title: A study on scientific collaboration and co-authorship patterns in library and information science studies in Iran between 2005 and 2009.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Scientific collaboration is among the most important subjects in scientometrics, and many studies have investigated this concept to this day. The goal of the current study is investigation of scientific collaboration and co-authorship patterns of researchers in the field of library and information science in Iran between years 2005 and 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study uses scientometrics method. The statistical population consists of 942 documents published in Iranian library and information science journals between years 2005 and 2009. Collaboration coefficient, collaboration index (CI), and degree of collaboration (DC) were used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings showed that among 942 investigated documents, 506 documents (53.70%) was created by one individual researcher and 436 documents (46.30%) were the result of collaboration between two or more researchers. Also, the highest rank of different authorship patterns belonged to National Journal of Librarianship and Information Organization (code H).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The average collaboration coefficient for the library and information science researchers in the investigated time frame was 0.23. The closer this coefficient is to 1, the higher is the level of collaboration between authors, and a coefficient near zero shows a tendency to prefer individual articles. The highest collaboration index with an average of 1.92 authors per paper was seen in year 1388. The five year collaboration index in library and information science in Iran was 1.58, and the average degree of collaboration between researchers in the investigated papers was 0.46, which shows that library and information science researchers have a tendency for co-authorship. However, the co-authorship had increased in recent years reaching its highest number in year 1388. The researchers' collaboration coefficient also shows relative increase between years 1384 and 1388. National Journal of Librarianship and Information Organization has the highest rank among all the investigated journals based on collaboration coefficient, collaboration index (CI), and degree of collaboration (DC).
authors.affiliation: Department of Knowledge and Information Science, School of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Saba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siamaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Knowledge and Information Science, School of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Geraei
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Library and Information Sciences, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Firoozeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zare-Farashbandi
keywords: Co-authorship patterns; Iranian library and information science journals; scientific collaboration