International Journal of Information Science and Management (IJISM)

Abstract  Research misconduct is increasing worldwide in both type and prevalence, creating significant issues for universities and research institutions and threatening the trustworthiness of research findings. To curb such malpractices, countries have adopted various policies tailored to their educational, social, and institutional contexts. The present study examines the research misconduct policies of Iran and non-Iranian countries, as reflected on the websites of prominent universities in these countries. The research question was whether policies for addressing research misconduct are available on these university portals and what similarities and differences exist among these policies. The research was conducted in two phases: one in English and the other in Persian. During this period, the portals of 24 selected universities, both within and outside Iran, were reviewed. Content analysis of the textual data revealed that the definitions and types of research misconduct reflected on the portals of Iranian universities closely followed national policies and were highly consistent with those of universities abroad, all extending beyond fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. The findings also showed that the predominant approach in the policies announced by Iranian universities was punitive. Moreover, there were significant differences compared to the policies on the websites of non-Iranian universities, including attention to training and prevention; procedures for investigating and responding to allegations of research misconduct; promoting transparency through plagiarism tariffs, as well as the presence of research misconduct-cognizant committees and/or experts at departmental and/or faculty level. Recommendations were made for adopting educational and preventive approaches to research misconduct and promoting ethical research behaviors in universities and research organizations.
 
 

Abstract This study aims to uncover and characterize research related to India conducted by international scholars, utilizing the Scopus database. It focuses on annual trends, leading authors, institutions, and countries, as well as preferred journals and highly cited articles. The analysis was performed using MS-Excel and the Bibliometrix R Package, incorporating science mapping alongside publication analysis. The findings indicate that the earliest studies on India date back to 1836, with two-thirds of the studies published between 2005 and 2023. The University of California has produced the highest number of research articles, while the United States remains the leader in global scientific output. The top two funding agencies for research on India are the National Science Foundation of the United States and the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom. Although authors from the United States dominate the field, a Brazilian author ranks at the top. Seventeen journals account for 16% of the total articles, with most of the leading journals originating from the United Kingdom. The top three journals include South Asia: Journal of South Asia Studies, World Development, and Modern Asian Studies. Researchers from other countries have focused on contemporary issues in their studies of India, including gender, development, South Asia, migration, education, and caste. This research may assist scholars in identifying relevant topics and trends in the social science literature concerning India and enable comparisons of research patterns in culturally similar nations.
 
 

Abstract This retrospective study aims to bibliometrically analyze Iranian publications in high-impact medical journals, considering the vital role of these journals in guiding scientific research. Articles by Iranian researchers in the top 10 medical specialty journals across 41 categories, published between 2013 and 2022, were extracted based on the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) in 2023. The publications of the top 5 Middle Eastern countries were also examined. A total of 3,737 articles were published by 35,650 authors (9.5 authors per paper). Teams wrote half of the articles of 3-6 members. The average number of citations per article was 37.43, and 58% of the articles had funding. Articles with funding received more citations than those without funding, and articles involving international collaboration received more citations than those involving national cooperation. Iran had the highest annual growth rate of publications among the top 5 Middle Eastern countries. Iranian authors were present in articles with international collaboration as first, corresponding, and last authors in 55.13%, 44.14%, and 32.15% of articles, respectively. Iranian researchers collaborated with 162 countries, with the USA (almost a quarter), England, and Canada as the main partners. China had the highest annual growth rate (26.7%) among major partners. Most publications were in nutrition and diet, tropical medicine, endocrinology, and metabolism. This study provides a comprehensive map for Iranian policymakers and researchers, as well as for policymakers in Middle Eastern countries, to inform the development of health research. It highlights the importance of international collaboration and funding.
 
 

Abstract The economic impact of research papers reveals the diffusion of information and its applicability to other technical fields. This research aims to predict the number of academic paper citations in patents. Papers gathered as a dataset for the study are the outputs of Iran's biotechnology field, indexed in the Scopus database from 2003 to 2024. To conduct the research, 15 indicators have been extracted for these articles in five categories: Journal, Altmetrics, Impact, Open Access, and Collaboration. We performed data processing, exploratory data analysis (EDA), machine learning modeling, and predictions using Python and libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, Seaborn, and Scikit-Learn. The findings indicated that strong positive correlations are observed between the "Cite Score" and "SJR" indices, reflecting their related nature in evaluating journal impact. The "impact" category shows the strongest positive correlation with "patent information." The "journal" and "Altmetrics" categories show significant correlations, albeit to a lesser extent, indicating their complementary role in predicting economic impacts. Journal category indices, including SNIP, CiteScore, CiteScore percentile, SJR, and SJR percentile, exhibit a range of correlations with Patent citations. Altmetrics indices show a positive correlation with patent citations, which means that articles with higher visibility and engagement have a more significant impact on the patent literature. The results suggest that while machine learning is a powerful tool for predicting economic impact, further model refinement, feature selection, and more advanced techniques are necessary to achieve more accurate predictions. Considering the large gap between scientific papers and applied research in Iran's biotechnology field, is essential for managers and policymakers to identify and remove obstacles to the commercialization of scientific advancements.
 
 
 

Abstract  
Systematic review and meta-analysis articles are crucial in evidence-based medicine. The present study aims to map the thematic areas of systematic review and meta-analysis articles in the field of medical sciences of Iran, indexed in Scopus, based on NLM classification. This applied-descriptive research employed qualitative content analysis, which involved indexing and classification. The study focused on 2,237 systematic review and meta-analysis articles in the medical sciences of Iran, all published in Scopus in 2021. Data analysis was conducted using Excel software and descriptive statistical methods. The QU category, including Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Genetics, has the most articles with 527. Coming in second is the QV category (Pharmacology) with 493 articles, followed by the WC category (Communicable Diseases) with 390 articles. Additionally, the QU category boasts the most significant number of publication sources, with 318 journals. The QV category comes in second with 284 journals, while WC ranks third with 263 journals. The results show that most systematic review and meta-analysis articles and their sources fall under the QU category. More investigations are needed to understand the growth trend of articles in these areas compared to others.
 
 

Abstract  
The purpose of this study is to investigate the scientific impact of Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age (750-1258 AD) through citation analysis of documents indexed in the Web of Science. For this purpose, after reviewing the related reference sources, 150 Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age were selected for the study. To collect citation data for each scholar in the study population, the Cited Reference search option in WoS was used. Of the 150 Muslim scholars, 32 scholars did not receive any citations on the WoS. According to the research findings, Ibn Sina, with 3587 citations, was the most cited scholar among the Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age. His book, entitled "Kitab al-shifa" (known as "Book of Healing"), with 1,599 citations, was the most cited work among the works of Islamic Golden Age Muslim scholars. Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and Al-Farabi were other highly cited scholars of the Islamic Golden Age on the WoS. Subject analysis of citing documents to the works of scholars of the Islamic Golden Age showed that the top 10 subject areas include religion, Asian studies, philosophy, history, humanities (multidisciplinary), medieval and Renaissance studies, history and philosophy of science, Archaeology, Pharmacology and Pharmacy, And Integrative and Complementary Medicine.Furthermore, the USA, the Islamic Republic of Iran, England, Turkey, France, Malaysia, Israel, Germany, Canada, and Spain are the top 10 countries citing the works of Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age, respectively. Finally, English, French, Turkish, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Malay, Russian, and Dutch were the top languages, citing the works of Islamic Golden Age Muslim scholars. The results showed that Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age have had a broad and significant impact on the indexed documents of the WoS across various subjects. This research provides a core bibliography of the works of Muslim scholars of the Islamic Golden Age.
 
 

Abstract  
This research aims to identify the effective factors in the applicability of semantic relations in medical sciences university libraries and to present the resulting patterns. Its approach is qualitative, grounded theory-based, and grounded in the nature and purpose of this research. To collect data, documentary methods and interviews were conducted with 15 librarians and information specialists working in the libraries of medical sciences universities in the country, who were selected as samples using a purposive non-probability approach. The data were analyzed in three steps: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, followed by the interpretation of interview statements and the development of a paradigm model. The validity was measured using the responsive method, and two coding types were used to estimate reliability. The analysis of findings showed that applicability  of semantic relations in information retrieval has 6 main categories, 23 sub-categories, and 88 concepts that is presented as a paradigm model including causal factors (semantic search, semantic retrieval, semantic ambiguity, cross-linguistic retrieval, rooting ability, conceptual relations between words), contextual factors (user's ability to use semantic relations in information retrieval, user's information needs, applicability  of semantic relations, and the user's need for new systems in information retrieval), intervening (the presence of different semantic tools during information retrieval, the presence of complex semantic relations between words, the lack of understanding of natural language by search engines and the presence of ambiguity in the meaning of words), axial (the applicability  of semantic relations in information retrieval, the quality processes of the applicability  of semantic relations in information retrieval), and strategic (system strategy, security strategy and accountability strategy). Finally, the presented pattern validity was confirmed by authorities. The results show that the applicability of semantic relations in information retrieval in the libraries of medical sciences universities is primarily driven by the advantages and benefits inherent in this technological approach. Additionally, the applicability of semantic relations in information retrieval can be measured and managed within the studied population based on the obtained dimensions, main categories, and subcategories.
 
 

Abstract  
The vast number of online text documents and Semantic Web trends has increased researchers’ interest in semantic multi-label extraction. Research on the semantic extraction of multiple labels in Western and Eastern European languages is already well established. The challenge of machine reading and web-based knowledge extraction requires a scalable system to extract diverse information from large and heterogeneous collections. Hence, this study developed the multi-semantic fuzzy weight labeling system using natural language processing and supervised deep learning techniques. A long short-term memory (LSTM) was used for the extraction of labels, and the LSTM2 introduced by Yan, Wang, Gao, Zhang, Yang & Yin (2018) was used for the extraction of the label weights. To assess the degree of belonging of each document to each label, the resulting weights were modified according to their appearance in the document’s subject or in the Meta section of the web page, and the weights were normalized and fuzzified. Finally, the C-means fuzzy clustering algorithm was applied to the documents to assign each data point a degree of membership in relevant clusters. According to the results, the model's accuracy was 59.8%, indicating that the extraction of weighted key phrases and the semantic labeling of the text could be improved through supervised methods.
 
 

Abstract  This study explores the role of librarians in managing indigenous knowledge through a comprehensive meta-synthesis review. Researchers searched the LISTA database and other relevant sources to identify studies on the subject and synthesized the findings to uncover key themes. Using the Delphi method, the team analyzed the selected literature and identified three core aspects of librarians' involvement: activities, characteristics, and skills. The analysis highlights librarians' essential roles in providing cultural awareness training, developing collections, preserving knowledge, understanding indigenous worldviews, and facilitating the dissemination of information. These findings offer practical guidance for librarians and policymakers seeking to design effective indigenous knowledge management strategies across diverse library settings. The review also addresses a critical research gap by examining the contributions of librarians in this evolving field.
 
 

Abstract  Retracting scientific papers helps maintain the integrity of scientific literature by preventing flawed research from being considered credible in the future. This study seeks to understand better the factors leading to the retraction of open-access academic articles by Indian researchers. The Scopus database was searched between 2010 and 2023 to extract the open-access retractions. The Retraction Watch database was consulted to determine the reason for the retractions. The present study categorized retraction causes into eight distinct categories. The findings indicate that the year 2022 had the highest number of retractions (N=778, 66.04%). The most prevalent grounds for retraction were peer review manipulation (64%, N = 754), duplication (12.81%, N = 151), and plagiarism (8.99%, N = 106). The findings reveal that retracted papers with 2–6 authors were more likely to be withdrawn owing to peer review manipulation, duplication, and plagiarism. The retraction process for data duplication, falsification/and fabrication took approximately four years.  Retracted articles were published in 317 unique journals; 237 had impact factors ranging from 0.1 to 96.2. Nineteen journals retracted a total of 795 (67.48%) papers. Most open-access retractions were issued to co-authored papers (N=1129, 95.84%). Nine publishers issued (N=1111, 94.31%) total retractions. Springer Nature issued the highest number of retractions (N=718, 60.95%), followed by IOP Publishing Ltd. (N=238, 20.20%) and Wiley issued (N=72, 6.11%) retraction notices.
 
 

Abstract  Laboratory-based research plays a vital role in achieving ground-breaking discoveries and scientific development. This type of research method is aided by Laboratory Technologists who provide professional support across a wide range of laboratory tasks. Consequently, this study examined the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of Laboratory Technologists to give an understanding of how they seek work-related information. The study is anchored on Wilson’s (1996) Model of information behaviour, which guided the generation of four research objectives for the study. It adopted a descriptive survey research design for a population of 45 Laboratory technologists in David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS). The questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. Out of the 45 copies distributed, 35 were returned, 34 were found usable, and were subjected to descriptive analysis. The study found that Laboratory Technologists primarily need information to promote innovations and new methodologies in scientific research, as well as to assist academics in obtaining and executing grants. They had a high utilization of information resources, particularly impersonal sources. This is followed by electronic resources and then print. The determinants of their information-seeking behaviour were source characteristics, role-related variables, demographic and psychological variables. The Laboratory Technologists were able to process and use the retrieved information. The study concluded by asserting that Laboratory technologists are a vital cog in the wheel of every research-based institution and that the information they retrieve benefits the entire research team.
 
 

Abstract  Insufficient reporting of cross-sectional articles in scientific journals reduces the validity of the articles or makes them impossible to evaluate. It also reduces the number of citations of articles. This research aims to investigate the adherence of methodological section reports in Iranian nursing and midwifery journals (IRNMJ) to those in top international nursing and midwifery journals (INNMJ) indexed in the Scopus database and to compare the growth trend of methodological section reports in these two groups. A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was used. Using the STROBE statement in the methodology section, a 19-item instrument was prepared to collect information. 8 Iranian journals with 462 articles and 3 top Scopus journals with 327 articles were evaluated. The quality score of the methodological report of each article was calculated and analyzed using SPSS 19 software. The results of the study showed that the percentage of agreement with the STROBE statement was 75% in the IRNMJ and 85% in the INNMJ. In both groups of journals, some methodological reporting items, such as efforts to address potential sources of bias, had a low percentage of reporting, which has increased over time. From a scientific point of view, increasing the use of reporting guidelines can help to check the validity of the research and also increase the number of citations to the articles. Therefore, it is recommended that editors and reviewers of scientific journals in the field of nursing and midwifery place more emphasis on following reporting guidelines.