Unethical Behavior among Graduate Students

Unethical Behavior and lack of adherence to scientific ethics, is a serious problem in higher education. In this line, the aim of the present study, is explanation of the lack of scientific integrity and its associated factors among graduate students of Isfahan University.
This study is an applied-correlation research. Population of the study includes all Graduate students of Isfahan University. Among all, 290 subjects were selected as a sample group. Data were gathered by self- report questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using SPSS and Amos software.
More than 70 percent of students said they did not commit any of scientific misconduct raised in this study and the most frequent cases of academic dishonesty are mild rather than severe cases. Further analysis also shows that among the independent variables, the attitude towards teachers to deterrence and negative attitude to fraud have a direct effect on academic dishonesty.
The lack of professor's serious commitment to scientific integrity on the one hand and the relatively positive attitude of students to commit academic dishonesty are among important factors underlie the misconducts of students. Along with other preventive measures, including laws and policy making, education and raising awareness of scientific actors have high priority.