Study of the Publication Status of Scientific Journals in Iran

This study was performed to investigate the publication status of Iranian scientific journals with regard to scope, organizational affiliation, scientific level, publication language, electronic publication, and full-text access, either free or paid. The evaluative research method has been used in this study. A checklist was employed for collection of data related to scope, organizational affiliation, and scientific level. The samples included journals with scientific-research and scientific-promotional status approved by the National Scientific Journals Supervision Commission (Ministry of Science, Research and Technology) and the National Medical Science Journals Commission (Ministry of Health and Medical Education). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. As the results show, more than 530 scientific journals are published in Iran, most of which are affiliated with state-run universities and research institutes. Regarding the access status, only about 40% of the journals allow free access to full-text articles via their websites; medical journal had better status in this regard.Originality/Value: Publication of scientific journals is one of the most significant indexes of scientific development. Therefore, quality and quantity of the journals published in a country can be used as an index for assessing the level of scientific activities in a country or a certain community. The present study is the first of its type to investigate the publication status of Iranian scientific journals as well as their electronic publication status and free access to their articles.