Barriers to Research in the Humanities in Iran: a window to Science Policy

Conducting research in humanities sciences in Iran is faces with different barriers, including the small number of researchers, financial resources shortage, weak research infrastructure, etc.  Adressing these barriers is required for advancement in humanities sciences and exploring these barriers is the first step to address them, properly. The purpose of this study is to identify the key challenges of and barriers to research in the field of humanities in Iran. Several studies have been shed light on challenges of conducting research in humanities in Iran, which contain relevant data. In this research, through a "systematic review", 32 relevant studies (such as theses and dissertations, journal articles, and conference papers) were sampled for fulltext reading and analysis. Collected data were analyzed by coding method and dimensions of barriers were identified. Nearly 200 barriers to research in the humanities have been highlighted in academic literature, which can be summarized into 93 indicators and seven broad dimensions, namley poor social context, weak infrastructure, inefficient organization and management, inappropriate policy-making, incompetent researchers, incompatible rules and regulations, and distinct nature of humanities sciences. Perhaps policy-makers have been played a significant role in emergence of barriers. This study is the first attempt to take a comprehensive view on the barriers and challenges of conducting research in the humanities in Iran. The research policy-makers and decision-makers must be aware of the barriers and challenges that are impactful on research in order to design and implement appropriate and efficient policies and plans. The findings of this study can provide a better understanding of the barriers to reaserch in humanities sciences in Iran.