Iranian Journal of Information Processing and Management

Iranian Journal of Information Processing and Management

Conceptual Research: What It Is, Why It Is, and Explaining Its Value

Editor-in-Chief Lecture

Author
Rahmatollah Fattahi
Professor; Department of Knowledge and Information Science; Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
10.22034/jipm.2025.734304
Abstract
Conceptual research and its related approaches have not been seriously considered by domestic researchers, and no Persian article or book has addressed this issue. The dominance of empirical and survey research, with a positivist approach, has prevented conceptual research from being recognized and promoted in many academic circles. Many scientific journals also consider such research to be conventional research, and articles derived from them to be "promotional" or "review" articles and are unwilling to publish them. In this article, an attempt has been made to define what and why of conceptual research, as well as to introduce aspects such as its value, diversity, steps, and approaches to conducting it. Also, the framework and requirements of conceptual research that can demonstrate its methodology and practical value (especially in the fields of humanities, social sciences, as well as information sciences and technology) are explained. The proposal of this article is that the higher education system, university research vice-chancellors, specialized promotion committees, educational groups and scientific research journals should value and recognize this type of research.
Keywords
Conceptual research
research methods
humanities
social sciences
information sciences and technology

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