ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS BY DRAWING SCIENTOMETRIC KNOWLEDGE AND GIS MAPS OF WORLD GEOSCIENCE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN THE GEOREF DATABASE

The current study is based on surveying 5521 published geoscience research outputs by Iranian geoscience graduates, which resulted in the publishing of the world’s first scientometrics knowledge and GIS map of Iranian geoscience research activities. The main purpose of this study is to provide global database developers and decision-makers active in Scopus, Web of Science, GeoRef, etc., with some insights and ideas regarding considering and showing researcher activities through scientometrics and GIS maps in order to enhance their innovations and performance. . It can be argued that the scientific networks will improve the expertise of researchers and experts in the future so that it will change the future status of science boundaries. According to the comparison between the map and the GeoRef, it is showing that it does not completely provide the required information needed for global researchers, decision-makers, and recommended future studies. In addition, findings showed that decision-makers and database developers of the GeoRef could not completely discover the application of scientometrics studies whereas it can improve the professionalization of scientific collaboration networks among scientists and their future activities by considering their research activities via scientometrics and GIS studies. In fact, based on this new approach, the GeoRef will provide the best platform for understanding the global researchers’ activities trends, their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and, subsequently, redrawing the existing collaboration networks among current active scientists around the world. The study suggests that it is essential to prepare global geosciences research activities roadmaps and standards in order to conduct scientific research via a global standard format, especially in the geoscience domain. The study suggests that despite the fact that each country has university-based to national strategies regarding scientific activities, to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), it is essential to build local to international collaborations network on different field studies while taking into account the researcher's expertise and status in the global scientific collaboration network.