Determining the Research Needs of Social Insurer: Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Research conducted without any need assessment not only helps solve problems but also increase the current problems and result in waste of limited resources. The aim of this research was to determine the research needs of a social insurer organization based on their manager's attitude. This is a mixed and cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2011. A purposeful sample of 11 participants from social insurer organization in Iran was selected. Data gathering was done using interview and analysis of data was conducted using Atlas.Ti 5.0 software. Also, the topics were prioritized using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method through Expert Choice 11.0 software. Titles of “Design of strategic planning,” “Pathology of structure,” and “Evaluation of family physician and referral system” with scores of 0.96, 0.85, and 0.82, respectively earned the priority of one to three. Since the resources are limited and needs are unlimited, in order to prevent research resource wasting in insurance organization, resources must be prioritized and this can assist organization achieving their goals.