Research Paper
Knowledge Management
Ali Biranvand; Maryam Golshani; Faeze Delghandi
Abstract
IntroductionAuthors often publish scientific articles in reputable journals to achieve a good professional status and recognition. One of the methods of identifying reputable journals is to examine the ranking indicators that are used by publishing houses. This study aims to identify the impact of SJR, ...
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IntroductionAuthors often publish scientific articles in reputable journals to achieve a good professional status and recognition. One of the methods of identifying reputable journals is to examine the ranking indicators that are used by publishing houses. This study aims to identify the impact of SJR, SNIP, and Citescore on the number of citations received in Semantic Web publications. It examines the status of Semantic Web scientific productions in Scopus, the relationship between SJR, SNIP, and Citescore, and the number of citations received. The results of this study help authors identify factors that affect the increase in the number of citations received in Scopus, and examine the current status of Semantic Web publications for submitting their research results. Literature ReviewRahman et al. (2024) studied a range of bibliometric indicators including impact factor, special factor score, citation score, and H-index of 105 healthcare services and science journals from Scopus and Web of Science databases and acknowledged that there is a strong statistical correlation between JIF and Citescore as well as between JIF and SJR. While there is a moderate correlation between JIF and SNIP. Elmi, Mohammad and Bari (2024) while pointing out the impact of journal scientometric analyses on drawing the landscape of knowledge areas, believe that journals with Citescore, SNIP, SJR rankings are key platforms for publishing influential research and play a significant role in shaping the scientific path of journals and knowledge areas. MethodologyThe present study is a fundamental type that was conducted in a descriptive manner and with a scientometric approach. The statistical population of this study includes 42,270 documents produced in the field of semantic web that were published by journals indexed in the Scopus database in the period 1960-2021. After an initial review, 10 titles of high-production journals in the field of semantic web that published 15,182 titles of scientific productions in this field were selected as a statistical sample. In order to examine the relationships between the research variables, Pearson correlation coefficient test and multiple linear regression were used with the help of Excel and SPSS software. ResultsRetrieving information related to scientific productions in the field of semantic web from the Scopus database showed that in the period 1960-2021, 42,270 records were indexed in this database. 29,189 titles (69%) were conference papers. This number of scientific productions has been cited 267,384 times so far. The trend of scientific productions in the field of semantic web has been almost uniform from 1970 (the time of indexing the first record) to 2000. The number of citations received in this period was 267,384. The largest number of productions (3,304 titles) was in 2010. The largest number of citations received (13,446 citations) was related to the article titled "Fully convolutional networks for semantic segmentation" in 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) published 471,217 articles during the study period, of which 7,418 were in the semantic web field. "Lecture Notes in Computer Science" has the highest number of publications (7,418 records), equivalent to 17.5% of all publications in the semantic web field. This source is also ranked first in terms of the total number of publications from different fields. In terms of Site Score, "Journal Of Web Semantics" has the highest score (1.9). This score is the average of the Site Score scores of the last 10 years of this journal. Given that the Citescore is the result of dividing the number of citations by the number of documents published in a three-year period, in this respect the journal has the best performance compared to other journals studied. Among the 10 selected journals, the Journal of Web Semantics has the highest Site Score (9.1) and the highest SJR score (8.1). The highest SNIP score (12.6) is assigned to the Journal of Web Semantics. According to (r=.860; p=.812), there is no correlation between the number of citations and the SNIP index. There is also no significant relationship between the number of citations and SJR (r=.580; p=.874) and the number of citations and Site Score (r=.480; p=.896). The results of multiple regression showed that none of the three Site Score, SNIP, and SJR indices can predict the number of citations received in the Scopus database. DiscussionExamining the relationship between Citescore, SJR, and SNIP indicators shows that there are positive and significant relationships between these indicators in the scientific productions of the semantic web. These indicators are affected by the number of citations and there is a very high correlation between them. However, there is no significant relationship between these indicators and the total number of citations received in the semantic web in the publications under study. The significance level obtained from the variance test between the indicators under study and the number of citations received in the Scopus database indicates the absence of a significant relationship in this case. On the other hand, the regression coefficients and the significance level obtained from running the model also indicate the inability to predict the number of citations received through the desired indicators. In other words, none of the Citescore, SJR, and SNIP indicators are able to predict the number of citations received in the scientific productions of the semantic web. ConclusionThe lack of a significant relationship between Citescore, SNIP, and SJR indices and the number of citations received by high-producing Semantic Web publications indicates the insignificant share of the number of citations received from Semantic Web publications compared to the total number of citations received by these publications.
Research Paper
Knowledge Management Systems and Technologies
Seyed Mahdi Taheri; Negin Shokrzadeh
Abstract
IntroductionScientific outputs that report on the findings of scientific research play a crucial role in enhancing knowledge, advancing science, and promoting research within academic communities. Therefore, the aim of this research project was to analyze the scientific outputs of Allameh Tabataba'i ...
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IntroductionScientific outputs that report on the findings of scientific research play a crucial role in enhancing knowledge, advancing science, and promoting research within academic communities. Therefore, the aim of this research project was to analyze the scientific outputs of Allameh Tabataba'i University and to represent them in the form of scientific maps. Research Question(s)What is the status of the university's scientific output in international citation indexes and the scientific maps of co-authorship networks, co-occurrence of terms, inter-terms, and their frequent terms?What is the status of the publication of books by researchers and faculty members of the university, and how is the scientific map of their co-occurrence of terms drawn?What is the status of the theses/dissertations of Allameh Tabataba'i University in terms of publication and subject area, and how is the scientific map of their frequent terms drawn?What is the status of the publication of articles by Allameh Tabataba'i University in internal and external systems that do not have citation indexes (not indexed), and how is their scientific map drawn?What is the status of research projects at Allameh Tabataba'i University and how is their scientific map drawn?Literature ReviewPrevious studies in the field of scientific mapping were categorized into two groups. The first group contains research that has focused on mapping scientific fields across various disciplines. Notable studies include those by Meskarpour Amiri et al. (2022); Varnaseri et al. (2022); Mohammadzadeh & Baghernejad (2023); Alipour Hafezi and Matlabi (2022); Yao et al. (2014); and Masoumi and Khajavi (2023). In the second group, studies are included that address scientific mapping in different universities. Research by Mohammadian, Esmaeili Givi, and Nahghineh (2016); VahdatZad et al. (2017); Galyani-Moghaddam and Taheri (2018); Ghasemian, Asnafi, & Erfanmanesh (2021); Soltani et al. (2022); Goftari (2024); Sandler and Gladyrev (2020); Chen and Zhang (2023) fall into this category. An examination of the research conducted has shown that in recent years, there has been an increasing interest in evaluating the scientific outputs of universities as a way to assess their performance and research impact. One of the most common criteria used for evaluating scientific outputs is the number of publications produced by a university. Additionally, studies have indicated that apart from the number of publications, other metrics such as the number of citations, journal impact factors, and H-index scores are often used to assess the scientific outputs of universities. Furthermore, in recent years, there has been significant interest in developing alternative metrics or altmetrics to evaluate scientific outputs.MethodologyThis paper was conducted using scientometrics research methods. The aim of this research was to analyze the status of the scientific outputs from Allameh Tabataba'i University and represent them in the form of scientific maps using bibliometric research methods. The statistical population of this study included all research outputs (international articles, books, theses/dissertations, domestic journal articles, and research projects) from Allameh Tabataba'i University in Persian and other languages between the years 1974 to 2024, totaling 69,420 titles. In this study, analytical tools from citation databases, reports from the university's research systems, and bibliometric tools were utilized to collect the necessary data. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, social network analysis, and co-occurrence of keywords. Excel software was used to create tables, UCINET and VOSviewer softwares were employed for analyzing centrality indicators and visualizing the networks.ResultsAmong the 3,227 articles published by researchers from Allameh Tabataba'i University in the Scopus citation index, 1,091 articles, accounting for 18.6%, are in the field of social sciences; 666 articles, representing 11.4%, are in the field of medicine; 493 articles, also at 8.4%, are in the field of computer science; and 492 articles, another 8.4%, are in the fields of business, management, and accounting. The lowest number of articles are in the fields of veterinary science, with 4 articles; immunology and microbiology, with 21 articles; and chemical engineering, with 23 articles. In total, 1,105 article titles from the university have been published in the Web of Science index, of which 23 are among the highly cited articles. The most common keywords were Iran, decision-making, supply chain management, and policymaking. The subject area of statistics and probability, with 114 titles, and the subject area of artificial intelligence, with 103 titles, were identified as the most active research areas at Allameh Tabataba'i University. An investigation of the theses and dissertations from the university indicated that the keywords Iran, education, learning, quality of life, economic growth, job satisfaction, and others were frequently used. A review of over 28,000 domestic articles from the university showed that the keywords Iran, effectiveness, students, and quality evaluation were most commonly employed. Most research projects at Allameh Tabataba'i University were centered around topics such as educational satisfaction, employment status, and students' social activities.DiscussionThe findings indicate that in recent years, the number of publications from Allameh Tabataba'i University in international indexes has increased, reflecting the university's greater focus on publishing articles in international journals. However, the conducted reviews show that, in terms of citations, the articles from Allameh Tabataba'i University require more visibility, as only 23 out of the 1,105 articles published in the Web of Science index are classified as highly cited. It can be stated that Allameh Tabataba'i University has a favorable status in conducting research across various thematic areas.ConclusionOverall, it can be stated that mapping scientific outputs can lead to improvements and advancements in scientific fields, development of knowledge, enhancement of universities' credibility, facilitation and acceleration of data understanding and analysis, improvement of communication and collaboration among researchers, knowledge sharing, and increased transparency of research and its results. Undoubtedly, evaluating scientific outputs requires the participation and collaboration of all university members to be favorably integrated into the university's overarching policies. It is expected that by utilizing these tools, Allameh Tabataba'i University and other educational and research institutions can enhance their research processes and improve the quality of their research outcomes, thereby contributing to knowledge development and increasing the scientific credibility of the country. To enhance the functionality of scientific outputs, it is recommended to use specific keywords that are suitable for the thematic context of the research to clarify the subjects of the outputs.AcknowledgmentsThis research has been conducted with the support of the Research Vice-Presidency of Allameh Tabataba'i University. In this regard, the researchers express their gratitude.
Research Paper
Text Analysis and Knowledge Mining
Amir Ghasemian; Fereshte Nojavan; Amirreza Asnafi; Fatemeh Zohorifar
Abstract
1.IntroductionOne of the criteria for evaluating universities and countries is the level of their research outputs in reputable international databases. The status of each country's indexed research outputs in reputable international indexes represents an important part of that country's scientific activities ...
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1.IntroductionOne of the criteria for evaluating universities and countries is the level of their research outputs in reputable international databases. The status of each country's indexed research outputs in reputable international indexes represents an important part of that country's scientific activities at the international level. Therefore, in order to evaluate scientific activities, a clear picture of this status has always been of interest to the country's research managers (Arshdi, Erfanmanesh, and Salemi, 2017). Therefore, it is essential that Iranian universities, which are considered the most important scientific hubs in the country, also pay attention to scientific outputs. Given the importance of the field of psychology in the lives of individuals, examining the status of research outputs of researchers at Iran's first-tier universities in the subject area of psychology should be considered. Therefore, this study evaluated research outputs in the subject area of psychology in Iranian first-tier universities based on Scientometric and Altmetric indicators in the Scopus and Altmetric Explorer databases during the years 2010-2021. The aim of current study is to analyze the research outputs of Iranian first-tier universities in the subject area of psychology based on Scopus database data during the years 2010-2021 with a scientometric approach (citation impact and research collaborations), an Altmetric approach (citation and markup rate), and to study the relationship between scientometric and Altmetric indicators.Literature ReviewIn the study by Erfanmanesh et al. (2013), a study on the participation of Iranian psychology and psychiatry researchers showed that 83.3 percent of the reviewed products were authored through scientific collaboration of researchers, and scientific products resulting from international collaboration had a greater impact than scientific products resulting from domestic collaboration. Prime Pivar and Heminger (2012) in their study examined the correlation between citation indices by citing 24,334 articles from 7 journals with impact factors ranging from 4.4 to 9.12. They found that there was a weak correlation between specialized markup services such as "Mendeley" and "CiteYouLike" and the number of citations received. Erdet et al. (2016) in their article examined the impact of research on social media. In this study, a total of 172 articles were analyzed. This analysis showed that there has been a continuous increase in research on citation indices since 2011. The results showed that Mendeley had the highest coverage (59%) in 15 studies. An analysis of more than 40 studies showed that there was generally a statistical correlation between the Altmetric score and the number of citations. Thelwall (2017) referred to the study of primary (read in Mendeley) and secondary (citation) impact indicators. In this study, he selected ten subject areas and examined the readability of articles in the first month of publication in Mendeley and the number of citations of the same articles after 20 months. He found that there was a strong positive correlation between secondary impact and primary impact, indicating that the readability index in Mendeley was influential on citations. In another study, Moral Munoz-Cobo (2018) examined 24,701 rehabilitation articles published in Web of Science between 2013 and 2017 in a meta-analysis. They found that Twitter and LinkedIn had the highest and lowest impact on the meta-metric score of the field of empowerment, respectively. LinkedIn was also more associated with social media and had the lowest correlation with Wikipedia, but Google+, Facebook, and Wikipedia were associated with blogs. In this study, they identified the top 10 articles in terms of citation rate in Web of Science and meta-metric score and found that the top articles had two different rankings. Accordingly, they concluded that there is no correlation between meta-metrics and citations. In his article, Wissack (2019) examined the effect of meta-metrics on citations and reading in communication research. This study examined how these metrics affect readers and citations in relation to articles in communication research. This paper examined citation data along with Altmetric data from academic sites, and social networks such as ResearchGate and Mendeley. The results showed that Altmetric scores are positively related to citations. Posting articles on sites such as Mendeley and ResearchGate not only influenced readers, but also increased the likelihood of citations. Other variables that improved reader reading and citations were collaboration and active participation among researchers. Thelwall and Muflahi (2020) studied the relationship between collaboration and citations across countries and fields. The results showed that as scientific collaboration between countries and different scientific fields increases, citations also increase.MethodologyThe present study is of an applied type and Scientometric and Altmetric indicators were used in this study. The research outputs of the subject area of psychology of ten first-level universities in Iran (as selected by the Ministry of Science in 2010) available in the Scopus database (the Scopus database is a large, authoritative multidisciplinary database that covers the largest number of journals compared to other databases and is a comprehensive database for scientometric studies) and limited to 2010 to 2021 were selected as the research population. Data collection was carried out on 2/3/2022. Initially, to obtain the research outputs of the universities, the name of the university was entered on the Scopus home page in the Affiliation section, then the subject area of psychology was selected on the results page, and then the desired years were selected, and a total of 2210 research outputs were obtained from the study of ten universities in the field of psychology. The Altmetrics Explorer database was used to examine the citation and markup of research outputs of Iran's first-tier universities in the subject area of psychology. To retrieve data related to the Altmetrics performance of research outputs in the subject area of psychology in the universities in question, the digital object identifier of these outputs, after being stored in Scopus, was entered as input into the Altmetrics Explorer database and then various analyses were performed on it. In addition, the share of the relevant universities in the subject area of psychology from outputs with Altmetrics scores, information on outputs with at least one citation from the Altmetrics Explorer database was stored. In the Scival database, data related to international, national, institutional, and individual collaboration indicators as well as the total number of citations for each discipline, the average citation for each publication and the weighted citation impact at the discipline level, the percentage of articles published in top journals, the percentage of highly cited articles and the H-index were extracted. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data obtained from the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman's correlation test was used to respond to the correlation between the citation index and the Altmetrics score. Finally, in the data analysis stage, Excel software was used for descriptive statistics and SPSS software version 22 was used for inferential statistics, and a scatter diagram was drawn. In the continuation of the study, the relationship between the citation index and the Altmetrics score was tested, and the test results showed that there was a statistically significant, positive and weak relationship between the citation indices and the Altmetrics score in the three universities of Allameh Tabataba'i (P=0.048 and r=0.249), Shahid Beheshti (P=0.006 and r=0.273) and Isfahan (P=0.012 and r=0.341). In other words, if the Altmetrics score of a research output is higher and it is mentioned more in various social media, the citation rate of that output is also higher. In Figure 1, the correlation graph between the citation index and the Altmetrics score can be seen. The vertical axis shows the citation rate and the horizontal axis shows the Altmetrics score. It should be noted that in the rest of the universities, there was no statistically significant relationship between the citation indices and the Altmetrics score, and due to space limitations in the article, the scatter plot is not included here.ResultsThe findings revealed that the University of Tehran ranks first with the highest research output, the highest citations, and the H-index, and among them, Tarbiat Modares University has the best performance in terms of the impact of its research outputs with the highest average citation value, citation impact at the field level, percentage of highly cited articles, and percentage of articles published in top journals. The highest international research output is related to Shiraz University, followed by Tarbiat Modares and Shahid Beheshti Universities with a slight difference, while Allameh Tabataba'i University has the highest national research output, and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has the highest institutional cooperation in publishing research outputs among the universities studied. It was further revealed that Isfahan University has the highest individual research outputs. By studying the status of Altmetric indicators of research outputs of ten universities in the subject area of psychology, the findings showed that Shiraz University with the highest Altmetric coverage is in the first place, followed by Bahonar University of Kerman and Shahid Beheshti University in the next ranks, respectively. Also, in terms of average citations and markups, Allameh Tabataba'i, Tarbiat Modares, and Isfahan Universities are in first and third places. Furthermore, according to the findings, it was determined that the Shahid Chamran Universities of Ahvaz, Tarbiat Modares, and Tabriz had the highest average Altmetric scores and performed better.In the continuation of the study, the relationship between the citation index and the Altmetric score was tested, and the test results showed that there was a statistically significant, positive and weak relationship between the citation indices and the Altmetric score in the three universities of Allameh Tabataba'i (P=0.048 and r=0.249), Shahid Beheshti (P=0.006 and r=0.273) and Isfahan (P=0.012 and r=0.341). In other words, if the Altmetric score of research output is higher and it is mentioned more in various social media, the citation rate of that output is also higher. In Figure 1, the correlation diagram between the citation index and the Altmetric score can be seen. The vertical axis shows the citation rate and the horizontal axis shows the Altmetric score. It should be noted that in the other universities, there was no statistically significant relationship between the citation indices and the Altmetric score.DiscussionThe current study aimed to study the citation impact and social impact of research outputs of ten Iranian first-tier universities in the subject area of psychology. According to the results, it was found that the University of Tehran ranks first among the ten universities studied with high research outputs and citations. However, considering that Tarbiat Modares University is in the middle ranks in terms of production and citations, it performs better than other universities in terms of quality indicators (percentage of articles published in top journals (first quartile), percentage of highly cited articles (10 percent), and weighted citation impact at the field level), and this indicates the high quality of research outputs at this university. In this regard, it is very important for the university to emphasize the quality of research outputs in addition to the quantity of these outputs. Also, considering special research points and credit for authors of articles in top journals can be a suitable solution to increase the quality of research outputs. In the collaborations section, the findings showed that research outputs with high international collaborations have favorable citations, which indicates that collaboration with different countries can be effective in increasing citations, which is consistent with the results of the research of Erfan-Manesh et al. (2013), Erfan-Manesh and Hosseini (2017), Mohammadzadeh, Fahmyifar and Hassanzadeh (2014), Mostafavi and Azh (2014), Visak (2019), and Talwal and Muflahi (2020). In these studies, different dimensions of researchers' scientific participation and the citation impact of scientific productions were examined, and the results showed that the documents resulting from collaboration can be effective in receiving their citations.ConclusionThe findings of the present study indicated the positive effect of social media in increasing the citation of research outputs. However, in this regard, according to the results, it was determined that the research outputs under study in the field of psychology did not have appropriate Altmetrics coverage (presence on social media). In order to increase the visibility of research outputs at the national and international levels and subsequently increase the impact indicators of outputs, it is necessary to take measures in this area, including: emphasizing Altmetrics indicators as a complement to the indicators for evaluating outputs, emphasizing the quality along with the quantity of research conducted in universities, holding workshops for researchers on the benefits and methods of using social media, and active membership of researchers and creating user accounts for journals on social media and timely sharing of the full text or at least the detailed abstract of the outputs in these media.AcknowledgmentsWe would like to thank Dr. Mohammad Amin Erfanmanesh, a researcher at the Eastern Canada Higher Education Commission, for his cooperation in the research.
Research Paper
Intelligent Systems Recovery
Fereshteh Bayanlou; Zohreh Mirhosseini; Zahra Abazari
Abstract
IntroductionCybernetics, a science that emerged in the 20th century, has rapidly grown and penetrated various disciplines. Since its inception, cybernetics has experienced significant and continuous growth, with communication and the concepts of message and feedback at its core. Today, cybernetics is ...
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IntroductionCybernetics, a science that emerged in the 20th century, has rapidly grown and penetrated various disciplines. Since its inception, cybernetics has experienced significant and continuous growth, with communication and the concepts of message and feedback at its core. Today, cybernetics is recognized as an independent yet interdisciplinary field, grounded in information theory and focused on methods of information processing. According to Baum (2003), the cybernetic model effectively organizes the activities of academic systems in the modern era. This model relies on complex social systems and cybernetic monitoring, where self-correction mechanisms oversee organizational functions. Consequently, individuals are not the final decision-makers; instead, continuous activities are carried out to improve different parts of the organization. The cybernetic library aims to achieve specific goals. When deviations occur, individuals or groups within the library become active to restore desired levels. The complexity of the cybernetic library also involves parts responsible for identifying adverse events and reporting them to higher levels. In this research, cybernetics refers to the optimal use of cybernetic patterns in university libraries. This study aims to provide a suitable model for the optimal use and management of system information by measuring the status of cybernetic components in academic libraries. Literature Review Zamnopoulos and Alexio emphasized that control is an inevitable part of any organization. Supervisors and colleagues highlighted the desirability of monitoring and control components, although slight differences exist in their sub-components. Regarding intra- and extra-systemic links, extra-systemic links were found to be more appropriate, with a focus needed on strengthening intra-systemic links. Hashem Beik et al. noted the status of loose and tight links at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The hierarchy component's sub-component scored higher, emphasizing its importance in the cybernetic model. Nechansky demonstrated that cybernetic structures can adapt to their environment. In decision-making, the decision-making resources sub-component scored higher. The effective management and leadership component, examined in five dimensions, showed that participatory leadership was more appropriate than other dimensions. Brinbaum stressed the importance of interaction among different academic systems and recognized the coordinating role of leadership in academic libraries. MethodologyThis quantitative study investigated the status of cybernetic model components for optimal management of university libraries. The statistical population included experts and specialists in information science and epistemology, as well as managers of central libraries at type 1 medical sciences universities in Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 97 professors and librarians, and the results were analyzed. Results The study included 42% men and 58% women. Among the participants, 25% had a bachelor's degree, 45% had a master's degree, and 30% had a doctoral degree. Most respondents (65%) had over ten years of work experience, while only 3% had less than ten years. The average scores for the monitoring component in the structural and social dimensions were 29.43 and 33.14, respectively. The system link component scored 18.41 for extra-system links and 14.52 for intra-system links. The hierarchy component scored 11.23 for the divided system dimension and 11.66 for the hierarchy dimension. The interaction quality component scored 11.78 for the non-linear dimension and 11.53 for the causal dimension. The decision component scored 14.91 for decision resources, 15.07 for decision type, and 14.73 for decision criteria. Discussion The findings indicate that the monitoring and control components in the cybernetic management model of academic libraries are appropriate and have a tangible impact on the model's structure. Extra-systemic links were found to be more effective than intra-systemic links, highlighting the need to strengthen the latter. The hierarchical sub-component scored higher within the hierarchy context, and participatory leadership was more effective than other dimensions. Conclusion The research findings suggest that the components of the cybernetic model are well-placed in the libraries of medical sciences universities. This reflects the awareness of university library managers regarding the structure, goals, tasks, services, and functions of academic libraries. However, this knowledge is not equally appropriate across all dimensions, leading to an imbalance in the state of dimensions and components. Consequently, the progress and effectiveness of the models are not as impressive. Therefore, it is recommended to focus more on the social role of library users in interactions and guidance, and to maintain a balanced approach to the quantitative and qualitative growth of all dimensions in library management.
Research Paper
Information and Knowledge Management
Pegah Farzin; Mitra Samiei; Mehdi Alipour Hafezi
Abstract
IntroductionInformation protection is one of the most important issues in human history, culture, and economy. In the past, information was recorded in the form of engraving and writing on stone, ceramics, papyrus, wood, etc., but with the evolution of human civilization, the way to the emergence of ...
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IntroductionInformation protection is one of the most important issues in human history, culture, and economy. In the past, information was recorded in the form of engraving and writing on stone, ceramics, papyrus, wood, etc., but with the evolution of human civilization, the way to the emergence of new storage media and ways to record information was paved. A sudden change in the field of information storage with the invention of electronic storage media, including all types of disks, audio tapes, magnetic tapes, CDs, etc. V. Days, etc. took place. With the advent of high-speed networks and computers with high-performance quality (large memory and high processing speed), the use of technologies increased rapidly. These technologies enable libraries to easily produce, process, locate, store, and disseminate their information, as well as guarantee long-term protection of stored information and permanent access to that information (Samiei, 2016). With the rapid development of cloud computing, cloud storage and other information technologies, libraries and digital resources increasingly enable users to remotely access a wide range of distributed information resources, regardless of physical storage conditions (Zhu and Du, 2018). Cloud computing reduces the costs of using technology in libraries and expands the capacities and ability to use tools. Integration of resources and information in one space, speed, flexibility, providing services with the possibility of control and measurement, supply based on demand, access to a wide network (Shehzad, 2014), changing the shape of education, expanding cooperation, and most importantly reducing risk and increased security (Boyer & Arste, 2014) is one of the benefits of cloud computing for digital libraries. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the views of managers and librarians of Allameh Tabataba’i University libraries regarding digital protection in the cloud environment.Literature ReviewThere are new mechanisms in digital libraries that can be used in the field of digital protection to improve the security of digital resources, and one of these mechanisms is cloud computing. Cloud computing is a model for easily providing a type of network access based on user needs from a shared repository that is derived from configurable computing resources. Examples include networks, servers, applications, and services that are rapidly provisioned and available with minimal management effort and service provider interactions. In the studies that were conducted in the field of the role of cloud computing in library services, including the researches of Fermanlolilab (2015), Sepehr et al. (2015); Sadeghi (2016); Haddad Oskoui (2016); Ghazizadeh et al. (2017); Gabajeh (2011); Sosa-Sosa & Hernandez Ramiz (2012); Oliver & Knight (2015); Corrado & Molaison (2015); Yuvaraj (2016); Spence et al. (2019); Anuyako et al. (2019) and Shawvedi Sarkar (2020) found that the use of cloud computing facilities is effective in reducing costs, increasing productivity and communication. However, the categories of threats and information security are concerns related to the use of cloud computing in libraries. Also, in this regard, concerns about data ownership, portability and cloud portability, and in general, issues related to digital protection are the main bottlenecks in the adoption of cloud technology in digital libraries.MethodologyThe present study is applied in nature and with a descriptive survey method in two stages. In the first stage, by reviewing the texts of a researcher-made questionnaire with five components: "introduction to the concepts of digital preservation in the cloud", "trust and security of digital preservation in the cloud", "technological infrastructure of digital preservation in the cloud", "organizational status of digital preservation in the cloud environment "and "barriers and challenges of digital preservation in cloud" were prepared and provided to the administrators and librarians of Allameh Tabataba'i University libraries for a survey. This questionnaire was designed on a five-point Likert scale and its reliability was 0.852 using Cronbach's alpha. In the second stage, the collected data were analyzed based on descriptive statistics (mean, median, standard deviation, and variance) and one-sample t-test. Friedman test was also used to rank the factor of "possible challenges and barriers".ResultsThe findings showed that the majority of the participants were moderately familiar with the concepts related to digital protection in the cloud environment. Also, from the point of view of managers and librarians of Allameh Tabataba’i University libraries, "the state of trust and security of data in cloud environment protection" and "the availability of technological infrastructure for cloud environment protection in the university" are at a favorable level (p>0.05 -the amount of). The "organizational state of the university for protection in the cloud environment" is at an average and relatively favorable level, and the "knowledge and awareness necessary for protection in the cloud environment among librarians" is at a relatively unfavorable level (p-value < 0.05). On the one hand, from the point of view of the managers and librarians of the libraries of Allameh Tabataba'i University, the most important obstacles and possible problems of protection in the cloud environment, "the risk of return of investment is one of the problems of using the cloud environment for digital protection", "the unaffordability of using the cloud environment is one of the problems using it for digital protection" and "unaffordability of training costs were one of the problems of using the cloud environment for digital protection".Discussion Regarding the familiarization of library managers and librarians with the topics of digital protection in the cloud environment, it seems that the use of new technologies such as cloud computing in libraries requires more familiarity of managers and librarians with such technologies. Familiarity with the activities that take place in such environments will provide a suitable platform for accepting this technology and using it. In general, the respondents' level of familiarity with the issue of digital protection in the cloud environment was moderate. In the researches of Farmanlou Lilab (2015) and Vivaraj (2016), the application of cloud computing in university libraries was discussed and the relatively good level of familiarity of the employees with cloud computing was pointed out, which is consistent with the results of the present study.Conclusion The results showed that managers and librarians of Allameh Tabataba’i University libraries were moderately familiar with issues related to digital protection in the cloud environment. According to the participants, the state of trust and security of data in cloud environment protection, the availability of technological infrastructure for cloud environment protection in the university at an optimal level, the university's organizational situation for cloud environment protection at a relatively favorable level, and the librarians’ necessary knowledge and awareness for protection in the cloud environment were at a relatively unfavorable level. Also, the obstacles and challenges facing digital protection in the cloud environment were approved by the respondents.
Research Paper
Information Storage and Retrieval
Yaghoub Norouzi; Nayere Jafari Far; Reihaneh DavoodAbadi
Abstract
IntroductionThe management of digital resources in national libraries involves significant challenges, particularly in selecting, maintaining, and ensuring long-term accessibility. A crucial element in this process is the storage format of digital resources, which directly affects both the preservation ...
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IntroductionThe management of digital resources in national libraries involves significant challenges, particularly in selecting, maintaining, and ensuring long-term accessibility. A crucial element in this process is the storage format of digital resources, which directly affects both the preservation of materials and their usability over time. Below are key reasons why the choice of resource storage formats is important for national libraries:Long-Term Preservation: National libraries manage vast collections of digital materials, from texts to multimedia resources. Choosing a storage format that ensures long-term preservation is essential to prevent data loss over time due to format obsolescence. National Libraries often face challenges of format obsolescence. The right choice of format can minimize the need for complex emulation or migration strategies, which are resource-intensive.Interoperability and Accessibility: Digital collections in national libraries need to be accessible across various platforms, devices, and operating systems. International standards and guidelines, such as those from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), guide the choice of formats that facilitate interoperability. Adopting these standards ensures that digital resources are accessible not only to national users but also internationally. This is especially important for cultural heritage materials that may be used globally.Efficiency in Storage and Retrieval: When dealing with large-scale collections, efficient storage formats help minimize infrastructure costs. The speed at which data can be retrieved from a storage system is influenced by the format of the resources. Formats that are optimized for efficient access improve search and retrieval times, facilitating quick access to resources for users.Metadata Preservation and Integration: National libraries depend heavily on metadata to ensure that digital objects are easily discoverable and appropriately categorized. Standardized formats are crucial for integrating digital collections with national library cataloging systems and facilitating interoperability between different systems. National libraries must ensure that the digital resources they store are secure and protected from corruption.User Experience and Engagement: National libraries serve diverse audiences, ranging from academic researchers to the general public. Formats that are easily navigable (e.g., HTML or EPUB for e-books) improve user engagement and accessibility. Interactive or multimedia content (e.g., video, audio) in open formats can provide richer, more engaging experiences. Formats like Unicode-based text formats (e.g., UTF-8) allow for the preservation of multiple languages and scripts, making national library collections accessible to diverse communities, including those with specific linguistic or cultural needs.Legal and Copyright Considerations: Formats may also play a role in how digital rights and licensing information are embedded and protected. Open formats allow for the inclusion of rights management information without reliance on proprietary systems, ensuring proper management of copyrighted materials. The use of appropriate formats for the digital storage of copyrighted content can aid in enforcing digital rights management (DRM) policies. Formats like encrypted PDF or DRM-protected EPUB help libraries protect content according to legal guidelines.Cost-Effectiveness: Choosing the right storage formats can have a significant impact on cost management for national libraries. Open-source and standardized formats tend to be cost-effective compared to proprietary systems that may involve licensing fees, additional maintenance costs, or vendor lock-in. National Libraries must invest in ensuring the longevity and accessibility of their digital collections. By choosing widely accepted formats with strong community support, national libraries can reduce ongoing maintenance and conversion costs associated with less popular or proprietary formats.So, the importance of selecting the right resource storage formats in national libraries cannot be overstated. A well-chosen format ensures the long-term preservation, accessibility, and efficient management of digital collections. It also contributes to the overall mission of national libraries to serve as custodians of cultural heritage, making materials accessible to a global audience while protecting them for future generations. Standardized, open, and widely supported formats are crucial in meeting these objectives, enabling national libraries to optimize their digital storage solutions while maintaining flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and long-term sustainability.Literature ReviewThe results of Sullivan (2006), Thomas & Martin (2006), Hodge & Anderson (2007), Rog & Van Wijk (2008), Van der Knijff (2011), Barabucci & et al (2011), Morrissey (2012), Hajtnik (2012), Jackson (2012), Koo & Chou(2013), Rimkus & et al(2014), Uherek & et al (2015), Termens & et al (2015), Delaney & De Jong(2015), Baratè & et al (2015), Rimkus & Witmer (2016), Anyim (2021), Trianggoro & Prasetyadi (2022) research showed selecting the right format and storage standard for digital collections is a multi-faceted decision that balances accessibility, preservation, interoperability, and user experience. Ensuring that digital collections are presented in a way that aligns with these standards maximizes their utility and longevity. It highlights that while digital libraries have evolved from physical spaces, the principles and practices of resource storage have undergone significant changes. Previous research has addressed these issues, but often as sub-components rather than focusing on them comprehensively. The review indicates that long-term preservation and storage have not been fully explored in the literature.This research aims to identify successful national solutions for preserving and storing resources effectively in digital libraries. In essence, the study seeks to provide a more integrated approach to addressing storage and preservation issues in digital libraries, taking into account both the technological and organizational practices in use today. This effort is important for ensuring that digital resources remain accessible and usable over time, despite the challenges posed by rapid technological change and shifting formats.MethodologyThis article identifies the use of a variety of standard formats for storing video, text, multimedia, and audio resources in the digital collections of 20 selected national libraries around the world. This study is applied, based on the descriptive-analytical method. For data collection, we used a researcher-made questionnaire. After collecting data, a variety of descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency distribution and frequency percentage and Chi-square test were used to analyze the data.ResultsBased on the results, it was found that image sources were used in all studied collections and cultural objects were less popular with a share of 41%, for TIFF image sources (94%); HTML and XML text sources (75%); WAV audio sources (65%) and AVI multimedia sources (65%) were the most common. Switzerland had the greatest variety in the use of a variety of standards. Also, among the research community, Iran, Britain, the United States, Scotland, Qatar, the Netherlands, France, and Spain had the greatest diversity in storing a variety of digital resources. The statistical community was consistent in using standard formats for a variety of visual, textual, and multimedia resources and followed a similar pattern in selecting storage formats.ConclusionThe research community had the least amount of diversity of use in the field of multimedia resource storage. Research findings emphasize the use of EPUB for ease of reading books on e-readers, and GP3 was recommended to increase the usability of the mobile version of the digital library, WARC as a special format for web archiving, for long-term protection of digital content of national libraries, because these three formats had the lowest usage in the statistical community.AcknowledgmentsThe authors are grateful to Michael Day (Digital Preservation Research Lead) at the National Library of Great Britain for her guidance and sharing of scholarly expertise.
Research Paper
Evaluation of Information and Knowledge Retrieval Systems
Saeed Ghaffari; Masoud Bakhtiari
Abstract
IntroductionAlthough in recent years and in the current conditions, knowledge management has become an important and vital issue for the success of organizations, and attention to it has increased by a wide range of activists in this field as well as the librarian community, knowledge management has ...
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IntroductionAlthough in recent years and in the current conditions, knowledge management has become an important and vital issue for the success of organizations, and attention to it has increased by a wide range of activists in this field as well as the librarian community, knowledge management has not yet been systematically and widely implemented and used in libraries, and there is little agreement among some librarians regarding knowledge management (Gandhi, 2004); however, most managers and librarians agree that the use of knowledge management in libraries improves performance and enhances library services. Scientific communities believe that the power of knowledge in organizations can lead to long-term competitive advantages. In other words, successful organizations have realized that knowledge is their most important asset and that some of the basic principles of knowledge management exist in the organization's human resources, so they view knowledge management as one of the vital factors in the success of the organization. In this regard, many factors are closely related to knowledge management, and organizational wisdom is considered an important factor in the organization's performance and enables the best possible realization of knowledge management goals. Effective and efficient use of knowledge leads to the formation of wise organizations, but this requires innovative application of knowledge by organizations. Accordingly, educational organizations should simultaneously train knowledge, skills, efficiency, and utilization of knowledge to strengthen their potential abilities and talents. Therefore, organizational wisdom is the most important ability to realize this (Estifaei, 2014). Organizational wisdom is a concept that refers to the acquisition of knowledge that is achieved through the use of humans, computers, and other tools, and focuses on knowledge that is related to the organization's activity environment (internal and external) (Vazifeh Doost & Ghasemi, 2008).Literature ReviewOne of the most important reasons that has led organizations to show interest in the subject of knowledge management is that knowledge management increases productivity, strengthens collaboration, the emergence and growth of innovation, encourages and innovates, accelerates the flow of knowledge transfer, facilitates information sharing among employees, prevents duplication of work, increases the organization's ability to deal with the phenomenon of information inflation, collects and stores information, and improves the quality of service delivery and organizational performance (Haraj Hassanabadi & Mozaffari, 2017). In fact, knowledge management means creating the necessary processes to identify and absorb the data, information, and knowledge needed by the organization from the environment and transfer it to individuals for the purpose of decision-making and taking appropriate internal and external actions in the organization (Muñoz & Galende, 2017). Given the importance of the role of organizational wisdom and innovation in knowledge management and the relationship between them and the value of knowledge management in libraries, it is important to be aware of the predictive power of organizational wisdom in the knowledge management process, as well as the mediating role of innovation in the relationship between wisdom and organizational wisdom and the knowledge management process of public libraries in Qom province, which is the subject of this study.MethodologyThe present study is a descriptive study in terms of its purpose and was conducted using a correlational method. The variables of the present study are innovation; organizational micro-organization, knowledge management, and its dimensions. Also, gender and education level constitute the demographic variables of the present study. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all specialist and non-specialist librarians who were working full-time in public libraries in Qom province at the time of the study. Based on the statistics obtained, the number of full-time librarians working in public libraries in Qom province was 112. To collect information through a questionnaire, the simple random sampling method of this study was used. The sample size was determined using the Cochran formula as 86 people. After sending and distributing the questionnaires and with the efforts and follow-ups of the researcher, 80 completed questionnaires were collected.ResultsThe findings showed that organizational wisdom was a significant predictor of the knowledge management process among the participants of the study (Hypothesis 1). However, it is possible that other possible factors may intervene, the identification of which could help the growth and progress of organizations, especially public libraries in Qom province. The results showed that innovation was a significant predictor of knowledge management among librarians in public libraries in Qom province (Hypothesis 2). Therefore, considering the importance and role of innovation in knowledge management, it is suggested that in hiring new people in public libraries in Qom province, attracting and selecting creative people with special skills should be considered by those involved in human resource selection for public libraries. The research findings also showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between organizational wisdom and innovation (Hypothesis 3). Therefore, it is recommended that public library managers in Qom province try to correctly and efficiently manage and identify organizational wisdom, which is an unlimited source of intellectual capital, in order to increase the flexibility of libraries in adapting to local and national needs and to provide and promote the necessary conditions for creating knowledge management, organizational learning, and the ability to generate ideas, and innovate. Other results showed that the overall score of organizational wisdom predicts knowledge management and innovation. However, innovation did not play a mediating or interventionist role in the relationship between organizational wisdom and knowledge management (Hypothesis 4).DiscussionLibrary staff or public library librarians, most of whom are graduates of information science and knowledge studies, become familiar with courses such as library management, management information systems, information and communication technologies, information software, and communication theories, etc. during their education, which prepares them to provide better services to users. In addition, the fact that librarians are surrounded by a multitude of information sources and an information environment inevitably makes most of them people who are fond of reading and leads them to share knowledge, provide information services to others, and help people in need of information. They will also know that if they do not keep their clients satisfied, their organization will not be successful. Therefore, they make decisions as a group for the survival and sustainability of their organizations, and provide the resources needed by the patrons, which are all examples of organizational wisdom. In this regard, and considering what has been said, the current results regarding the state of organizational wisdom among librarians in Qom province libraries can be attributed to such factors. The results of the present study are consistent with the results of Rashidi & Karani (2016), Hariri & Taremi(2012), Tahmasebi & Akbari(2010).ConclusionAlthough the present study was able to provide more and more necessary research evidence for the triple role and relationship between knowledge management, organizational wisdom, and innovation, and the predictive role of innovation and organizational wisdom in the knowledge management process, it was unable to provide the necessary research evidence for the interventionist role of innovation in the relationship between organizational wisdom and knowledge management, an issue that should be further addressed in future research.
Research Paper
Information Storage and Retrieval
Nahid Safari; Zohreh Mirhosseini; Zahra Abazari
Abstract
This study investigated the information seeking behavior of art researchers in the process of searching for information on the web. This study is semi-experimental. It was conducted using observation, interview, and statistical analysis methods. The statistical population consisted of 48 art researchers ...
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This study investigated the information seeking behavior of art researchers in the process of searching for information on the web. This study is semi-experimental. It was conducted using observation, interview, and statistical analysis methods. The statistical population consisted of 48 art researchers who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through Camtasia software to record the search process, semi-structured interviews to examine cognitive strategies, and a standard information seeking behavior questionnaire to measure related variables. Two search tasks were assigned to the participants: easy (finding a Latin article about Iranian art) and difficult (finding a related job opportunity abroad), and data analysis was performed using the Chi-square test. The findings showed that in easy searches, participants mainly used faster and more superficial strategies such as extensive use of the Google search engine (with a frequency of 976) and formulating search terms from general to specific. In contrast, in difficult searches, researchers resorted to more advanced analytical methods such as repeated modification of search terms, use of Boolean operators, and reference to specialized databases. The statistical data analysis showed that the total number of strategies adopted in the second task was 976 in the easy style and 959 in the difficult style, for a total of 1935 strategies, indicating that the level of complexity of the search tasks has a direct impact on the strategies used by researchers. This highlights the need to optimize information retrieval systems based on the needs of users and the level of complexity of their searches.
