Analysis of mental health research in the Islamic Republic of Iran over 3 decades: a scientometric study

This study described the characteristics of mental health research from the Islamic Republic of Iran published from 1973-2002. Research articles in psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience published in local or international journals were drawn from IranPsych, a national database of research in mental health and related disciplines. Of 3113 articles, 21.8% appeared in international journals, but there was international collaboration among the authors in only 2.3%. There was a marked increase in the number of publications over time, especially in the last 5 years. Analysis of research areas showed a proportionate rise in neuroscience research and a decline in mental health service research. Our study provides an empirical basis for policy-making and strategy planning in the nation's mental health research

[ bibliometric study of scientific mental health journals of Iran]

The aim of this project was to appraise the scientific mental health journals published in Iran and also to present a general profile of their characteristics. The journals evaluated in the study were published from 1990 to 2003. The scientific journals in the domain of mental health published in Iran and circulated until the implementation of this study were identified by library references, data banks, internet sites, and the editorial offices of the publications. The variables in the study were divided into three main groups: publication characteristics of the journals, distinctiveness of journals' license holders and personnel, and finally specificities of journals' contents. 23 out of 800 evaluated journals met the inclusionary criteria for this project. Less than 1/3 of the journals possess the official academic ranking of Publication Commission granted by Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology or Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education. None of these periodicals are indexed in any of the credible information banks. Nine journals did not have International Standard Serial Number [ISSN] and five journals had no English abstracts. Eleven journals were published by universities; five were published by governmental organizations and seven were funded by private organizations or scientific societies. During the study period, 1008 research articles were published in the journals. The average number of articles binded in each issue was 2.70[ +/- 1.2].The average number of articles in journals with official academic ranking certificate was higher than the journals without the certificate.There seems to be a relatively adequate number and variety of scientific mental health journals in the country,but too few articles are printed in them. For further progress in the upcoming years, the followings are suggested: quality improvement of the journals, more publication of indigenous research articles, publication of domestic periodicals in English, and indexing them on credible international information banks