Delineation of the Scientific Structure of Doctoral Theses and Research Projects of the Activists of the Science Institution

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Theoretical Studies of Science, Technology and Innovation, National Research Institute for Science Policy (NRISP), Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Faculty of Educational sciences and psychology, Shahid Chameran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Paying attention to local and regional issues and conducting research in alignment with these challenges is one of the most important principles for progress and development in a country. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to analyze the local and regional issues and challenges in the research outputs and doctoral dissertations of scientific institutions in Iran.
Method: The current research is an applied study with a quantitative-qualitative approach, conducted using scientometric techniques and thematic analysis. The research community includes doctoral theses and research projects from Shiraz, Yazd, and Ilam universities. The data collection method involved sending requests to the respective universities in these three public universities and compiling information related to research projects and doctoral dissertations. Data was gathered by reviewing the doctoral dissertations and research projects of the mentioned universities, and relevant information was organized using Excel and RavaRmatrix software. Descriptive statistics were employed for data analysis. Additionally, UciNet, Pajak, and VOSviewer software were used to create scientific maps.
Results: The number of research projects and doctoral dissertations addressing local and regional issues in the three studied universities is very low. However, based on the challenges mentioned in the documents above, it was found that the universities paid insufficient attention to local and regional issues in their research for various reasons. Undoubtedly, the country’s development relies on solving local and regional challenges.
Conclusions: Emphasizing local and regional issues is a key factor for economic dynamism, maintaining ideals, achieving endogenous development, and contributing to the country’s prosperity. This necessitates proper planning and increased attention in upstream documents.

Keywords


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