questionnaires out of which 44 (31%) were graduated for General Practitioner, 63 (44%) for Residency, 31(21%) for Master Degree and 6 (4%) for Ph. D. Fifty-two percent (75) were male. More than half of participants were graduated between 2011 and 2012. The majority of participants were native (104, 81%). Un-dergraduate students had an estimation of 19% research misconduct in performing the thesis while this was 26% of postgraduate students. Males were nearly two times comparing to females in this issue (30% vs. 16%). Conclusion: This high estimation must be considered in future policy making about observing strictly on researches.

Background & Objective: The number of research misconduct cases seems to be increasing so the need for developing a disciplinary charter of research misconduct is felt more than ever. This study was aimed to propose and develop a charter to determine types of research misconduct and dealing with them.Methods: In this qualitative study, three consensus rounds were conducted. Each round consisted of five to six qualified experts with related specialties. They included one member of academic staff with sufficient experience in research management, two experts in professional ethics, and two experts in legal affairs. Each session lasted for 1.5 to 2 hours. Based on an extensive literature review and personal experiences, the different types of research misconduct were extracted in the first two sessions and in the third round, agreement on classification of research misconduct was made.Results: In general, 49 types of research misconduct were explored and defined including 17 mild, 22 moderate and 10 severe ones. Based on the severity of each type, an appropriate penalty like "verbal warnings and summons" to "early retirement with reduced payment base" was determined. Finally the expert panel made some comments.Conclusion: The results of this study revealed different types of research misconduct and dealing with them. Such an understanding can lead to a better design of national charters compatible with Iranian culture and it can also be as a base for preventive interventions.