Study of the Future of the Dissemination of Scientific Productions of Knowledge and Information Science in Social Networks from the Iranian Experts’ Viewpoint

 The purpose of this research was studying the future of the dissemination of scientific productions of Knowledge and Information Science in social networks.

This research was carried out using an applied method employing a mixed method approach containing scientometric methods, content analysis, Delphi technique, scenario writing and survey methods to conduct futures studies on the dissemination of scientific production of information science and library researchers in social networks. To conduct futures studies, we need to understand the current needs and interests of researchers in each field of science,that all articles of Knowledge and Information Science indexed in the Web of Science from 2005 to mid-2016 has been investigated in terms of altmetric indicators and subject areas were identified by quantitative content analysis method in terms of dissemination. Then, in the future studies section, Delphi technique, survey methods, and scenario writing approach were used to predict the status of dissemination of scientific productions in future years in social networks.

 According to the study, social networks such as ResearchGate, Mendeley, and Academia will be more appreciated by researchers in the field of Knowledge and Information Science. It was also found that the subject areas such as library and information science, computational studies, information retrieval, are among the top priorities for research in the social networks in the next ten years. The compound annual growth rate of the dissemination of scientific production of information science and library researchers in social networks was found to be 14.5% and the growth of the dissemination of scientific productions of Knowledge and Information Science researchers is expected to follow the continuation scenario. According to the views of Iranian researchers who are active in social networks, the qualitative development of scientific production, the attractiveness of research topics and self-archiving are expected to influence the dissemination rate in the coming years more than other factors.

 The results showed that social networks continuously play the role of disseminators of scientific information and are not limited in disseminating information in the same way as some traditional platforms are. In effect, it is possible to use the dissemination rate as a complementary measure to other altmetric indicators in assessing researchers’ productions in social networks. Dissemination score can be used as one of the complementary measures of Altmetrics indicators in projection trends, future predictions and evaluation of researchers in social networks, the dissemination of information on social networks are more than other factors would be related to the quality of scientific output. Researchers in the field of Knowledge and Information Science can use the results of this research to improve future planning.