United looked on course for a point thanks to a brace from Martin Paterson, but their result hinged on conceding late free-kick after 83 minutes.
Tommy Miller fired the set-piece into the top left corner to seal all three points for the Tractor Boys, ensuring United's 10 game streak without a win continued.
The free-kick was awarded for an alleged handball by left-back Marcus Williams, something the Scunthorpe players disputed.
"My players didn't think it was a free-kick, but without seeing a replay I wouldn't like to comment," said Adkins.
"People would have expected us to get a good hiding here, but that wasn't the case.
"Not one team has turned us over this season, and that's testament to a group of guys who are totally committed to each other.
"We haven't won the game, and could therefore feel demoralised, but we'll take the positives.
"Ipswich have been on a great run at home and we knew it was going to be a big task.
"We tried to approach the game positively, without leaving ourselves open, and we showed great character and team spirit."
Ipswich boss Jim Magilton admitted his side were given a tough test by United.
"Credit where credit's due, Scunthorpe played with a lot of resilience and quality and scored two very good goals," he said.
"I'm sure their manager will be very proud of his side and feel slightly aggrieved that they didn't get anything from the game.
"Teams come here now and don't want to become another statistic. They come and work their socks off and we have got to get used to that.
"But we showed a lot of character. We were a bit gung-ho at times but overall I was absolutely delighted with three points."