International Journal of Information Science and Management
Volume:22 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

This study examined postgraduates’ knowledge and usage of Google educational tools. The study was conducted in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with 350 respondents. A purposive sampling technique that allows researchers to use their judgments in selecting participants for research was used to select the participants for this study. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument, and it was sent to only the participants who attended a series of information literacy training sessions organized by the authors. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software. The study revealed that most students use Google as their search engine, and Google Scholar was the most popular Google educational tool. The students gained knowledge of these tools through their colleagues, on their own, through workshops, seminars, and conferences, and their lecturers. The respondents also mentioned some challenges, such as requests to pay to access articles and slow Internet. Some recommendations, such as more education by academic librarians to encourage students to use these free tools and efforts by the students themselves to learn how to use these tools, were made.

Cloud computing is one of the most important topics in knowledge-based companies. Small and medium-sized enterprises with a low budget and few human resources are one of the major groups tending to use cloud computing to benefit from this technology. Several components affect the adoption of cloud in these companies, which should be evaluated before making the decision. This study aimed to identify these components and determine how much each component impacts the adoption of cloud in small and medium-sized companies. Accordingly, based on the diffusion of innovation theory and technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework as well as the previous studies, a conceptual model with twelve components was presented. Data were collected via a questionnaire using the descriptive survey method from 59 knowledge-based companies of Kerman Science and Technology Park. In this study, the “need” factor was selected as the desired state and “use” as the current state; then, the mean of the other components was compared with the mean of these two factors. The results of this study showed that based on the gap between the desired state and the current state, the employees’ knowledge of cloud computing, compatibility, complexity, and security and privacy require more attention. Innovation factors, decision makers’ knowledge of cloud computing, benefits, and costs have a better position than other components. Finally, factors effective in the compliance of knowledge-based companies of Kerman Science and Technology Park with cloud computing were ranked using the Vikor method. The need factor (information need), decision makers’ innovation, and benefits were ranked first to third, respectively, and the complexity factor was ranked last among the indicators. Therefore, identifying the current state (not using cloud computing based on the needs or not matching with cloud) and the desired state (using cloud computing based on the needs or matching with the cloud) in knowledge-based companies, based on the criteria or factors whose usefulness was investigated in this study, can be an important step in joining these companies into the cloud, and thus bringing the benefits of this new technology to knowledge-based companies.

Individuals and Organizations that rely on the Internet for communication, collaboration, and daily tasks regularly encounter security and privacy issues unless interventions of intelligent Cybersecurity defense systems have been made to counter them. The existing pieces of evidence reveal that phishing website attacks have drastically increased despite the scientific communities' best efforts to combat them. Based on the key research gaps explored, the study has made significant attempts to answer the following research questions: RQ#1: Which cross-validation techniques and model optimization parameters are appropriate for given datasets and classifiers?  RQ#2: Which Classifier(s) yielded a superior Accuracy, F1-Score, AUC-ROC, and MCC value with acceptable train-test computational time before and after applying the Informative Feature Selection Techniques?  RQ#3: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each Classifier after being applied with multiple Informative Feature Selection Techniques?  RQ#4: Could the results of the top-performed Classifier and Informative Feature Selection Technique on Dataset one (DS-1) be consistent on Dataset two (DS-2)?  The study used a Google Co-Lab environment and Python Code to conduct rigorous experiments. Our experimental findings reveal that the CAT-B Classifier demonstrated a superior phishing website detection performance in terms of (Accuracy, F1-Score, AUC-ROC, and MCC value with acceptable train-test computational time both before and after applying the UFS Feature Selection Technique by scoring 0.9764 accuracies, 0.9762 F1-Score, 0.996 AUC-ROC, and 0.9528 MCC Value with 6 Seconds train-test computational time.  The study practically demonstrated implementing the CAT-B-UFS technique using a Python Code so that upcoming researchers can easily replicate their results and learn more. In future work, the study proposed implementing deep learning algorithms with proper feature selection techniques on Individual and Hybrid approaches to obtain more promising results.

This study aims to analyze members' sentiments in India's one of the most used Library and Information Science forums, the LisLinks discussion forum. We retrieved 10,420 discussion posts and their five replies to analyze the sentiment:  Positive, Negative, and Neutral, using the RapidMiner tool through a lexicon-based approach. The study results show that 64% of the replies have neutral sentiment, 32% have positive sentiment, and only 4% have a negative sentiment. The more neutral sentiment indicates that the forum members are not actively participating in the discussion site. When we compare the sentiment of the five replies, the results show an increment in neutral sentiment from the first to the fifth. The undertone of the research finding pertains to the users' gradual decremental use of this discussion platform. This study may aid administrators of the forum in grasping the feelings and opinions of the members to enhance the quality of the discussion forum.

This study explored its research trends by examining Iran's methods, contexts, and theories of information behavior research. This study is applied research regarding objectives and a content analysis regarding methodology. The research population consisted of 325 studies on information behavior. A researcher-made checklist was used to collect data, the validity of which was confirmed by experts. According to the researcher-made checklist, 325 data were analyzed based on the variables of each section. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and SPSS software (version 22). The results indicated the dominance of the quantitative approach and, consequently, the application of statistical analysis tools and methods related to this approach in relevant studies. In addition, most investigations were practical in this field, and therefore, fewer theoretical-philosophical studies and, in other words, fundamental research have been addressed in this field. There is no diversity in studies methodologically, and most of the reviewed studies, while referring to influential research in this field in their backgrounds, do not pay attention to their methodologies. Most of the research works are copies of previous studies conducted using quantitative, applied, and survey methods, and the desired population has changed only in some cases. Moreover, the scope of disciplines and specialties involved in the research production and studies reflects the interdisciplinary nature of this field with emphasis on knowledge and information science. The approach of information behavior research is expanding in various contexts with the presence of different types of users. However, it seems that the information behavior of the general public is less considered, and new studies are required in this regard. Research and studies conducted on information behavior in Iran have mainly considered the international models in this field, and some studies have even attempted to modify them. Few researchers have also proposed new models in this field, some of which have been published in international papers.

This study focuses on workstations, work postures and employee job satisfaction in the Brawijaya University Library. This study aims to determine the influence of workstations and ergonomics work posture on employee job satisfaction in the library. The research method used quantitative approach. The sampling technique is total sampling with a total of 45 library staffs from 5 department in the library. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis techniques. The results of the study there is influence of workstations and ergonomic work posture to employee job satisfaction with the t test value for both variables are 2.899 > 2.018 and 3.050 > 2.018 respectively. Based on the results of the R2 test that has been carried out above, the results of the R test of this study are the Workstation variable (X1), Work Posture (X2), simultaneously having an effect of 0.674 or 67.4% on the Job Satisfaction variable (Y). This means that the independent variable provides 67.4% of the information needed to predict and explain the variation of the dependent variable. While 32.6% is influenced by other factors or variables that are not examined.

This research has been conducted to identify and rank factors affecting customer loyalty in public libraries in Iran. This research is applied in terms of purpose and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) for the data type. In the first step, 45 articles on library customers’ loyalty were selected and analyzed purposefully using the meta-synthesis method. Then, based on the experts’ opinions and the analysis of the research findings, two factors, ten concepts, and 50 codes were identified, and their validity was confirmed using the Kappa-Kaufman test. In the second step, the weight and the ranking of the identified factors were determined by presenting a questionnaire to the experts and using Shannon’s entropy method. The statistical population of the research in the quantitative part consisted of 52 specialists in the field of public libraries, who were selected by the purposeful sampling method. Intra-library factors (human resources, service quality, physical space and environment, complaint handling, technical resources and facilities, electronic access, and communication) and external factors (mental image or impression, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction) were identified as factors affecting the loyalty of public library customers. In addition, the results obtained through Shannon’s entropy show that human resources, with a weight of 0.13, and mental impression, with a weight of 0.11, are ranked first and second. Moreover, perceived usefulness, technical resources and facilities, physical environment, and satisfaction were ranked third to sixth with a slight difference, with an approximate weight of 0.10. Electronic access, with a weight of 0.9, service quality, with a weight of 0.9. Complaint handling, with a weight of 0.7, and communication, with a weight of 0.6, were ranked seventh to tenth, respectively. The cultivation of customer loyalty in public libraries needs to improve the parameters and factors affecting it, and by prioritizing the most influential factors, customer loyalty will be promoted. The main goal of customer loyalty at public libraries can be achieved by recognizing and reinforcing factors that are essential in the enhancement of customer loyalty, such as growing the specialized, technical, and personal skills of the library staff, improving the social image of the library, providing valuable services for customers, presenting diverse and up-to-date information resources for all groups of society, observing standards in the library design and architecture, providing different electronic resources and types of information, having access to authentic scientific databases, and resolving customer complaints.

The study examines the awareness and usage of Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNS) among female research scholars and faculty members in Tamil Nadu, India. A structured questionnaire was used to survey 838 female research scholars through online platforms. The results showed that most respondents use at least one ASNS, with Google Scholar being the most popular. The primary reasons for using ASNS are to disseminate scholarly work and discover research papers. However, a lack of awareness and time was the main reason for not having an account with these sites. The respondents learned about ASNS primarily through friends and colleagues and suggested increasing their use and awareness through seminars and training courses, library posters, and integration in the student courses. The study highlights the importance of ASNS in the research work of female scholars and faculties while also recognizing the need for increased awareness and access to these resources.

This study aimed to identify indicators and factors affecting the evolution of services at the service desks of the National Library of Iran (NLI). The method of this research is the mixed method. The survey method, brainstorming, and group decision-making were used to collect data. The statistical population of this study was 21 librarians working in the service desks of the NLI and 28 members of the NLI. MAXQDA software was used for data analysis. Qualitative analysis of the data led to the extraction of 964 primary codes that reported service factors from the perspective of two groups of librarians and users. Multiple revisions and code integration based on similarity; several categories were obtained. Guba and Lincoln criteria (credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability) were used for data robustness and accuracy. Service desk design indicators were identified by reviewing the literature and primary sources of reference and information services and extracted (9 indicators). Factors affecting the information service of the NLI from the perspective of librarians and users fall into four themes: information librarian, user, service, and service desk. The results of this study showed the appropriate correspondence between the service desks of the NLI and the extracted indicators. Influential information service factors from the perspective of librarians and users were also discovered in this study from the words of users and librarians themselves. Within the theme of information librarian, three sub-themes of information literacy, connecting with the user, and professional ethics; In the user theme, the three themes of user training, independence, and membership; In the theme of service desks, five sub-themes of accessibility, desk location, desk physics, name of service desk and security; And in the theme of services, three sub-themes of marketing, tasks priority and professional view of departments and services are among the factors affecting information service.

Extant studies have focused on exploring the research output of universities in Nigeria, but the measure of the quality of research output using citations per paper (CPP) from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus is scarcely discussed. This paper investigated the quality of papers published by the top 76 universities in Nigeria. Five hypotheses on CPP were tested using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. These hypotheses tested whether CPP is the same or different i) across six geo-political regions (GPRs), ii) between the two major regions, iii) across three university funding types, iv) in Scopus and WoS, and v) if these two databases are correlated. Results using these two databases indicated that no significant median differences were detected among universities across the six GPRs, between northern and southern Nigeria, and between the three funding types (federal, state, and private). Moreover, no significant median differences in CPP between Scopus and WoS were detected, and CPP in both databases was highly positively correlated (0.879; p = 0.05). A comparison of the mean CPP of Nigeria (5.90) from Scopus with 57 other African countries ranked it 47th despite being ranked third in terms of volume of published articles. Policy prescriptions are made on the implications of using CPP for practice.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has made our surroundings more innovative and responsive, which has improved our lives. This research aims to provide a comprehensive overview by describing the descriptive parameters of publications, visualizing co-authorship and citation patterns, extracting the authors’ keywords, and determining the impact and research performance of the IoT in education. Subsequently, this paper provides an orientation for researchers to understand better the main progress and gaps in this scientific publication. From 2006 to 2021, a comprehensive inspection of 2503 documents in the Scopus database was accomplished. Based on the findings, the number of publications increased steadily, with a hike in publication numbers in 2020. Scholars from China contributed approximately 467 of the total global publications among 103 other countries. In addition, of the other 160 outlets, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing was the most prolific source title. Generally, there is sustained interest and increased research in this field, apart from establishing novel methods and directions. Accordingly, an in-depth examination of the IoT in education research may assist researchers and practitioners in advancing prospective knowledge in this subject by identifying gaps.

Academic Social Networks (ASNs) are significant in forming scientific interactions and increasing the visibility of researchers' scientific works. Considering the growing importance of ASNs, the current study aimed to investigate the presence of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences faculty members in ASNs and its relationship with citations in their articles. Scientometrics and survey methods were used in this study. The population comprised 291 faculty members at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. A questionnaire and a data collection form were utilized to investigate the presence of faculty members on ResearchGate, Academia, and citation databases, including Web of Science and Scopus. Descriptive (mean, variance) and analytical statistics (chi-square, Pearson, and Independent Samples T-test at a significance level of 0.05) were used to analyze the data using SPSS software. Academics of the faculty of medicine were the most active members of ResearchGate. Associate professors had the highest RG score compared to other academic ranks. However, the highest frequency of membership belonged to assistant professors. Following other researchers' activities and sharing articles were mentioned as advantages of joining ASNs. Isolation, staying away from the real social environment, and lack of information security were also disadvantages of ASNs. There was a positive correlation between scores of altmetrics indicators in ASNs and scientometrics indicators in citation databases. Concerning a positive correlation between altmetrics and scientometrics indicators, ASNs increase the visibility of scientific works and hence increase their citation.

In this research, all the scientific publications of the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) from 1980 to 2020 are studied using bibliometric analysis and scientific network visualization. This research applied quantitative research using bibliometrics and visualization of scientific publications. The research population included all the scientific publications of IUSM on the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) from 1980 to 2020. Data from the WOSCC were extracted via the advanced search by searching the Iran University of Medical Sciences in the affiliation field. Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer were used for data analysis. First, the frequency distribution of the scientific publications was identified. Then, the level of international collaborations was analyzed. Finally, the citation clusters of researchers' scientific publications and keyword co-occurrence were examined. IUMS had 9950 documents indexed in the WOSCC.  Malekzadeh jointly ranked first as the most prolific author. The Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, with 207 articles, has the highest number of articles. All highly-cited papers were published in high-level Q1 journals. The highest collaboration rate at a national level was with the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Internationally, IUMS's researchers had the highest collaboration with authors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, respectively. Term clustering demonstrated five main clusters: pharmacological studies, epidemiological studies, general & and internal medicine, meta-analysis and systematic review, and Immunological studies. The methods and techniques of bibliometrics and visualization are optimal for depicting and analyzing the scientific status of researchers, publications, journals, universities, countries, and even the world. The current study can be a model for analyzing bibliometric indices of other universities and research institutes in Iran and elsewhere.

The reluctance of university members to enter their information in International Scientometric Systems (ISSs) is counterproductive behavior for human resource management for international university rankings. The explicit goal of this research was to identify the necessary conditions for ISSs acceptance management in an Iranian academic community. To identify factors affecting the acceptance of ISSs and explore members’ attitudes towards them after a focused literature review, user feedback in training classes of ISSs was recorded through the researcher's participation during two semesters. This information was placed as components of a self-made questionnaire after multiple codings based on grand theory.  Then, a self-made questionnaire technique was used to investigate correlations between these factors. Snowball sampling collected data from 86 expert users of this system, and the hypotheses were tested.  In entering information in ISSs, experience of using ISSs, facilitating conditions, expected effort, and expected performance were identified. Finally, the relationships of these variables were presented based on the path analysis model. The results showed that usefulness, expected effort, experience, and facilitating conditions effectively use the systems through the willingness to use ISSs. However, the members were unwilling to use ISSs because they were not well justified about the micro and macro goals of the university ranking systems. Completing information in these diverse systems is considered time-consuming and repetitive. The existing rules for each system are considered cumbersome. Access to these systems' cookies to their personal information is not considered safe and desirable. The results' significance, implications, and limitations have also been deliberated for further research.

This study aims to analyze the content of reading culture, reading development strategies, and the application of technology to expand reading habits published in LIS journals indexed in ScienceDirect and ISC. This study is an applied-descriptive study in terms of its objectives. This study is also a part of Scientometrics and employs content analysis. A total of 363 articles from the ScienceDirect database and 82 articles from the ISC database were selected using purposive sampling, in which "word" was taken as the registration unit and "article" as the unit of analysis. The data were collected using a researcher-made checklist whose validity was reviewed and confirmed by experts, and its reliability was measured using the kappa coefficient (κ) with an interrater agreement of 0.7. The findings of this study showed that out of 445 articles reviewed, about 120 articles addressed the reading culture, 273 articles focused on reading development strategies, and 52 articles assessed the application of technology to expand reading skills. The research method most frequently used in the reviewed articles was the descriptive method. Besides, students constituted the most extensive research population. Encouraging students to engage in reading, teaching, and promoting effective reading methods and access to free digital books and publications wherever possible had the highest rankings among the extracted categories related to the reading culture, reading development strategies, and the application of technology to promote reading habits. Besides, the reviewed articles addressed practical methods of promoting reading habits. Our data highlighted the importance of reading and belief in its value in societies. Thus, there is no way to achieve scientific, cultural, and economic growth and prosperity other than expanding the community's constant and goal-directed reading habits. To this end, establishing school libraries and developing reading habits in children and adolescents need to receive more attention. In recent years, due to fundamental changes in social institutions, improving the quality of education has also received special attention.

This study aims to evaluate the quality of Iran's Ministry of Interior website by comparing it with the websites of countries recognized by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), employing the Website Quality Evaluation Tool (WQET). We examined one hundred websites using WQET, encompassing nine criteria: content, functionality, currency, coverage, graphics, links, authority, style, and meta-tag use. This was affirmed through the validity of the interface-content tool (Cronbach's Alpha score of 0.91). The study revealed that Iran's Ministry of Interior website ranks 17th among the countries surveyed, positioning it robustly. The US Interior Ministry's website ranked first, followed by those of Germany, Belgium, Taiwan, Qatar, and Finland, all demonstrating excellent quality. Website designers focus predominantly on coverage, content, style, and graphics of the nine criteria under examination, leading to generally good ratings. However, the functionality and links criteria were rated average, while authority, currency, and meta-tag use were judged weak. Iran's Ministry of Interior website must focus on enhancing the factors influencing the overall quality to improve its standing. It is recommended to employ WQET to evaluate the websites of provincial governorates, organizations under the Ministry of Interior, as well as other government and non-government organizations with similar websites globally, in a bid to elevate the quality and accessibility of their online platforms.

Determining the criteria and indicators based on which Iranian universities are evaluated is essential in university ranking systems. This study aims to identify criteria and indicators appropriate to Iranian universities and to develop a local framework for ranking Iranian universities and higher education institutions. This study was carried out using the fuzzy Delphi technique in six stages: the first stage was to identify the existing rankings, the second stage was to extract criteria and indicators, the third stage was to adjust the indicators based on frequency, and the fourth stage was to use the fuzzy Delphi technique to obtain expert panel opinions, the fifth step is to use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weighting and ranking indicators, and the sixth step is to present a schematic view of the framework obtained. According to findings, 145 studied rankings, 17 criteria, and 2709 indicators were identified. After removing the overlaps and homogenizing the indicators, 17 criteria and 180 indicators were selected to enter the study checklist. Finally, based on the fuzzy Delphi technique and AHP results, the appropriate ranking framework for Iranian universities, which includes 11 criteria and 94 indicators, was developed. The presented framework is designed according to the needs of Iranian universities to produce science and knowledge, create innovation and entrepreneurship, and produce technological products.

During the last two decades, less than 10% of countries have had the necessary capacities for high participation in international research activities. These countries have occupied central positions in the inter-country research collaboration network. This study, using the theoretical framework of the social system, tried to understand which subsystems were involved in achieving the central position. Based on the theoretical model of the research, an empirical study was conducted using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to identify the political, economic, social, and cultural factors that simultaneously led to the central position in the inter-country research collaboration network from 2002 to 2017. Data was analyzed through two novel methodological strategies: fuzzy-set ideal type analysis and strategy of multiple periods, single fsQCA. The results indicated the existence of twenty types of central countries and four causal configurations leading to the central position. This study concludes that in liberal democratic states, at least two political and economic subsystems exist. In non-liberal democratic states, at least three political, economic, and social subsystems must intervene to achieve the central position. By identifying causal configurations leading to the central position through the social system framework and strategies of tracking configurations over time with fsQCA, this study contributes to the literature on international research collaboration. It also offered suggestions to improve the semi-peripheral countries' position.