سخن سردبیر: بحران کرونا، پژوهش مجازی و علم‌سنجی مجازی

Historiography and the study of the science growth process and technology clearly express this fact that the development of research has always been shaped by bitter human experiences in major crises, and crises as threatening factors with all their harms and bitterness, willingly or unwillingly, are always the most important factors for the transformation and development of science and technology paths. A clear example of this impact can be found in the unique growth and development of science and technology after the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War, which led to a dramatic shift in the country's view from small science to major science and has put research on a more priority and targeted path. With the massive investments made by the developments of the World Wars and the Cold War, the growth and development of science and technology have been increased dramatically, bringing the scientific and technological achievements of recent decades to more than all the scientific and technological achievements in human life.
Despite previous crises, the emerging crisis, which has erupted in recent months and poses an unknown virus to the international community, has affected all daily routines and future economic, social, cultural, and scientific programs at the national and international levels. The realities of the Corona epidemic, which countries refer to as the "common enemy," show that, despite all the progress that has been made, mankind still has a long way in many emerging fields of science. The Corona Crisis has led thinkers to reconsider and, in the early years of the third millennium, make it necessary to provide a transformative redefinition of the current structures of societies.
From a research point of view, this crisis has shown that the health sector is a priority for other sectors and requires more attention, investment, and support. It is clear, therefore, that in such a situation, the most important, the most priority, and the most central issue that requires the help of a wide range of researchers in various fields is the field of Corona's research. From the approach of access to scientific information sources, this crisis showed that whenever the issue of human health is involved, the issue of restricting access to scientific information loses its real meaning, because to deal with this crisis, access to valuable information for research is like the blood that flows in the veins of research and can bring it to its destination. That's why these days, reputable international publishers and databases have opened their doors to international researchers to access valuable scientific resources in areas related to Corona, regardless of any boundaries. As this trend continues, and while most universities around the world are experiencing unforeseen quarantine holidays for the first time in their lives, research cycles have not stopped moving, and even in some cases the scope of research has expanded virtually and remotely. In such a situation, scientists and researchers take advantage of the opportunity to freely access scientific resources related to the Corona field and rely on their knowledge and experience to carry out research work virtually and remotely and more than ever before to move ahead research cycles. In this dangerous situation, where all related fields, from biological sciences and virology to clinical fields, medical research, pharmacy, and the like, work side by side to counter this crisis, the fields of national and international research and technology are undoubtedly witnessing the emergence of interdisciplinary fields. It is also a new front of research that can clear the way for future developments in science and technology. Undoubtedly, identifying and observing these evolutionary paths and the role of scientists, universities, and scientific channels of influential countries in the development of these interdisciplinary fields and emerging research fronts will be decisive in determining the future paths of science and technology.
In such circumstances, and especially in the days when research is conducted virtually and remotely, the role of virtual scientometrics research in explaining these scientific paths, trends, and developments is much more serious, important, and decisive than it was in the past. From the most important fields of research, the study of which, in the form of telecommuting and virtualization, and at the same time as quarantine, require the serious participation and determination of scientometrics experts; such as determining the international trends in the formation of research in the Corona area, recognition of emerging research fronts and its sub-branches, discovering the interdisciplinary areas of emerging scientific participation, and identifying the most relevant and influential researchers and research related to the Corona research area. Determining the international trends in the formation of research in the Corona area, recognition of emerging research fronts and their subfields, discovering the interdisciplinary areas of emerging scientific participation, and identifying the most relevant and influential researchers and research related to the Corona research area are the fields which can be mentioned from the most important fields of research, the study of which, in the form of telecommuting and virtualization, and at the same time as quarantine, require the serious participation and determination of scientometrics experts.
Perhaps it is not irrelevant as the same way that Glänzel called the remote Scientometrics research as "Laptop bibliometrics " in 2010, today this purposeful and uninterrupted research of scientometrics, being carried out in quarantine days and literally means virtualization and telecommuting and are published in e-journals and available to virtual enthusiasts and researchers, is called "Virtual scientometrics" too.