Hasan Doulati, Peyman Jafari Tehrani and Fatemeh Habib Pour
Using the academic capacities of universities to develop research is at the heart of scientific institutions that seek to increase their investment in research to maintain a superior academic niche in competitive arenas. In fact, as mental generators and revolutionary institutions, universities undertake to train the main body of experts in a society. In this regard, they are considered as the major hosts of research in a country. It seems, thus, necessary to identify the factors that contribute to the qualitative development of universities, achievement of international standards and researchers’ satisfaction. The present study addresses the questions “what factors contribute to higher research ranking of universities?” and “what factors are more significant?” To this end, the current researchers first reviewed the books, articles and previous research on the topic. Following the identification of contributing factors, they then sought the opinions of professors and elites with Imam Khomeini University of Marine Sciences using a questionnaire. TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making method was used to prioritize the results. The results showed that the major factors promoting the research ranking of universities included budget requirements, motivational factors, academic interaction with other universities and applied thinking.
