Restoring Scientific Authority in Iran: The Perspective of Postgraduate Students in Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Introduction: In order for Iran to realize its vision of scientific authority it needs a generation to maintain it in this competitive world. Postgraduate students and young intellectuals have an important role in this mission. This study was conducted with the aim of explaining the perspective of postgraduate students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, on achieving scientific authority in the country. Method: This was a qualitative study on ۲۰ male and female postgraduate students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Data collection was performed with semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded and written, and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Three main themes and several sub-themes were extracted. The theme that expresses the concept of authority from the view of participants in this study was "to have the last word in science". Sub-themes of the study were “referring to and having authority in science". In the view of the participants, in terms of scientific authority the country is now "in the academic dependence stage". Evidenced by the "need to use translated material and wait for scientific achievements from abroad". Another key theme which emerged was "localization of knowledge". The theme "being attainable" shows the participants’ belief in the possibility of achieving scientific authority. Having a history of scientific authority in Iran and the spirit of perseverance of the academics and students can cause the restoration of this approach. Conclusion: The themes derived from the current study show a range of views of postgraduate students. At one end of the spectrum is the lack of scientific authority in the country and at the other end is being attainable. The supreme leader has said: "scientific authority must be followed with hope, and hopefully will have results. There will certainly be a day when you will see that the scientific authority of Iranian universities and scientists is within our reach. The youth will certainly see this." Data of the present study can be used in order to achieve strategic objectives in reaching scientific authority.

Keywords:

Scientific authority , Medical students , Localization of science , Spirit of perseverance