In developing countries, researchers with strong international links potentially act as a double-edge sword. On the one hand, local researchers with international links could strengthen the... Show moreIn developing countries, researchers with strong international links potentially act as a double-edge sword. On the one hand, local researchers with international links could strengthen the research base of an institution or country while, on the other hand, they could leave the research base vulnerable should they migrate. The study identified internationally linked authors in Uganda, East Africa, by applying individual-level bibliometrics to a dataset of 3,948 Ugandan authors from the Web of Science, for the period 2011–2015. The focus was on four overlapping groups of internationally linked authors: (1) Ugandan authors with an international co-author, (2) Uganda authors with a joint international affiliation, (3) Ugandan authors affiliated with an international organisation that has a local address, and (4) Ugandan authors affiliated with an international research partnership. The study showed that without the identified forms of international linkages, the Ugandan scholarly workforce would reduce to 14% of its current size. Moreover, 74% of Ugandan authors without any international links had co-authored articles with Ugandan authors who are linked internationally. Although the extent of both international and national mobility associated with internationally linked authors seem low, benchmarking against comparative figures for other countries in sub-Saharan Africa is required. Show less
In this paper, we lay out a problem statement for the challenges that altmetrics providers face in making the data they aggregate as transparent as the community desires. We use Altmetric as a case... Show moreIn this paper, we lay out a problem statement for the challenges that altmetrics providers face in making the data they aggregate as transparent as the community desires. We use Altmetric as a case study for exploring altmetrics’ complexity and the related issues that providers face in communicating that complexity to the diverse stakeholders they serve. We then pose questions for consideration by the larger scientometrics community, with an aim towards achieving a consensus solution (or set of solutions). Show less
Tingcan, M.; Ruinan, L.; Guiyan, O.; Mingliang, Y. 2018
Research team identification is an essential task in many scientific activities. This paper gives a research team identification method based on relationship analysis. The method first incorporates... Show moreResearch team identification is an essential task in many scientific activities. This paper gives a research team identification method based on relationship analysis. The method first incorporates both cooperation length (years) and outputs (papers) into two types of relationships, i.e., strong relationship and weak relationship. Then, research team is defined based on the two kinds of relationships to guarantee the tightness of the cooperation within the team. At last, an algorithm is proposed to find research teams from large set of researchers and case study is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm on finding actual teams. Show less
This study provides a comparison of the post-evaluation effects of national research evaluation frameworks in the UK and Italy at university (macro) and researcher (micro) level. We compare how... Show moreThis study provides a comparison of the post-evaluation effects of national research evaluation frameworks in the UK and Italy at university (macro) and researcher (micro) level. We compare how universities and researchers have responded to their evaluation frameworks, within the constraints of each university system and culture. The study draws on the policies informing the operationalisation of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Italy’s Valutazione della Qualità della Ricerca (VQR). We compare the national approaches to evaluation by analysing the purposes, the real use of outputs, the criticism, and effects of the respective evaluation exercises. This paper discusses these effects as part of a wider approach to influencing university and researchers’ outcomes towards desirable goals. With data collected via semi-structured interviews we explore how evaluation is used to drive research actors in desirable directions. With the review of literature surrounding the effects of evaluations on the national (mega), university (macro) and researcher (micro) levels and their integration, we explore the intertwined implications for the decisional system, the organizational structures, and the individual performance. Under this perspective we look at evaluation as a technique used to influence behaviour at the macro and micro research level. Comparing post-evaluation effects of different frameworks in different context allows, on one hand, identifying some specific country/culture related aspects. On the other, it allows identifying new understandings of how auditing research productivity by altering behaviours on macro and micro level, ingenerates intentional and unintentional changes at all levels. Show less
While PhD dissertations are a core part of establishing a career in academia the publication type PhD thesis is known from prior research to be very rarely cited. In this paper I study whether the... Show moreWhile PhD dissertations are a core part of establishing a career in academia the publication type PhD thesis is known from prior research to be very rarely cited. In this paper I study whether the citation data sparsity can be ameliorated by supplementing citation index data, in this case from Scopus, with a further citation data source covering different literatures, namely Google Books. A substantial amount of additional citations was obtained (60%). The differential increase across disciplines is discussed. However, dissertations still remain relatively rarely cited. Show less
We know a great deal about how to identify the topics that researchers are working on. One can use citations and/or text to identify about one hundred thousand document clusters from either the... Show moreWe know a great deal about how to identify the topics that researchers are working on. One can use citations and/or text to identify about one hundred thousand document clusters from either the Scopus database or the WoS database. For purposes of discussion, we refer to these document clusters as topics. In our models there are about a thousand very large topics and tens of thousands of small topics. But why doesn’t topic size follow an expected linear Zipfian distribution? Is it possible that there is a different organizing principle for large vs. small topics? In this study, we explore the possibility that the organizing principle for large topics is the continued use of very expensive tools (such as specialized equipment, specialized databases and specialized software). For our initial exploration, we use grant size (NSF or NIH grants in excess of $5 million annually) as proxy for preferential investment in specialized tools. By using links between 52,097 grants and tens of thousands of topics, we will test whether large topics get more (than expected) funding from large grants and, by inference, expensive tools are an organizing principle for large topics. Show less
Universities have undergone profound changes in the last decades. A shift towards more accountability and to “new public management” practices in the administration of universities took place and... Show moreUniversities have undergone profound changes in the last decades. A shift towards more accountability and to “new public management” practices in the administration of universities took place and led to an increase of the share of project funds in some countries and to the introduction of performance-based funding systems (PRFSs) in others. In all countries, research evaluation’s importance increases. However, while research evaluation is centralized in some countries, evaluation is organized at the institutional level only in others. Thus, the importance of research evaluation and how it is organised varies across countries. In this paper, we present a typology of national research evaluation systems in Europe that sheds light on the complex issue of national differences in the organisation of research evaluation. We use the data of a two-round Delphi survey among specialists in research evaluation as a basis of our analysis and apply Multiple Correspondence Analysis to create a typology of European research evaluation systems that includes a broad range of countries, including countries, for which not much information is available to the English-speaking research community and takes into account that during the last years also the SSH are more concerned with evaluations but the commonly applied evaluation instruments do not fit their research practices. We identify five types of research evaluation: “non-metric, non-SSH” (with Iceland as the best representor), “non-metric, SSH-specific” (Switzerland, “funding, non-metric” (Norway), “funding, metric” (Denmark) and “metric, English” (Estonia). The main result of this analysis is that the national organization of research evaluation system is a complex issue and the research evaluation landscape in Europe is diverse. Yet some components can be identified that define main types of research evaluation. A secondary result is that different types of research evaluation are linked to different conditions in countries. We therefore recommend, that designers of evaluation systems make a conscious link between the goals to achieve, the incentives to promote and the design of the evaluation system, rather than to strive to the unification of evaluation systems. Show less
This paper aims to increase our understanding of the phenomenon of corporate publishing. To do so, we first systematically review extant literature to identify which incentives lead firms to... Show moreThis paper aims to increase our understanding of the phenomenon of corporate publishing. To do so, we first systematically review extant literature to identify which incentives lead firms to contribute to publications. We then examine the publication activity of 2,500 firms (and of about 570,000 subsidiaries of these firms) across 20 sectors for the 2011-2015 period. The analysis focuses on characterising firms’ publications activity in terms of proportion of publishing firms by sector; collaboration (co-authorship) with academic institutions; and impact (citations). Show less
Establishing macroscopic effects of macro-level phenomena in science or science policy requires identifying macro-level change and causally ascribing it to the phenomena in question. The... Show moreEstablishing macroscopic effects of macro-level phenomena in science or science policy requires identifying macro-level change and causally ascribing it to the phenomena in question. The standardised survey that obtains data about samples of a larger population are one of the few instruments that can observe macro-level change. However, the utility of standardised surveys in science studies is limited because it is still impossible to include the variation of research practices and epistemic conditions of action under which they occur in survey-based studies. Progress in survey-based research partly depends on developing and empirically operationalising for standardised surveys a theoretically grounded comparative framework for research practices and epistemic conditions of action under which they occur. The aim of this paper is to offer a first step by reviewing epistemic conditions of action identified in qualitative studies, suggesting how they may affect causal relationships studied by surveys, and discussing opportunities to ask standardised questions about them. Show less
Collecting the right data to represent research impact is only half of the battle for policymakers and researchers. Only when it has gained broad acceptance among stakeholders, and is placed into... Show moreCollecting the right data to represent research impact is only half of the battle for policymakers and researchers. Only when it has gained broad acceptance among stakeholders, and is placed into the right part of a university’s organisational structure can institutional data become indicators, drivers of institutional change and measures of performance. This paper is details a four stage process for constructing and implementing new indicators for entrepreneurial activity in universities. The first is the consolidation of the concept, or vision of the university. The second is the formation of indicators following academic research, here exemplified by the Global Entrepreneurial University Metrics (GEUM) initiative. The third is building public awareness and acceptance of indicators, in this case by way of a university ranking. The final stage is building the institutional structures for implementing indicators and collecting and presenting results. Show less
Guindalini, C.; Lopes, Fonseca F.; Pereira Da Silva, M.V.; Machado Da Silva, A.; Paula Fonseca, B. de 2018
Zika virus (ZIKAV) infection has recently become a public health concern, as well as an enduring scientific, and technological (S&T) challenge for researchers worldwide. Especially in Latin... Show moreZika virus (ZIKAV) infection has recently become a public health concern, as well as an enduring scientific, and technological (S&T) challenge for researchers worldwide. Especially in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries, greatly affected by the outbreak, understanding the S&T response is essential to guide future research and to direct financial investments. In the present study, we focused on ZIKAV epidemics using combined publication (from international and regional databases: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, SciELO and LILACS), patent (Orbit Intelligence) and social network analysis (co-authorship) to contribute to the discussion of the role of S&T knowledge produced and disseminated regionally to address global challenges. International databases searches retrieved 5,831 documents, evidencing a dramatic increase in scientific publications targeting ZIKAV from 2015 onwards. Overall, only 32% of the 282 unique documents indexed in SciELO and LILACS, were retrieved in the international databases. United States, France, and Brazil were the top three most central countries of the global network for ZIKAV research. In addition, United States was shown to be the most frequent collaborator of LAC countries. Patent search retrieved 311 patent families. So far, only four are from LAC organizations, all based in Brazil. Our analysis offered a comprehensive representation of ZIKAV’s research and development and showed that scientific efforts from LAC countries, in particular from Brazil, had a significant role in the generation of global knowledge. The study highlights the need for a continued interdisciplinary approach in order to improve our ability to prepare for, control and prevent future outbreaks. Show less
In this paper, we discuss how to use topical, scientific reference maps to overview and navigate in dynamic research landscapes and how to use such maps as input to strategic thinking. An automated... Show moreIn this paper, we discuss how to use topical, scientific reference maps to overview and navigate in dynamic research landscapes and how to use such maps as input to strategic thinking. An automated procedure is developed that creates a reference map from a set of selected scholarly papers covering a specified subject area. The method is based on co-occurrences of keywords and distributes keywords on a reference grid where related keywords appear close to another and vice versa. Once the reference map is created other entities such as individual scientific papers, researchers, and research groups may be projected to the map based on the keywords they use. An article may be represented as a point calculated as the mean x and y of all the keywords it contains. Similarly, individual researchers are plotted as the mean of all articles they have written; a research group as the mean of all researchers it includes and so forth. The centre of a distribution is supplemented with point cloud- or density maps in order to map the actual form and size of the distribution in the reference map. The maps can also show how a scientific field has evolved over the years, and potentially the current direction of research. A research institute, a research group or an individual researcher can map their abilities and competencies to the reference map and compare that to potential collaborators and competitors to visualise strengths and weaknesses. These maps may be used as an input or inspiration to strategic discussions where strategic positions or moves may be discussed, evaluated, and presented as strategic narratives: (1) stay and fortify; (2) invade and conquer; (3) merge and fuse subjects; (4) re-apply methodology from other areas; (5) explore and discover new land outside the reference map; and (6) invent new research areas. Show less
This study analyses the differences between what the academic communities of a country regard should be included as original research publications for evaluation and funding and what the commercial... Show moreThis study analyses the differences between what the academic communities of a country regard should be included as original research publications for evaluation and funding and what the commercial providers of Scopus and Web of Science are able to provide within a similar limitation to publication type. The patterns of differences are described both with regard to publication type, field of research and language. Show less
Álvarez-Bornstein, B.; Bordons, M.; Costas, R.; Calero-Medina, C. 2018
This paper analyse the funding structure of seven countries that differ in their level of economic development, geo-political links, and R&D intensity (Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, South... Show moreThis paper analyse the funding structure of seven countries that differ in their level of economic development, geo-political links, and R&D intensity (Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and Sweden), in two biomedical disciplines (Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems and Virology). The main objectives are (1)to provide a general overview of the research funding structure through the analysis of FAs recorded in publication, and (2) to explore what countries benefit more from international funding support, to what extent this support is associated to international collaboration and whether there are cross-country differences in the trend of countries to lead internationally funded research. Show less
The paths via which university-generated knowledge reaches final users and creates value are traditionally considered to be the supply-side channels of the commercialisation of inventions,... Show moreThe paths via which university-generated knowledge reaches final users and creates value are traditionally considered to be the supply-side channels of the commercialisation of inventions, consultancy, and R&D contracts. Yet, this focus limits universities to being “providers” of knowledge and technology for industrial applications and fails to account for the diversity of mechanisms responsible for the diffusion of academic activities. This paper aims to complete the existing understanding of the contribution made by universities to the corporate innovation process by recognising the impact of university demand on the innovative performance of firms in the scientific value chain. We study the impact of a large French public university on the innovative performance of its suppliers of scientific equipment. We perform micro-econometric analyses in a quasi-experimental setting, showing that university suppliers have a higher propensity to introduce new-to-the-market product innovations than do other firms belonging to the same sectors and with similar characteristics. Our results provide support to the conjecture that innovations and technological changes are the result not only of scientific and technical discoveries, but also of a complex chain reaction triggered by the interplay between specific demands and solutions designed to overcome technology bottlenecks. Show less
The aim of this study is to examine the number of altmetric counts reported by Mendeley, Altmetric.com and PlumX at two points in time: in June 2017 and in April 2018 and to compare the reported... Show moreThe aim of this study is to examine the number of altmetric counts reported by Mendeley, Altmetric.com and PlumX at two points in time: in June 2017 and in April 2018 and to compare the reported altmetrics at each data collection point. Show less
Imran M.; Akhtar A.; Said A.; Safder I.; Hassan S.U.; Aljohani N.R. 2018
The advent of Web 2.0 brought platform for the internet users to interact, collaborate and share ideas and opinions. These platforms are referred as Social Media platform, which enables all... Show moreThe advent of Web 2.0 brought platform for the internet users to interact, collaborate and share ideas and opinions. These platforms are referred as Social Media platform, which enables all internet users to disseminate information in contrast to certain content providers. This massive diffusion of information by internet users resulted in consummating the term “user generated content” (Lee, 2011). This content coincides with the opinions and interests of different communities present over the social media. A social media community is a network of people connected via social media platform, presumably having similar interests. The researcher and scientific community have actively adopted social media to emulate impact and influence of scholarly literature using Web 2.0 (Priem & Bradely, 2010). Given the recognize need and recent interest of Scientometrics community to tap the advancement of social media platforms to compliment traditional bibliometric based scientific assessments, we explore the behaviour and properties of scholarly community present on twitter. Using the dataset of over 6 million tweets, we examine major commonalities and differences of twitter based social media activity of users across 17 broader disciplines. Show less
Ranjbar-Sahraei B.; Eck, N.J. van; Jong R. de 2018
In this work, we study the accuracy of affiliation information in Microsoft Academic (MA). To conduct this study, we have considered the full set of publications assigned to Leiden University (LU)... Show moreIn this work, we study the accuracy of affiliation information in Microsoft Academic (MA). To conduct this study, we have considered the full set of publications assigned to Leiden University (LU) as provided by two different data sources: MA and Web of Science (WoS). The results of this study suggest that a considerable number of publications in MA have missing or wrong affiliation information. Show less
In what way public research funds affect a company’s propensity to make private investment in R&D a structural selection model have been estimated, using R&D data from Danish firms from... Show moreIn what way public research funds affect a company’s propensity to make private investment in R&D a structural selection model have been estimated, using R&D data from Danish firms from 2000 to 2013, within the life science sector. This is an important contribution on whether publicly funded R&D is a substitute or a complement to privately funded R&D. The results finds robust evidence of significant complementary effects, with a 1% increase in public funding yielding between 0.15% and 0.39% increase in privately funded R&D across the different models. Show less
Over the last years Open Access has been ranked very high on science policy agenda’s both internationally as well as nationally. This resulted in many national mandates and international guidelines... Show moreOver the last years Open Access has been ranked very high on science policy agenda’s both internationally as well as nationally. This resulted in many national mandates and international guidelines on OA publishing of scientific results. Despite the several studies on OA, the way in which private companies have embraced the OA movement remains relatively understudied. Our research aims at providing evidence on the interplay between private companies and OA publishing, by focusing on Big pharma. We look both at the extent to which Big pharma publishes OA papers as well as the extent to which Big pharma relies on previous OA studies to built their own research. Our findings show that Big pharma is increasingly engaged with the OA movement. Show less
