Examining the level of familiarity of faculty members of Jundishapur Dezful University of Technology with the role of metadata in the visibility of articles on the web

Purpose: Among the numerous research outputs of universities, published articles have received the most attention. In European and American universities, the number of articles a faculty member publishes annually is considered an indicator of their professional success. This study aims to examine the familiarity of faculty members at Jundishapur Dezful University of Technology with the role of metadata in enhancing the visibility of articles in the online environment.
    Method: The present research is applied in nature and was conducted using a survey method with a descriptive approach. The population studied consists of all 82 faculty members of Jundishapur Dezful University of Technology. Due to the small population size, a census method was employed. The data collection tool is a questionnaire that includes demographic information and 53 items divided into three sections. The first section, related to metadata, is adapted from the Metadata 2020 questionnaire (Kaiser et al., 2021). The second section, focused on visibility, and the third section, concerning the use of metadata and metadata elements in Word software, were developed by the researchers to address the research questions. The questionnaire's validity was established through face and content validity assessments. Reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha, with scores of 0.86, 0.81, and 0.77 for each section, respectively. Some items use a five-point Likert scale; others offer prioritization options, and some are answered with yes or no. After confirming validity and reliability, the data were transferred to Excel software and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
    Findings: The findings showed that approximately half of the faculty members had neither seen nor heard the word metadata, and its meaning was unclear to most of them. Additionally, the results indicate that about 75% of the faculty members did not have an accurate understanding of the concept of metadata, while only around 25% demonstrated a relative familiarity with it. The results also showed that, from the faculty members' perspective, the most important pieces of information for making articles accessible, searching for articles, or deciding whether to read or download an article are the title, author, organizational affiliation, abstract, and publication date. Before using a research work, faculty members place great importance on the title, format, size, and volume of the work when deciding whether to use it. The findings indicate that faculty members have a high level of interest and motivation to publish their articles and collaborate with both domestic and international researchers. They also reported a strong familiarity with scientific databases such as Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ORCID. Additionally, half of the faculty members employ strategies to increase their visibility, while the other half reduce their visibility by not maintaining a user profile or ID in databases and scientific social networks. It was also found that most faculty members use Microsoft Word daily to write their articles. Additionally, many faculty members do not utilize various types of metadata (descriptive, structural, executive, or management) when writing their articles using Word software, or they use them minimally. This results in improper indexing of the articles in search engines and databases, ultimately reducing their visibility. It was also observed that most faculty members are unfamiliar with the key elements of metadata creation in this software and therefore do not use them.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that faculty members' lack of familiarity with the concept of metadata, as well as their failure to apply it when writing and publishing articles online, results in improper indexing of these articles in search engines and databases. Consequently, this reduces the visibility of their work. It is recommended to hold workshops for faculty members to educate them about metadata, including its definition, types, and significance as a key factor in enhancing article visibility. Additionally, training on how to use metadata features in Word software should be provided to increase their proficiency and awareness.