Islamic Azad University, Shahrood Branch

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND STRATEGIC VISION

Islamic Azad University, Shahrood Branch, demonstrates a robust overall integrity profile, reflected in a commendable score of 0.844. The institution exhibits significant strengths in maintaining ethical authorship standards and publication channel management, with exceptionally low-risk indicators for Institutional Self-Citation, Hyper-Authored Output, Hyperprolific Authors, and Redundant Output. This foundation of integrity strongly supports its research performance, particularly in its key thematic areas of Chemistry and Energy, where it holds a competitive position according to SCImago Institutions Rankings data. However, this solid performance is critically undermined by a significant alert in the Rate of Retracted Output, which far exceeds national levels and points to a systemic vulnerability in pre-publication quality control. While a specific institutional mission was not available for this analysis, such a high retraction rate poses a direct threat to any mission centered on academic excellence and social responsibility, as it compromises the reliability of the scientific record. To secure its reputation and build upon its clear strengths, it is recommended that the institution prioritize an urgent and thorough review of its research validation and supervision processes.

ANALYSIS BY INDICATOR

Rate of Multiple Affiliations

The institution presents a Z-score of -0.833, which is notably lower than the national average of -0.615. This indicates a prudent and well-managed approach to academic collaborations. The data suggests that the institution's processes are more rigorous than the national standard, effectively distinguishing between legitimate partnerships and strategic attempts to inflate institutional credit. While multiple affiliations are often a valid outcome of researcher mobility or joint projects, the institution’s controlled rate signals a healthy and transparent system of crediting contributions, avoiding the risks associated with "affiliation shopping."

Rate of Retracted Output

With a Z-score of 3.968, the institution shows a critical deviation from the national Z-score of 0.777. This result suggests an accentuation of risk, where the institution appears to amplify vulnerabilities already present in the national system. Retractions are complex events, but a rate this significantly higher than the global average alerts to a severe vulnerability in the institution's integrity culture. It strongly indicates that quality control mechanisms prior to publication may be failing systemically, pointing toward possible recurring malpractice or a lack of methodological rigor that requires immediate qualitative verification and intervention by management to protect the reliability of its scientific output.

Rate of Institutional Self-Citation

The institution's Z-score of -1.194 is exceptionally low, especially when compared to the country's Z-score of -0.262. This demonstrates a consistent and commendable low-risk profile. The absence of risk signals in this area indicates that the institution successfully avoids the pitfalls of scientific isolation or 'echo chambers.' A certain level of self-citation is natural, but this institution’s very low rate confirms its work is validated by the broader scientific community, mitigating any risk of endogamous impact inflation and showcasing a commitment to external scrutiny and global academic dialogue.

Rate of Output in Discontinued Journals

The institution's Z-score of 0.248 is higher than the national average of 0.094, indicating a heightened exposure to this particular risk. This suggests the institution is more prone than its national peers to publishing in channels that fail to meet international standards. A high proportion of output in such journals constitutes a critical alert regarding due diligence in selecting dissemination venues. This pattern exposes the institution to severe reputational risks and suggests an urgent need to improve information literacy among its researchers to avoid channeling valuable scientific work into 'predatory' or low-quality publications.

Rate of Hyper-Authored Output

With a Z-score of -1.309, significantly below the national Z-score of -0.952, the institution demonstrates an exemplary absence of risk signals in this area. This low-profile consistency aligns with a national environment that already shows low risk, but the institution’s score is even better. This indicates a strong culture of accountability in authorship, successfully distinguishing between necessary large-scale collaboration and questionable practices like 'honorary' or political authorship. The data suggests that author lists at the institution are a transparent reflection of meaningful contribution, reinforcing individual accountability.

Gap between Impact of total output and the impact of output with leadership

The institution's Z-score of 0.808 is notably higher than the national average of 0.445, signaling a high exposure to dependency on external collaborations for impact. This wide positive gap suggests that while the institution's overall impact is notable, the prestige may be largely exogenous and not rooted in its own structural capacity. This finding invites a strategic reflection on whether its excellence metrics are the result of genuine internal innovation or a consequence of strategic positioning in collaborations where the institution does not exercise primary intellectual leadership, posing a long-term sustainability risk.

Rate of Hyperprolific Authors

The institution's Z-score of -1.413 is substantially lower than the country's Z-score of -0.247, indicating a robust and low-risk environment regarding author productivity. This low-profile consistency suggests that the institution effectively promotes a balance between quantity and quality. By avoiding extreme individual publication volumes, it mitigates the risks of coercive authorship, data fragmentation, or assigning authorship without real participation. This responsible approach prioritizes the integrity of the scientific record over the simple inflation of metrics.

Rate of Output in Institutional Journals

With a Z-score of -0.268, the institution shows a complete disconnection from the national trend, where the country's Z-score is a high 1.432. This represents a case of preventive isolation, where the institution does not replicate the high-risk dynamics observed in its environment. By minimizing its reliance on in-house journals, the institution avoids potential conflicts of interest and academic endogamy. This practice ensures its scientific production undergoes independent external peer review, enhancing its global visibility and demonstrating a commitment to competitive validation over using internal channels as potential 'fast tracks' for publication.

Rate of Redundant Output

The institution's Z-score of -1.186 is significantly lower than the national Z-score of -0.390, demonstrating a consistent and very low-risk profile. The near-total absence of signals for this indicator suggests a strong institutional culture that values substantive contributions over artificially inflated productivity. The data indicates that researchers are not engaging in 'salami slicing'—the practice of dividing a single study into minimal publishable units. This commitment to publishing coherent and significant new knowledge strengthens the scientific record and reflects a responsible use of the academic review system.