The compliance of Iranian library and information science journals with Thomson Reuters’ basic standards

     Presently, journals are considered as the most important tools of information science and knowledge growth throughout the world. Due to the increase in the number of scientific journals, the selection, evaluation and determination of the authenticity of these resources by the authorized organizations has attached more significance to them. Thus, the present study aims at investigating the compliance of Iranian library and information science journals with basic standards of journal evaluation through Thomson Reuters’ viewpoint. This is an applied research, which has been conducted through comparative analysis. It evaluates the authenticity of scientific journals through four basic standards of  Thomson Reuters, namely on-time publishing of journals, observing international publishing laws, full-text in English, and peer review. The population of the research includes all the active scientific Iranian journals in the field of library and information sciences (12 journals). Results showed that the mean of correlation ratio between the studied journals and standards was 75%. On-time publishing and full-text in English were observed only in 33% and 58% of the studied journals respectively. However, observing international laws of publishing and peer review are in optimal status. Studies are needed in order to find out the compliance of the other countries’ library science journals with international standards,  (specially developing ones) to help those countries to identify the existing gaps which will assist them to present their researches in the international level through being indexed in authentic databases. Obviously more research is needed in this area, as Thomson Reuters has published standards other than the basic standards

Co-Authorship patterns and Topic Networks in the Scientific Publication of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Scientific co-operation is a process in which two or more authors share their resources and talents with the aim of creating a shared work. One of the forms of scientific co-operation is co-authorship that involves the production of a scientific output by several collaborative researchers and scholars. This research has been designed to map out co-authorship networks in the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences researches indexed in the Web of Science from 2012 to 2016, and analyzes scientific collaboration and co-authorship networks in this university. Method: The present study is an applied study which has been carried out using the scientometric indicators and social network analysis. The statistical population of this research consisted of all the scientific articles that at least one of the authors of referred to the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences as the affiliation and indexed in the Web of Science from 2010 to 2016. In so doing, the network analysis technique and the software on Citespace and Gephi were run to analyze and visualize co-authorship networks. Furthermore, the software on HISTCITE was used for data analysis. Findings: All articles related to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the years 2012 to 2016, based on a search on the Web of Science, have 838 records. The dominant co-authorship pattern in these years is the 4 and 5 authors with 171 articles and 20.41%. The mean number of authors or collaboration index in the period considered was 5.51, the degree of Collaboration was 0.99 and the Collaborative Coefficient was 0.759. Poorolajal, Alikhani and Shahidi were the most prolific authors. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Azad University were the most prolific organizations. The greatest collaboration of Iranian researchers has been with Switzerland. Saidijam, Mahjub, Mehdizadeh, and Moghimbeigi have alloacated the highest betweenness centrality, whereas Saidijam, Mahjub, Hajilooi, and Khazaei have allocated the highest degree centrality. Conclusion: The scientific production of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the period from 2012 to 2016 has grown dramatically, and collaborative research at this university is growing at an appropriate level. In this study, the degree of Collaboration and the co-operation rate are high which indicates that here is a great deal of interest in co-authorship and co-operation among researchers of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, and it is relatively unlikely to see single-authorship, which reflects the willingness of individuals to co-authorship

Credibility of health websites on infectious diseases: Are there any fully trustable website to read on Ebola?

     When a new disease develops, people are looking for information about that disease where the internet is considered as one of the sources of health information. Beside empowering individuals to identify and select valid information, reliable and up-to-date websites should also be introduced for them. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate and identify the high quality websites on Ebola virus and disease. To do this study, the term "Ebola" was searched for in Google, Yahoo, and Bing search engines using the Google Chrome browser. Three pages were obtained from the search in these three selected search engines and were examined, with the exclusion of duplicate websites, non-English websites, the results related to news, images, ads, and inaccessible websites; finally, 43 websites out of the 90 retrieved websites were selected for evaluation. The research tools included the HONcode toolbar and an eight-item checklist was developed by the researchers based on the HONcode of conducts. The result showed that out of 43 websites evaluated, only 6 websites (14%) were trustable and the 86% were not approved after evaluation based on the HONcode criteria. Only 37% of evaluated websites have been considered complementarity criterion. Justifiability was the most considered criterion and 95% of evaluated websites had paid to distribute information fairly enough. Online information about Ebola is available on many websites and this information affects people's health decisions and behaviors. Physicians and other health professionals can help patients and other community members to find their needed information on infectious diseases (e.g. on Ebola) from the most reputable and valid international websites

Online Health Information Seeking Behavior among Iranian Pregnant Women: A Case Study

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the health information seeking behavior, applicability and the evaluation of health information obtained from the Internet by Iranian pregnant women. Design and setting: The present study was descriptive-survey. The study population included 196 pregnant women in different gestational months referred to hospitals with Obstetrics and Gynecology ward in Hamadan, Iran on September and October in 2016 who were selected based on stratified random sampling method. The data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire. Findings: Most pregnant women, while facing with pregnancy problems, seek out health information from the Internet and they often trust the information and share with their doctor. The information increases their awareness about pregnancy. Websites and social networks are two important sources in finding health information and reference of content and educated authors are regarded as two important criteria in evaluating health information obtained from the Internet. In addition, fetal development and nutrition during pregnancy were regarded as two important issues having the most searches among pregnant women. Conclusion: Internet has become a popular source for health information finding. The high importance of the accuracy of information used by pregnant women and the vulnerability of this range of society highlight the need to equip hospital libraries with update resources of the information and amenities such as suitable seats, ventilation, and the like. Using medical librarians and informants and referral of pregnant women to these libraries by a doctor or midwife in order to obtain valid information, standardization of Persian-based digital libraries related to health, introducing valid portals for pregnant women are regarded as some important issues in this regard. Familiarizing pregnant women, especially in developing countries, with various types of content on the Internet and how to find valid information by medical librarians can facilitate the access to information for pregnant women and reduce many complications raised by the lack of reliable and valid information

Relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention in medical library and information science students: an Iranian perspective

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention of students in the field of medical library and information science. Methods: This study quantitatively examined seven hypotheses through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. Using the census method, 79 students of medical library and information science of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were studied. Data was collected using the Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy Questionnaire proposed by De Noble et al. (1999) and the Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire presented by the Linan and Chen (2011). Descriptive and inferential data analysis was performed using SPSS and SmartPLS2 software at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The results showed that the variable of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the components of initiating investor relationships and developing human resources affect the entrepreneurial intention of students, while the components of Understanding market opportunities, building an innovative environment, defining core purpose, and coping with challenges had no effect on entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial intention of medical library and information science students is positively affected by their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Greater self- efficacy leads to entrepreneurship. Practical implications: Considering the positive effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on students\u27 entrepreneurial intention, offering training courses to strengthen entrepreneurial behavior in the academic period seems useful. Originality/value: Entrepreneurship helps communities achieve social and economic growth. Entrepreneurial intention is one of the important factors in the occurrence of entrepreneurial behavior in students. Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy is a key factor in shaping and strengthening entrepreneurial intention. Given the increasing number of library and medical information science graduates and the relatively limited job market in this field, it seems useful to examine their entrepreneurial intention and the impact of social factors affecting it. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy, Entrepreneurial Intention, Medical Library and Information scienc

Co-Authorship patterns and Topic Networks in the Scientific Publication of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Scientific co-operation is a process in which two or more authors share their resources and talents with the aim of creating a shared work. One of the forms of scientific co-operation is co-authorship that involves the production of a scientific output by several collaborative researchers and scholars. This research has been designed to map out co-authorship networks in the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences researches indexed in the Web of Science from 2012 to 2016, and analyzes scientific collaboration and co-authorship networks in this university. Method: The present study is an applied study which has been carried out using the scientometric indicators and social network analysis. The statistical population of this research consisted of all the scientific articles that at least one of the authors of referred to the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences as the affiliation and indexed in the Web of Science from 2010 to 2016. In so doing, the network analysis technique and the software on Citespace and Gephi were run to analyze and visualize co-authorship networks. Furthermore, the software on HISTCITE was used for data analysis. Findings: All articles related to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the years 2012 to 2016, based on a search on the Web of Science, have 838 records. The dominant co-authorship pattern in these years is the 4 and 5 authors with 171 articles and 20.41%. The mean number of authors or collaboration index in the period considered was 5.51, the degree of Collaboration was 0.99 and the Collaborative Coefficient was 0.759. Poorolajal, Alikhani and Shahidi were the most prolific authors. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Azad University were the most prolific organizations. The greatest collaboration of Iranian researchers has been with Switzerland. Saidijam, Mahjub, Mehdizadeh, and Moghimbeigi have alloacated the highest betweenness centrality, whereas Saidijam, Mahjub, Hajilooi, and Khazaei have allocated the highest degree centrality. Conclusion: The scientific production of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the period from 2012 to 2016 has grown dramatically, and collaborative research at this university is growing at an appropriate level. In this study, the degree of Collaboration and the co-operation rate are high which indicates that here is a great deal of interest in co-authorship and co-operation among researchers of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, and it is relatively unlikely to see single-authorship, which reflects the willingness of individuals to co-authorship

A Bibliometric Study and Visualization of Library Philosophy and Practice during 1998-2018

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to analyze bibliometrics and visualization of Library Philosophy and Practice (LPP). Design/methodology/approach- Scopus citation database was used to gather the data. Using advanced search in the database, bibliographic data of the articles published in the journal over the past twenty years were extracted. Then, the analysis was performed using bibliometric indicators and some applications, such as Microsoft Excel and VOS viewer. Findings- The data indicated that the process of publications (R²=0.69) and citations received by papers (R²=0.85) was ascending. The paper of W. Fang (2007), Using Google analytics for improving library website content and design: A case study , is the most highly cited paper of LPP. Bhatti, R. (19 papers), Nigeria (549 papers), University of Ibadan (78 papers) are the most productive and influential authors, universities, and countries in LPP, respectively. Keyword clustering of published papers indicates that the most frequent keywords can fall into five clusters and the first and most important cluster is bibliometrics study . In addition, the analysis of references of LPP articles showed that Library Philosophy and Practice Scientometrics , and The Electronic Library are the top journals, Aina, I., Wilson, T.D.O., and Mahmood, K. are the top authors cited in LPP. Practical implications- The bibliometrics analysis and LPP visualization can be a useful for either library and information science (LIS) scholars or the people interested in bibliometric studies; therefore, they can use it as a pattern to review other journals. Originality/value- This study suggests a general outlook for the performance of an international LIS journal using bibliometric indicators and visualization. The results of this study will be beneficial for all the LIS authors and researchers around the world. Keywords: Bibliometric analysis, Visualization, Citation analysis, VOS viewer, Scopus

Online Health Information Seeking Behavior among Iranian Pregnant Women: A Case Study

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the health information seeking behavior, applicability and the evaluation of health information obtained from the Internet by Iranian pregnant women. Design and setting: The present study was descriptive-survey. The study population included 196 pregnant women in different gestational months referred to hospitals with Obstetrics and Gynecology ward in Hamadan, Iran on September and October in 2016 who were selected based on stratified random sampling method. The data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire. Findings: Most pregnant women, while facing with pregnancy problems, seek out health information from the Internet and they often trust the information and share with their doctor. The information increases their awareness about pregnancy. Websites and social networks are two important sources in finding health information and reference of content and educated authors are regarded as two important criteria in evaluating health information obtained from the Internet. In addition, fetal development and nutrition during pregnancy were regarded as two important issues having the most searches among pregnant women. Conclusion: Internet has become a popular source for health information finding. The high importance of the accuracy of information used by pregnant women and the vulnerability of this range of society highlight the need to equip hospital libraries with update resources of the information and amenities such as suitable seats, ventilation, and the like. Using medical librarians and informants and referral of pregnant women to these libraries by a doctor or midwife in order to obtain valid information, standardization of Persian-based digital libraries related to health, introducing valid portals for pregnant women are regarded as some important issues in this regard. Familiarizing pregnant women, especially in developing countries, with various types of content on the Internet and how to find valid information by medical librarians can facilitate the access to information for pregnant women and reduce many complications raised by the lack of reliable and valid information

Websites as a tool for public health education: determining the trustworthiness of health websites on Ebola disease

Objectives: Health service providers use internet as a tool for the spreading of health information and people often go on the web to acquire information about a disease. A wide range of information with varying qualities and by authors with varying degrees of credibility has thus become accessible by the public. Most people believe that the health information available on the internet is reliable. This issue reveals the need for having a critical view of the health information available online that is directly related to people's life. The Ebola epidemic is an emergency situation in the international public health domain and the internet is regarded as an important source for obtaining information on this disease. Given the absence of studies on the trustworthiness of health websites on Ebola, the present study was conducted to assess the trustworthiness of websites which are focused on this disease.Methods: The term "Ebola" was searched in Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines. Google Chrome browser was used for this purpose with the settings fixed on yielding 10 results per page. The first 30 English language websites in each of the three search engines were evaluated manually by using the HONcode of conduct tool. Moreover, the official HONcode toolbar was used to identify websites that had been officially certified by HON foundation. Results: Almost the half of the retrieved websites were commercial (49%). Complementarity was the least-observed criterion (37%) in all the websites retrieved from all three-search engines. Justifiability, Transparency and Financial Disclosure had been completely observed (100%).Discussion: The present study showed that only three criteria (Justifiability, Transparency and Financial Disclosure) out of the eight HON criteria were observed in the examined websites. Like other health websites, the websites concerned with Ebola are not reliable and should be used with caution.Conclusion: Considering the lack of a specific policy about the publication of health information on the web, it is necessary for healthcare providers to advise their patients to use only credible websites. Furthermore, teaching them the criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of health websites would be helpful