Trust in Research: Trust and its Role in Citing Language Studies in Iran

Given the essential role of research in our country and considering the Perspective Document of 1404 and its increasing emphasis on science-based knowledge production, it seems crucial to address the issue of research and the probable problems and obstacles in the way of valuable and high quality studies. One way to assess the state of research in a country and find and address the intervening obstacles and problems is investigating its cultural context. In reality, different cultures exist in one country. One type of culture is that of trust and distrust. Trust can be considered as an individual perception and at the group level, as a culture. It has been introduced as a dimension of social capital and a preservative agent among the values that should be created, enhanced and published in every social groups of the society. However, numerous studies have shown that social trust is not of a desirable condition in many societies, including Iran. The question here is how the cultural context of a society affects its research procedures; a momentous subject which has taken notice of fewer researchers in the field of research in Iran. Thus, in this study, we intend to investigate trust, as a cultural element, and its probable impact on citation in the field of foreign languages.
Theoretical Framework: Trust is a psychological state, shown in response to other's behavior, on the basis of expectations that are created based on the behavior of others. As Fukuyama (1995) believes, in order to progress and develop, we need to raise the awareness of the existence of trust (or distrust). According to Origgi (2004),trust in the integrity of the speaker is an important component of the process of mutual understanding. In fact, in recent years, the acknowledgment of "trust" as reflecting sundry roles, functions, and levels of analysis is considered as a turning point for theory and research on this issue.
In this study, a group of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad professors (4 females and 6 males) ranging from 30 to 65 years of age, majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), English Language and Literature, English Translation, and French Language and Literature, along with a group of PhD students in TEFL (8 females and 3 males) in the age range of 28 to 38 were recruited based on purposive sampling. With 21 participants, the data reached saturation and no new results were extracted. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were utilized for data collection.
Content analysis of the interviews indicated the influential role of trust in selecting and citing articles. Our sample professors emphasized that they cite articles on the basis of trusting their authors. A number of professors believed that if the articles have the necessary quality, they will place their trust in their authors and cite them. Additionally, a number of students said that they put their trust in the authors who specifically carry out research in a particular field of study. Moreover, the participants often preferred to take advantage of articles by foreign authors.Theirreasons were: Iranian author's disrespecting the principles of writing, their lack of authority, plagiarism, inaccuracy of data collection, and the low scientific level of the articles. Most of the professors stated the reasons of their distrust in nationalarticles as lack of supervision over the procedure of article writing, the quantitativeview of our educational system, and the lack of dialogue between colleagues. Consequently, most of the professors would not trust their student's research projects, if they didnt know them well. Fifty percent of the professors trusted their own works and cited them. However, the other 50 percent, in spite of trusting their own works, didnt use self-citation in order to observe the research ethics. Furthermore, a consensus of opinion was reached by both groups in that there have been few citations to the Iranian articles by foreign researchers. Finally, the participants attributed the low trust in national scientific-research productions to the wrong policy of our educational system and as a result, the Iranian's attention to the quantity rather than the quality of the articles.
According to the results of this study, it is concluded that the root of distrust in the studies conducted by the Iranians in Iran, especially in the field of foreign languages, can be sought in two basic issues:1- The country's educational system
2- The macro policy and the article-oriented educational and research system of the country in recent years.
With regards to the first issue, most of the participants in this study contended that there is not sufficient and specialized training to educate capable researchers in national as well as international arenas. The necessity of enhancing skills such as critical thinking, initiation, and creativity is clearly felt, not only in the graduate levels but also in elementary and secondary levels. Furthermore, with regards to the second issue and according to the participants of the present study, the macro policy and the article-oriented educational and research system of the country in recent years is considered as a big blow for research and scientific productions in our country, deserving of a fundamental note and a revision of the existing laws and policies in this regard.