Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review

Institutional research (IR) refers to the process of guiding academic research works and its relation with policy and practice, so as to enhance the quality of university. The present research is aimed at investigating functions of IR across universities of medical sciences in Iran and the world.
In this review study, the required resources were collected by systematically searching Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, AIR, and ERIC databases using the following keywords: Institutional, Research, Association for Institutional Research, and Institutional Research. For this purpose, firstly, a total of 186 papers related to IR were considered, of which 35 IR-related papers published during 1966-2017 period were finally selected.
Results of investigations performed at national and international levels show that IR not only provides its four main functions as information authority, spin doctor, policy analyst, and scholar and researcher but also offers other functions such as knowledge management, information management, strategic planning, accreditation, and university-industry interaction facilitation.
Decision-making units in universities of medical sciences in Iran include centers for studies and development of medical science education as well as policy-setting councils. Activities of these centers indicate that six out of 18 IR activities proposed by Volkwein were covered, and for other activities no particular task was planned for either these two units or other units of the university, and most likely, no particular precedent study is performed to support policy analysis and researching. This conclusion can serve as a guide for thinking and taking action for establishing an office of institutional research in every university across the country.