We study the possible influences of the Russia-Ukraine War on Russia’s research productivity and international collaboration in science. For this purpose, we introduce and apply two recently... Show moreWe study the possible influences of the Russia-Ukraine War on Russia’s research productivity and international collaboration in science. For this purpose, we introduce and apply two recently developed indicators of relative intensity and balance in international collaboration. To see whether longitudinal trends have changed recently, we combine a long-term perspective based on annual updates since the year 2000 with a short-term perspective based on monthly updates since the beginning of 2022. The clearest change is that the productivity of Russian science, as measured within Web of Science, has dramatically decreased after several years of growth. There is also a clear decline in the degree of international collaboration in fields of research that heavily rely on large multinational infrastructures established through state agreements. In other fields, however, the degree of international collaboration is more stable. The general decline in Russian science seems to be more driven by internal factors than by loss of partnerships abroad. Show less
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing field of research that attracts significant funding from both the state and industry players. Such interest is driven by a wide range of AI... Show moreArtificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing field of research that attracts significant funding from both the state and industry players. Such interest is driven by a wide range of AI technology applications in many fields. Since many AI research topics relate to computer science, where a significant share of research results are published in conference proceedings, the same applies to AI. The world leaders in artificial intelligence research are China and the United States. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the bibliometric indicators of AI conference papers from these two countries based on Scopus data. The analysis aimed to identify conferences that receive above-average citation rates and suggest publication strategies for authors from these countries to participate in conferences that are likely to provide better dissemination of their research results. The results showed that, although Chinese researchers publish more AI papers than those from the United States, US conference papers are cited more frequently. The authors also conducted a correlation analysis of the MNCS index, which revealed no high correlation between MNCS USA vs. MNCS China, MNCS China/MNCS USA vs. MSAR, and MNCS China/MNCS USA vs. CORE ranking indicators. Show less
Isager, P.M.; Lakens, D.; Leeuwen, T. van; Veer, A.E. van 't 2023
Replication of published results is crucial for ensuring the robustness and self-correction of research, yet replications are scarce in many fields. Replicating researchers will therefore often... Show moreReplication of published results is crucial for ensuring the robustness and self-correction of research, yet replications are scarce in many fields. Replicating researchers will therefore often have to decide which of several relevant candidates to target for replication. Formal strategies for efficient study selection have been proposed, but none have been explored for practical feasibility - a prerequisite for validation. Here we move one step closer to efficient replication study selection by exploring the feasibility of a particular selection strategy that estimates replication value as a function of citation impact and sample size (Isager, van 't Veer, & Lakens, 2021). We tested our strategy on a sample of fMRI studies in social neuroscience. We first report our efforts to generate a representative candidate set of replication targets. We then explore the feasibility and reliability of estimating replication value for the targets in our set, resulting in a dataset of 1358 studies ranked on their value of prioritising them for replication. In addition, we carefully examine possible measures, test auxiliary assumptions, and identify boundary conditions of measuring value and uncertainty. We end our report by discussing how future validation studies might be designed. Our study demonstrates the importance of investigating how to implement study selection strategies in practice. Our sample and study design can be extended to explore the feasibility of other formal study selection strategies that have been proposed. Show less
After the departure of commercial scientific information databases such as Scopus and Web of Science from Russia, the problem of building a new system for research assessment is more relevant than... Show moreAfter the departure of commercial scientific information databases such as Scopus and Web of Science from Russia, the problem of building a new system for research assessment is more relevant than ever. At the same time, the new system does not have to copy the previous one with other data sources. The purpose of the article is to analyze global trends in the field of research evaluation. The authors have examined key supranational documents and practices in introducing a responsible approach to research assessment in the Netherlands. All the reviewed sources agree on one point: research activities should not be assessed based solely on quantitative indicators, especially on the basis of surrogate measures of quality such as impact factor. In the Netherlands, all the key stakeholders in the research sphere adhere to responsible research evaluation. An important role is played by the concept of valorization, which involves the use of scientific research results in the economy and for the benefit of society as a whole. The experience of the Netherlands can be used in Russia to build an advanced system for assessing research activities, which will contribute to achieving the development goals of our country and the implementation of priorities in the scientific, technical, and socio-economic spheres. Show less
This year marks 10 years since the start of the Project 5top100. The key goal of the project was the entry of five Russian universities into the top 100 global university rankings; respectively,... Show moreThis year marks 10 years since the start of the Project 5top100. The key goal of the project was the entry of five Russian universities into the top 100 global university rankings; respectively, the rankings have firmly entered the Russian academic and public discourses. This article is aimed at answering the question of how university rankings are interpreted in Russia. We conducted a rigorous peer review of Russian-language academic literature. This part of Russian academic discourse is usually closed for international readership. We have reviewed 64 relevant articles and concluded that most Russian authors consider rankings in terms of competitiveness. Ranking methodology and interpretation are taken uncritically in this case. The review was also supplemented by a brief overview of the global perspective based on major statements in responsible research evaluation. This part of the literature suggests that university rankings should not be used in research evaluation. However, it is still not the case, unfortunately. Show less
The Arabic Citation Index (ARCI) was launched in 2020. This article provides an overview of the scientific literature contained in this new database and explores its possible usage in research... Show moreThe Arabic Citation Index (ARCI) was launched in 2020. This article provides an overview of the scientific literature contained in this new database and explores its possible usage in research evaluation. As of May 2022, ARCI had indexed 138,283 scientific publications published between 2015 and 2020. ARCI’s coverage is characterised by using the metadata available in scientific publications. First, I investigate the distributions of the indexed literature at various levels (research domains, countries, languages, open access). Articles make up nearly all the documents indexed with a share of 99% of ARCI. The Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences fields have the highest concentration of publications. Most indexed journals are published in Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. About 8% of publications in ARCI are published in languages other than Arabic. Second, I use an unsupervised machine learning model, LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation), and the text mining algorithm of VOSviewer to uncover the main topics in ARCI. These methods provide a better understanding of ARCI’s thematic structure. Next, I discuss how ARCI can complement global standards in the context of a more inclusive research evaluation. Finally, I suggest a few research opportunities after discussing the findings of this study. Show less
Recent gender policies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have improved legal equality for women with noticeable effects in some countries. The implications of these policies on... Show moreRecent gender policies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have improved legal equality for women with noticeable effects in some countries. The implications of these policies on science, however, are not well-understood. This study applies a bibliometric lens to describe the landscape of gender disparities in scientific research in MENA. Specifically, we examine 1.7 million papers indexed in the Web of Science published by 1.1 million authors from MENA between 2008 and 2020. We used bibliometric indicators to analyze potential disparities between men and women in the share of authors, research productivity, and seniority in authorship. The results show that gender parity is far from being achieved in MENA. Overall, men authors obtain higher representation, research productivity, and seniority. But some countries stand out: Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey, Algeria and Egypt have higher shares of women researchers compared to the rest of MENA countries. The UAE, Qatar, and Jordan have shown progress in terms of women participation in science, but Saudi Arabia lags behind. We find that women are more likely to stop publishing than men and that men publish on average between 11 and 51% more than women, with this gap increasing over time. Finally, men, on average, achieved senior positions in authorship faster than women. Our longitudinal study contributes to a better understanding of gender disparities in science in MENA which is catching up in terms of policy engagement and women representation. However, the results suggest that the effects of the policy changes have yet to materialize into distinct improvements in women’s participation and performance in science. Show less
Innovation is often an object of study in economics and management. However, the social and behavioral aspects of innovation acceptance are as important as the economics of product development. A... Show moreInnovation is often an object of study in economics and management. However, the social and behavioral aspects of innovation acceptance are as important as the economics of product development. A significant portion of the literature considers innovation as a change in the way social actions are conducted, entailing a wide range of social, economic, behavioral, and institutional changes. Various approaches have given rise to the need for a typology. Sundbo (1998) divided innovation into three groups depending on the aspects of the phenomenon: theory of entrepreneurship, technological and social aspects, and strategic aspects. Adopting Sundbo's conceptual framework, this study supplemented and developed it based on recent literature that appeared after 1998. Moreover, this study added new directions at the second level of decomposition and the relationships between different aspects of innovation. In particular, this study analyzed phenomena such as open innovation, agile innovation, and “helix” models. Thus, this study developed a novel typology of innovation that expands the theoretical knowledge in this field. Based on these findings, this study proposed promising areas for future innovation studies. Show less
The article studies the issues related to the compilation of the Russian Journal Whitelist, which is intended to be used in research evaluation. Currently, this list has been approved and posted on... Show moreThe article studies the issues related to the compilation of the Russian Journal Whitelist, which is intended to be used in research evaluation. Currently, this list has been approved and posted on the website of the Russian Center for Scientific Information. Building a hierarchy of journals within this list is still under discussion. A number of questions have been raised in the academic community about the composition and principle of compiling the whitelist, and an answer is required. In addition, there are a number of broader questions, in particular, to what extent journal publications are the best way to evaluate research and researchers. I have formulated a number of such questions, inviting readers to reflection and discussion. Despite the difficult situation that has now developed in international scientific communication, one should look at it not only as a crisis, but also as an opportunity to create one of the best systems for research assessment at the moment, free from accumulated bias. Show less
Tordoir, P.P.; Raan, A.F.J. van; Poorthuis, A. 2023
Urban scaling, the superlinear increase of socio-economic measures with increasing population, is a well-researched phenomenon. This article is focused on socio-economic performance scaling, which... Show moreUrban scaling, the superlinear increase of socio-economic measures with increasing population, is a well-researched phenomenon. This article is focused on socio-economic performance scaling, which could possibly be driven by increasing returns of the size and density of interaction networks. If this is indeed the case, we should also find that spatial barriers to interaction affect scaling and cause local performance deviations. Possible barring effects of municipal boundaries are important from the perspective of urban and regional governance. We test the hypothesis of barring effects by correlating municipal boundaries with the structure of commuter networks within a large densely urbanized region, the Randstad in The Netherlands. The measured impacts of these boundaries are correlated with local employment-scaling deviations. Applying spatially weighted modelling techniques, we find that municipal borders have significant effects on inter-municipal commuting and indicate these effects on the map. The results show particularly significant correlations along dividing lines between large urban agglomerations and rural communities. The southern part of the Randstad is more fragmented by such dividing lines than the northern part, which could partly explain the diverging economic development between the two parts. Show less
We have explored the history of the field of capillary electrophoresis using bibliometric methods. The analysis shows that 416 prolific researchers are connected in a single, large, co-authorship... Show moreWe have explored the history of the field of capillary electrophoresis using bibliometric methods. The analysis shows that 416 prolific researchers are connected in a single, large, co-authorship network based on publications on capillary electrophoresis between 1980 and 2021, with a few pioneers having remained active throughout much of this time period. Looking at research topics revealed electrochemistry, sensors, nanotechnology and metabolomics as ‘hot’ topics, with fundamental method development being more ‘mature’, and reveal that capillary electrophoresis technology have matured over a 30-year time period, with research efforts moving from separations to quantitative measurements to biomedical applications. The citation patterns showed the strongest coupling between journals of similar scope. Interactive versions of the bibliometric network visualizations are available on-line at https://tinyurl.com/2z7q7wcx (researcher co-authorship network), https://tinyurl.com/2jmhsgxx (research topic network) and https://tinyurl.com/2lnfzzgn (journal bibliographic coupling citation network). Show less
Promoting and implementing research integrity is considered the joint responsibility and effort of multiple stakeholders in the research community. We conducted a scoping review and analyzed 236... Show morePromoting and implementing research integrity is considered the joint responsibility and effort of multiple stakeholders in the research community. We conducted a scoping review and analyzed 236 research articles and gray literature publications from biomedical sciences, social sciences, natural sciences (including engineering), and humanities that dealt with the factors that may positively or negatively impact the promotion and implementation of research integrity. Critical appraisal of evidence was performed for studies describing interventions aimed at research integrity promotion in order to provide insight into the effectiveness of these interventions. The results of this scoping review provide a comprehensive taxonomy of factors with positive or negative impact and their relatedness to individual researchers, research performing and funding organizations, and the system of science. Moreover, the results show that efforts for fostering and promoting research integrity should be implemented at all three levels (researcher, institution, system) simultaneously to deliver greater adherence and implementation of research integrity practices. Although various educational interventions aiming at research integrity promotion exist, we were not able to conclude on the effectiveness of explored interventions due to the methodological quality issues in the studies. Show less
Arroyo-Machado, W.; Torres-Salinas, D.; Costas Comesana, R. 2022
