A Review of studies used scientimetrics methods in Iran

The most widely used method for investigating the status of scientific products of each nation is scientometrics. The use of this method has increased dramatically through the past three decades. During recent years in Iran, many publications have emerged in this area and many studies have been carried out using this method. To have a clear and realistic picture of the situation of Scientometerics in Iran, the researchers have reviewed and analyzed the major Persian language works in this field, including books, theses and articles. The study shows that the advent of such publications goes back to a translated article in the early 70s (solar calendar); however, most of the publications in this area are composed works. All in all, throughout the past 17 years, an increasing attention has been paid to this field of study. The huge bulk of publications and measures taken in this field is the best evidence to this claim. In the reviewed researches, the quantitative measurement of scientific products has been prioritized over their qualitative measurement, and the databases of the American Institute for Scientific Information have been analyzed quite widely. Scientometrics indicators, mapping of science and scientific cooperation are among the new topics to which increasing attention has been paid during recent years in Scientometrics.