Examining the Scientific Output of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences in the Scopus Database Compared to Tier 2 Universities

Abstract

Objective Nowadays, organizations and institutions evaluate their performance to ensure that they are taking the right steps towards their goals and missions. In this regard, universities and research institutes assess their success in achieving their goals by analyzing their scientific outputs and productions. This study aims to investigate the scientific productions and collaborations of the authors affiliated with the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWRS) in Scopus database in comparison with five medical universities. Materials & Methods This study, using scientometric techniques, was conducted on June 5, 2021. The information about scientific productions of the USWRS and other five universities of Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences were identified were extracted from the Scopus database and then converted into scalable format in Sci2 software. The output was then plotted in VOSviewer software. Results The mean number of authors for the USWRS in each article was 9, and the highest scientific collaborations was with the authors from United States, United Kingdom and Sweden. The authors for the USWRS also had a significant co-authorship with each other. According to the national ranking, this university was ranked 23 lower than Hamedan University of Medical Sciences and Golestan University of Medical Sciences. In terms of the number of published papers, it was in the second place after Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. The level of international cooperation of this university was more than other compared universities. Conclusion It seems that the USWRS’s scientific policy has been successful in increasing the scientific productions. More efforts should be made in this university to establish scientific collaborations with other universities at the national and international levels for encouraging authors.