Barriers to the Theory Building in Iran (Case Study: Tarbiat Modares University)

پژوهشنامه کتابداری و اطلاع رسانی

Article 1, Volume 10, Issue 1 - Serial Number 19, December 2020, Pages 5-34   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/riis.v0i0.71623

Authors

Mohammad Hassanzadeh^{* 1}; Behruz Rasooli²; Elmira Karimi²

¹Tarbiat Modares University

²Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc)

Abstract

Introduction: Theorizing is one of the key scientific foundations and most scientists and countries are at the same levels of science that are highly advanced. That is why the upstream documents related to science, technology and innovation in Iran have also paid particular attention to this issue. However, it seems that this phenomenon has not yet made significant progress in Iran. The purpose of this study is to explore the main obstacles to the growth of theoretical capacity in the country.
Methodology: The worldview of this research is defined in the philosophy of interpretiveism with a mixture of the pragmatism. A methodology for answering selected research questions is ethnography with a mixture of the grounded theory. Interviewed with 12 experts from Tarbiat Modares University, interviews data were coded and analyzed in Maxqda.
Findings: There are many obstacles that can prevent leading to theorizing. In a general view, these barriers can be categorized into two broad categories of general non-organizational barriers and organizational barriers. Since the focus of this study is on organizational barriers, these barriers can be organized into seven general categories, including the lack of institutional linkages, organizational resource constraints, incorrect evaluation systems, poor academic communications, inadequate university education,
students' poor academic quality and the inertia of scholars. .
Conclusion: Theorizing is one of the key scientific phenomena that must be pursued with seriousness in the scientific field of Iran and the first step towards realizing this phenomenon is identifying obstacles that slow it down. The present study is conducted with a qualitative approach, which provides a deep overview of the theoretical barriers and introduces a new categorization that makes decision making and policy making possible in this field.

Keywords

Theory building; Theory; Tarbiat Modares University; barriers; Higher Education

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