A survey of the status of Iranian universities' organizational knowledge repositories in OPEN DOAR

Purpose:

This study aims to examine the status of institutional repositories of Iranian universities registered in the OpenDOAR directory.

Methodology:

This applied research employs a survey-analytical method. Data was collected using a researcher-made checklist based on the registration criteria of the OpenDOAR system. The research population consisted of all institutional repositories from Iran listed in OpenDOAR, totaling 18 repositories. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, and the results were presented and interpreted through descriptive statistics, utilizing various charts and tables.

Findings:

The findings indicate that medical universities in Iran were among the first institutions to establish and develop repositories. Of the 18 repositories registered from Iran, 11 were active and 7 were inactive. Nine repositories belonged to medical universities, and only one repository was affiliated with a university under the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. The earliest active repository was registered in 2009, and the latest in 2019, with the highest frequency of registrations occurring in 2015 and 2019. The EPrints software was the most used platform among active repositories. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences had the highest number of records, followed by Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Shahrekord, Ilam, Golestan, Sabzevar, Babol, and Qazvin Universities of Medical Sciences, respectively.

The study revealed a slow growth trend in the development of institutional repositories in Iran. Based on the repository classification of the University of Nottingham, the registered records included 12 main types of documents: journal articles, master’s and doctoral theses, conference and workshop papers, research proposals, monographs, educational slides, administrative reports, books, book chapters and sections, datasets, and multimedia and audio materials.

One of the defining features of institutional repositories is the accumulation of scientific content over time; in the Iranian case, most records were journal articles and theses. However, growth in many centers was very limited. Most repositories belonged to public institutions, and in terms of subject coverage, the majority were focused on medical and health sciences.

Conclusion:

The findings suggest that Iranian universities have largely neglected the implementation and potential of institutional repositories, particularly in enhancing the visibility and ranking of universities in global systems. It can be concluded that both research and practical engagement with institutional repositories in Iran are still in their infancy. The limited number of repositories listed in OpenDOAR reflects a lack of general awareness about the concept of open access repositories as a tool to support research and development. Moreover, the growth and development of existing repositories have been sluggish and are far from satisfactory.

The findings suggest that Iranian universities have largely neglected the implementation and potential of institutional repositories, particularly in enhancing the visibility and ranking of universities in global systems. It can be concluded that both research and practical engagement with institutional repositories in Iran are still in their infancy. The limited number of repositories listed in OpenDOAR reflects a lack of general awareness about the concept of open access repositories as a tool to support research and development. Moreover, the growth and development of existing repositories have been sluggish and are far from satisfactory.

The findings suggest that Iranian universities have largely neglected the implementation and potential of institutional repositories, particularly in enhancing the visibility and ranking of universities in global systems. It can be concluded that both research and practical engagement with institutional repositories in Iran are still in their infancy. The limited number of repositories listed in OpenDOAR reflects a lack of general awareness about the concept of open access repositories as a tool to support research and development. Moreover, the growth and development of existing repositories have been sluggish and are far from satisfactory.