Comparison of databases for Iranian articles; access to evidence on substance abuse and addiction.

BACKGROUND With the expansion of scientific documents worldwide and the growth of Iranian articles published in recent years, highly sensitive electronic resources containing scientific studies can be of great help to researchers at different stages of research. This study has been conducted to examine the sensitivity of domestic and international databases to locate Iranian articles related to substance abuse disorders or addiction. METHODS Iranian articles in three domestic databases (Iranpsych, Iranmedex, and SID) and three international databases (PsycInfo, Embase, and Medline) were compared, separately. All articles in English or Persian related to the subject in one year period (2002) were selected by two reviewers. The log linear model was applied to estimate the total number of articles and sensitivity of each database. RESULTS As a whole, 129 Persian articles and 29 English articles related to addiction were found in six domestic and international databases. Among domestic databases the sensitivity of each database (Iranpsych, Iranmedex, and SID) was estimated to be 66.5, 55.7 and 40.5%, respectively. Among the international databases (PsycInfo, Embase and Medline) were estimated to have 22.1, 19.1 and 17.6% coverage, respectively. A crossover search of articles retrieved from domestic databases showed that 11.6% of the Iranian articles had been published in English in international journals. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that after searching at least one general and one specialized Iranian database, 80% of studies relevant to addiction in Iran can be accessed. Introduction of developing countries' domestic databases can be beneficial in a more comprehensive access to scientific documentations.