Scientific Repositories as Indices for Ranking of the Iranian Universities of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Aim: Webometric is the quantitative study of production aspects and use of information resources, structures on the Web. This study aimed to evaluate and rank the websites of Iranian medical science' universities with an emphasis on their scientific repositories. Method: 48 websites of target universities were surveyed and examined during 23 March 2017 through 28 March 2017 using webometric tools and methods. Findings: The findings showed that Shahid Beheshti, Tehran and Ahvaz Universities of Medical Sciences had the highest ranks among the other universities in terms of their website properties, respectively. Also, scientific repository of Mashhad with 20.43 percent of the total score of the survey, Ardabil with 17.60 percent, and Artesh University of Medical Sciences with 14 percent of the total score of the survey showed to have the greatest impact on their academic webometric ranking in general. Results: The results showed that the majority of the universities of medical sciences under study did not use their repository properly, and in most universities websites, scientific repository did not appear to have a significant impact on their academic webometric ranking.