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

Introduction: 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...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad Ali Nemati, Abbas Abbaspour, Vida Sepahi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences 2018-01-01
Series:Educational Research in Medical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.kums.ac.ir/ojs/index.php/EduRMedS/article/view/3575
id doaj-580471edbdba44efb5fc2d36d1619de7
record_format Article
spelling doaj-580471edbdba44efb5fc2d36d1619de72020-11-25T00:14:23ZengKermanshah University of Medical SciencesEducational Research in Medical Sciences2252-03412252-04652018-01-01625262Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review Mohammad Ali Nemati 0Abbas Abbaspour 1Vida Sepahi2Dept. of Educational Management and Planning, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran Dept. of Educational Management and Planning, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran Ph.D. student of Management of Higher Education, School of Graduate Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, IranIntroduction: 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. Methods: 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: 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. Conclusion: 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. http://journals.kums.ac.ir/ojs/index.php/EduRMedS/article/view/3575Institutional researchMedical educationHigher educationDecision-makingPolicy-making
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Mohammad Ali Nemati
Abbas Abbaspour
Vida Sepahi
spellingShingle Mohammad Ali Nemati
Abbas Abbaspour
Vida Sepahi
Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
Educational Research in Medical Sciences
Institutional research
Medical education
Higher education
Decision-making
Policy-making
author_facet Mohammad Ali Nemati
Abbas Abbaspour
Vida Sepahi
author_sort Mohammad Ali Nemati
title Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
title_short Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
title_full Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Functions of Institutional Research in Iran and Universities of Medical Sciences around the World: A Systematic Review
title_sort functions of institutional research in iran and universities of medical sciences around the world: a systematic review
publisher Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences
series Educational Research in Medical Sciences
issn 2252-0341
2252-0465
publishDate 2018-01-01
description Introduction: 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. Methods: 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: 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. Conclusion: 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.
topic Institutional research
Medical education
Higher education
Decision-making
Policy-making
url http://journals.kums.ac.ir/ojs/index.php/EduRMedS/article/view/3575
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammadalinemati functionsofinstitutionalresearchinirananduniversitiesofmedicalsciencesaroundtheworldasystematicreview
AT abbasabbaspour functionsofinstitutionalresearchinirananduniversitiesofmedicalsciencesaroundtheworldasystematicreview
AT vidasepahi functionsofinstitutionalresearchinirananduniversitiesofmedicalsciencesaroundtheworldasystematicreview
_version_ 1725390766056931328