Determining the Frequency of Authorship and Publication Challenges in Medical Articles at a University of Medical Sciences in 1402 (2023-2024)



Sahranavard H ; Aghighi A ; Biroudian S ; Mirzaei P ; Delpasand K
Source: Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences Published:2025

Abstract

Background and purpose: Medical article writing and publication play a pivotal role in advancing scientific knowledge and enhancing the academic reputation of universities. Scientific collaboration among researchers and the development of international relations are essential for fostering scholarly growth. This study aimed to examine the frequency of authorship and publication challenges in medical articles at a university of medical sciences during 2023-2024. Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 54 faculty members with articles published in 2023 Data were collected using a researcher-designed checklist and analyzed using descriptive statistics. SPSS software (version 20) was used to analyze the data of this study. Quantitative data were reported using descriptive measures, and qualitative data were reported using frequency and percentage. Results: The mean age of participants was 46.82 years. 55.6% of participants were male, and 44.4% of participants were female. Approximately 64.5% of participants held permanent academic positions. The most common fields of specialization were pharmacy, dentistry, and forensic medicine. The mean professional experience was 15.73 years. A total of 77.8% had completed training in publication ethics. About 7.4% of respondents reported having a history of retracted publications. The mean number of articles in international and national (domestic) indices was 19.32 and 16.46, respectively. 20.4% had published articles beyond their area of specialization. Most articles were published in journals indexed in ISI, Scopus, and PubMed. In total, 42.6% reported paying article processing charges (APCs), with a mean payment of 2,622,000 Tomans. Furthermore, 38.9% stated that they had missed authorship opportunities at least once, primarily due to colleagues’ actions. The mean numbers of supervised theses and research projects were 23.39 and 13.10, respectively. Conclusion: While scientific authorship at the university is active and growing, certain challenges remain including the need to strengthen collaborative research, address ethical and structural concerns, and reduce financial constraints in academic publishing. © 2025, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.