User:Filippo Morsiani/Open access in Iran

Open Access in Islamic Republic of Iran; As of July 2015, DOAJ indexes 300 OA journals published in Iran. Although Internet filtering and academic freedom is restricted, open access to resources and open content development is growing. OpenDOAR currently registers 09 institutional and research cross-institutional OA digital repositories available such as Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Encyclopedia of Iranian Architectural History  and IranShahrPedia: Encyclopedia of Iranian Architectural History. EIAH Digital Repository and Research Information Management System are the two major projects working on establishment of Open Access.

In a survey of studying barriers to Open Access and Scientific Information in Iran, 70% of respondents chose an open access journal for their publishing model and the second vehicle is self-archiving (62.5%). Majority of academics face pricing and 'permission' crisis as an obstacle to their scholarly information (Ghane, 2006).

There are currently no OA policies registered in ROARMAP.

Enabling Environment
Some Iranian journals (English or Persian language) currently offer delayed free access, or back access, making issues of journals free six months or a year after journal publication. Awareness of OA exists but needs fostering.

Potential Barriers
Lack of essential national policies on open access which is necessary for the establishment and development of open access in a nation and war is also considering as political barrier which effects open access and its infrastructure. Lack of funding to OA projects also inhibits the growth of open data environment. Censorship, restrictions and regulations on use of Internet are the other factors obstructing the open content development efforts. Developing indigenous content in Arabic/Persian languages pose challenges for provision of open access content.

Past and Future OA related Activities

 * International Workshop on Scientometrics, Tehran, Iran, Sep. 17-19, 2004.

List of Publications

 * Asemi, A. (2010). A Citation Analysis of Iranian Journals to Open Access (OA) Articles and Journals. Scientometrics, 82(3), 487-494.


 * Noruzi, A. (2007, June). Open Access Journals: A Pathway to Scientific Information in Iran. Paper presented Proceedings ELPUB2007 Conference on Electronic Publishing, Vienna, Austria, in June 2007.


 * Ghane, M. (2006). A Survey of Open Access Barriers to Scientific Information: providing an appropriate pattern for Scientific Communication in Iran. The Grey Journal, 2(1), 35-42.