Category Archives: oa.arab_world

Supporting open science in the Arab world | Research Information

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“The Arab region comprises 22 member states across the Gulf, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Although economic circumstances, and available human, physical and digital capacities vary widely across these 22 states, the region as a whole has the resources and capability to play a pivotal role in the global transition towards more accessible, sustainable and inclusive research and education models.

However, while many institutions and organisations are at the forefront of this change (for example the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and King AbdulAziz University in Saudi Arabia, the Qatar National Library and the Egyptian Knowledge Bank), there is a clear need for something more focused on the specific needs of research communities and research institutions just starting out on their journey towards openness.

That is why, at the start of 2022, the Knowledge E Foundation (a registered community interest company based in the UK) decided to develop and launch a new non-profit initiative, the Forum for Open Research in MENA (FORM) – to support the development and implementation of Open Science policies and practices in research communities and research institutions across the Arab region….”

Forum for Open Research in MENA

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“The Forum for Open Research in MENA (FORM) is a non-profit membership organisation supporting the advancement of Open Science policies and practices in research communities and institutions across the Arab region.

The Arab states have the resources and capability to play a pivotal role in the global transition towards more accessible, sustainable and inclusive research and education models. We want to support all our research communities and stakeholder groups in the journey towards a more ‘open’ world, by facilitating the exchange of actionable insights and the development of practical policies….”

IOP Publishing accelerates OA publishing in Oman with Sultan Qaboos University agreement  – IOP Publishing

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“Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and society publisher IOP Publishing (IOPP) have established a transformative agreement enabling researchers to publish their work openly for anyone to read at no cost to them. It is IOPP’s first unlimited publishing agreement in Oman supporting the University’s ambition to make scientific research accessible to as many people as possible.  

The three-year agreement allows SQU researchers unlimited open access (OA) publishing across all IOPP owned journals and most partner journals while retaining their copyright. The contract also gives unrestricted reading access to IOPP’s entire journal portfolio….”

Providing a framework for the reuse of research data based on the development dynamic framework of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) | Emerald Insight

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Abstract:  Purpose

The present research is aimed at presenting a framework for the reuse of research data in Iran through applying the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Design/methodology/approach

The research at hand has a mixed methods design. In the qualitative section, the authors first carried out meta-synthesis and then an interview was conducted. Likewise, in the quantitative section, the reliability of the recommended framework was measured through carrying out a survey. Finally, the framework for data reuse was presented in five dimensions, namely human, organizational, policies and laws, technical, implementation and analysis.

Findings

Through structural equation modeling, the fitness of the framework was confirmed, and it was found out that the dimensions of policies, human and organizational played more prominent roles in the explanation of the framework in comparison with the other two dimensions.

Originality/value

Research studies in the area of data reuse have been conducted either quantitatively or qualitatively and in most of them interviews or questionnaires were used as tools for collecting data; however, due to the nature of this area and its relatively new literature in Iran, it is necessary to use mixed methods in order to be able to arrive at a proper understanding of this concept using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Open access and international coauthorship: A longitudinal study of the United Arab Emirates research output | Quantitative Science Studies | MIT Press

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Abstract:  This study investigates the interplay between open access (OA), coauthorship, and international research collaboration. While previous research has dealt with these factors separately, there is a knowledge gap in how these interact within a single data set. The data includes all Scopus-indexed journal articles published over 11 years (2009–2019) where at least one of the authors has an affiliation to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) institution (30,400 articles in total). To assess the OA status of articles, the study utilized Unpaywall data for articles with a digital object identifier, and manual web searches for articles without. There was consistently strong growth in publication volume counts as well as shares of OA articles across the years. The analysis provides statistically significant results supporting a positive relationship between a higher number of coauthors (in particular international) and the OA status of articles. Further research is needed to investigate potentially explaining factors for the relationship between coauthorship and increased OA rate, such as implementation of national science policy initiatives, varying availability of funding for OA publishing in different countries, patterns in adoption of various OA types in different coauthorship constellations, and potentially unique discipline-specific patterns as they relate to coauthorship and OA rate.

 

Altmetrics analysis of selected articles in the field of social sciences | Emerald Insight

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Abstract:  Purpose

This study aims to measure the impact of the selected papers in the field of social sciences indexed in Scopus using altmetrics tools.

Design/methodology/approach

The research community consists of the articles of the Iranian researchers in the field of social sciences indexed in the Scopus database in 2014–2018. Some of the most important altmetric service providers have been used to assess the presence of the research outputs in the social media and their impact assessment. Also, the relationship between variables such as scientific collaboration of researchers, open access journals and the quality of research journals with altmetric activity have been investigated through appropriate correlation tests.

Findings

The findings indicated that the most important social media publishing Iranian articles are Mendeley, Twitter and Facebook. The results of the correlation test showed a statistically significant positive and weak relationship between the scientific collaboration of researchers and their altmetric activity. Also, there is a significant and weak statistical relation between journal openness and the altmetric scores. In this study, the findings suggest that the published articles in the journals with higher quality indicators have higher altmetric scores and are more likely to be present in social media.

Research implications

In this study, the social network indicators have been introduced as a solution to examine the effectiveness of research activities on social media. These indicators can be used to evaluate the impact and usefulness of the articles and other scientific outputs with the aim of completing and eliminating the shortcomings of traditional scientometrics indicators. What distinguishes altmetric criteria from other criteria related to the scientometric studies is the speed, ease and transparency of these scales. This allows the publications to be evaluated regardless of their formal form and in the shortest possible time, and in addition to the scientific impact, the social impact of the works is also measured.

Originality/value

The results of these studies show that using altmetric service providers not only reflects the social impact of publications on authors in different subject areas but also helps libraries, universities, research organizations and politicians in planning, budgeting and allocating resources.

Iranian researchers’ perspective about concept and effect of open science on research publication | BMC Health Services Research | Full Text

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Abstract:  Background

Sharing research outputs with open science methods for different stakeholders causes better access to different studies to solve problems in diverse fields, which leads to equal access conditions to research resources, as well as greater scientific productivity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perceive the concept of openness in research among Iranian health researchers.

Methods

From the beginning of August to the middle of November 2021, twenty semi-structured interviews were held with Iranian health researchers from different fields using purposeful, snowball, and convenience sampling. The interviews continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed with thematic analysis using MAXQDA 20. Finally, seven main issues related to open science were identified.

Results

Through analysis of the interviews, 235 primary codes and 173 main codes were extracted in 22 subclasses. After careful evaluation and integration of subclasses and classes, they were finally classified into nine categories and three main themes. Analysis showed that openness in research was related to three main themes: researchers’ understanding of open science, the impact of open science on publication and sharing of research, concerns and reluctance to open research.

Conclusion

The conditions of access to research output should be specified given the diversity of studies conducted in the field of health; issues like privacy as an important topic of access to data and information in the health system should also be specified. Our analysis indicated that the conditions of publication and sharing of research processes should be stated according to different scopes of health fields. The concept of open science was related to access to findings and other research items regardless of cost, political, social, or racial barriers, which could create collective wisdom in the development of knowledge. The process of publication and sharing of research related to open access applies to all types of outputs, conditions of access, increasing trust in research, creation of diverse publication paths, and broader participation of citizens in research. Open science practices should be promoted to increase the circulation and exploitation rates of knowledge while adjusting and respecting the limits of privacy, intellectual property and national security rights of countries.

Saudi universities entice top scientists to switch affiliations — sometimes with cash

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“Research institutions in Saudi Arabia are gaming global university rankings by encouraging top researchers to change their main affiliations, sometimes in exchange for cash, and often with little obligation to do meaningful work. That’s the conclusion of a report that shows how, over the past decade, dozens of the world’s most highly cited researchers have switched their primary affiliations to universities in the country. That, in turn, has boosted the standing of Saudi Arabian institutions in university ranking tables, which consider the citation impacts of an institution’s researchers….”

Open access and international co-authorship: a longitudinal study of the United Arab Emirates research output | Quantitative Science Studies | MIT Press

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Abstract:  This study investigates the interplay between open access (OA), co-authorship, and international research collaboration. While previous research has dealt with these factors separately, there is a knowledge gap in how these interact within a single dataset. The data includes all Scopus-indexed journal articles published over 11 years (2009–2019) where at least one of the authors has an affiliation to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) institution (30 400 articles in total). For assessment of OA status of articles, the study utilized Unpaywall data for articles with a digital object identifier, and manual web searches for articles without. There was consistently strong growth in publication volume counts as well as shares of OA articles across the years. The analysis provides statistically significant results supporting a positive relationship between a higher number of co-authors, in particular international, and OA status of articles. Further research is needed to investigate potentially explaining factors for the relationship between co-authorship and increased OA rate such as e.g., implementation of national science policy initiatives, varying availability of funding for OA publishing in different countries, patterns in adoption of various OA types in different co-authorship constellations, and potentially unique discipline-specific patterns as they relate to co-authorship and OA rate.

 

Attitudes Toward Providing Open Access for Use of Biospecimens and Health Records: A Cross-Sectional Study from Jordan

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Abstract:  Purpose: Biospecimen repositories and big data generated from clinical research are critically important in advancing patient-centered healthcare. However, ethical considerations arising from reusing clinical samples and health records for subsequent research pose a hurdle for big-data health research. This study aims to assess the public’s opinions in Jordan toward providing blanket consent for using biospecimens and health records in research.

Participants and Methods: A cross-sectional study utilizing a self-reported questionnaire was carried out in different cities in Jordan, targeting adult participants. Outcome variables included awareness of clinical research, participation in clinical research, and opinions toward providing open access to clinical samples and records for research purposes. Descriptive analysis was utilized for reporting the outcome as frequency (percentages) out of the total responses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to investigate the association between independent variables and the outcome of interest.

Results: A total of 1033 eligible participants completed the questionnaire. Although the majority (90%) were aware of clinical research, only 24% have ever participated in this type of research. About half (51%) agreed on providing blanket consent for the use of clinical samples, while a lower percentage (43%) agreed on providing open access to their health records. Privacy concerns and lack of trust in the researcher were cited as major barriers to providing blanket consent. Participation in clinical research and having health insurance were predictors for providing open access to clinical samples and records.

Conclusion: The lack of public trust in Jordan toward data privacy is evident from this study. Therefore, a governance framework is needed to raise and maintain the public’s trust in big-data research that warrants the future reuse of clinical samples and records. As such, the current study provides valuable insights that will inform the design of effective consent protocols required in data-intensive health research.

“Zayed University Library, Open Access and the Place of the University ” by Lekoko Kenosi

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Abstract:  Zayed University Library, like most academic libraries the world over, subscribes to the principle of open access to knowledge. Open access works to removes barriers to information, advocates unrestricted use of electronic resources, and strives to facilitate readers with readily available information. This approach plays a critical role in supporting universities’ core mission of teaching, faculty and student research, and community outreach engagements. Similarly, the Archives, like its library counterpart, is home to a rich array of information capable of supporting teaching, research and community outreach initiatives. However, due to the confidential nature of materials in the archives, many archival repositories do not champion unfettered access to their content. This paper will deliberate on conditions governing access to archival content by reviewing provisions of the UAE Federal Law No 7 of 2008 on the National Archives, the UAE Federal law No 13 of 2021 amending some provisions of the Federal Law No 7 of 2008, and international best practice standards, rules and regulations spelling out the place of the archives in an academic library set-up.

 

Saudi Arabia jails two Wikipedia staff in ‘bid to control content’ | Wikipedia | The Guardian

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“Saudi Arabia has infiltrated Wikipedia and jailed two administrators in a bid to control content on the website, weeks after a former Twitter worker was jailed in the US for spying for the Saudis.

One administrator was jailed for 32 years, and another was sentenced to eight years, the activists said.

An investigation by parent body Wikimedia found the Saudi government had penetrated Wikipedia’s senior ranks in the region, with Saudi citizens acting or forced to act as agents, two rights groups said….”

Faculty Perceptions of OA A Quantitative Analysis

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Abstract:  A quantitative survey of faculty perceptions of Open Access (OA) publishing was conducted at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), a small liberal arts style University in the United Arab Emirates. The survey aimed to assess faculty perceptions of the credibility and quality of OA publishing. We were curious to discover the range of interpretations and understanding of OA amongst our faculty members in order to inform ongoing outreach and scholarly communications activity.

Doha Institute set to hold Arab Open Access Forum

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“The library of Doha Institute For Graduate Studies is set to hold the third Arab Open Access Forum via videoconferencing during October 29-31, 2022, in collaboration with Arab Community of Open Access (ACOA). The forum will constitute an opportunity for the academic and research community to get familiarised with the merits and advantages of free access and its developments at the global level, in addition to enhancing the Arab content and provide it freely on the internet, supporting the relevant educational programs and monitoring the distinguished experiences and initiatives, in terms of scientific and practical aspects in the overall tracks of free access in the Arab society.

In addition, the forum will spotlight the current and vital topics through its seven themes that will be discussed, where the first theme will discuss the information openness for climatic justice, the second theme will address the role of free access in countering pandemics and crises through focusing on some successful experiences at the Global and Arab levels, the third theme will discuss the directions in the open science, while the fourth theme will focus on the scientific journals.

In the fifth theme, researchers will discuss the digital repositories, the disciplinary and institutional digital repositories in the Arab region, the sixth theme will discuss the various sources of free access and the seventh theme will spotlight the information institutions and their role in supporting free access.

The forum will be held for the third time at the Arab region level respectively, and is hosted by the library of Doha Institute For Graduate Studies.”