9,480 research outputs found
On some new bibliometric applications of statistics related to the h-index.
In this note some new fields of application of Hirsch-related statistics are presented. Furthermore, so far unrevealed properties of the h-index are analysed in the context of rank-frequency and extreme-value statistics.
Assessing evaluation procedures for individual researchers: the case of the Italian National Scientific Qualification
The Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) was introduced as a
prerequisite for applying for tenured associate or full professor positions at
state-recognized universities. The ASN is meant to attest that an individual
has reached a suitable level of scientific maturity to apply for professorship
positions. A five member panel, appointed for each scientific discipline, is in
charge of evaluating applicants by means of quantitative indicators of impact
and productivity, and through an assessment of their research profile. Many
concerns were raised on the appropriateness of the evaluation criteria, and in
particular on the use of bibliometrics for the evaluation of individual
researchers. Additional concerns were related to the perceived poor quality of
the final evaluation reports. In this paper we assess the ASN in terms of
appropriateness of the applied methodology, and the quality of the feedback
provided to the applicants. We argue that the ASN is not fully compliant with
the best practices for the use of bibliometric indicators for the evaluation of
individual researchers; moreover, the quality of final reports varies
considerably across the panels, suggesting that measures should be put in place
to prevent sloppy practices in future ASN rounds
Publication Trends in Physics Education: A Bibliometric study
A publication trend in Physics Education by employing bibliometric analysis
leads the researchers to describe current scientific movement. This paper tries
to answer "What do Physics education scientists concentrate in their
publications?" by analyzing the productivity and development of publications on
the subject category of Physics Education in the period 1980--2013. The Web of
Science databases in the research areas of "EDUCATION - EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH"
was used to extract the publication trends. The study involves 1360
publications, including 840 articles, 503 proceedings paper, 22 reviews, 7
editorial material, 6 Book review, and one Biographical item. Number of
publications with "Physical Education" in topic increased from 0.14 % (n = 2)
in 1980 to 16.54 % (n = 225) in 2011. Total number of receiving citations is
8071, with approximately citations per papers of 5.93. The results show the
publication and citations in Physic Education has increased dramatically while
the Malaysian share is well ranked
Quantitative Analysis of the Italian National Scientific Qualification
The Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) was introduced in 2010 as
part of a major reform of the national university system. Under the new
regulation, the scientific qualification for a specific role (associate or full
professor) and field of study is required to apply to a permanent professor
position. The ASN is peculiar since it makes use of bibliometric indicators
with associated thresholds as one of the parameters used to assess applicants.
Overall, more than 59000 applications were submitted, and the results have been
made publicly available for a short period of time, including the values of the
quantitative indicators for each applicant. The availability of this wealth of
information provides an opportunity to draw a fairly detailed picture of a
nation-wide evaluation exercise, and to study the impact of the bibliometric
indicators on the qualification results. In this paper we provide a first
account of the Italian ASN from a quantitative point of view. We show that
significant differences exist among scientific disciplines, in particular with
respect to the fraction of qualified applicants, that can not be easily
explained. Furthermore, we describe some issues related to the definition and
use of the bibliometric indicators and thresholds. Our analysis aims at drawing
attention to potential problems that should be addressed by decision-makers in
future ASN rounds.Comment: ISSN 1751-157
The last five years of Big Data Research in Economics, Econometrics and Finance: Identification and conceptual analysis
Today, the Big Data term has a multidimensional approach where five main characteristics stand out: volume, velocity, veracity, value and variety. It has changed from being an emerging theme to a growing research area. In this respect, this study analyses the literature on Big Data in the Economics, Econometrics and Finance field. To do that, 1.034 publications from 2015 to 2019 were evaluated using SciMAT as a bibliometric and network analysis software. SciMAT offers a complete approach of the field and evaluates the most cited and productive authors, countries and subject areas related to Big Data. Lastly, a science map is performed to understand the intellectual structure and the main research lines (themes)
Large-Scale Analysis of the Accuracy of the Journal Classification Systems of Web of Science and Scopus
Journal classification systems play an important role in bibliometric
analyses. The two most important bibliographic databases, Web of Science and
Scopus, each provide a journal classification system. However, no study has
systematically investigated the accuracy of these classification systems. To
examine and compare the accuracy of journal classification systems, we define
two criteria on the basis of direct citation relations between journals and
categories. We use Criterion I to select journals that have weak connections
with their assigned categories, and we use Criterion II to identify journals
that are not assigned to categories with which they have strong connections. If
a journal satisfies either of the two criteria, we conclude that its assignment
to categories may be questionable. Accordingly, we identify all journals with
questionable classifications in Web of Science and Scopus. Furthermore, we
perform a more in-depth analysis for the field of Library and Information
Science to assess whether our proposed criteria are appropriate and whether
they yield meaningful results. It turns out that according to our
citation-based criteria Web of Science performs significantly better than
Scopus in terms of the accuracy of its journal classification system
Bibliometric Perspectives on Medical Innovation using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) of PubMed
Multiple perspectives on the nonlinear processes of medical innovations can
be distinguished and combined using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) of the
Medline database. Focusing on three main branches-"diseases," "drugs and
chemicals," and "techniques and equipment"-we use base maps and overlay
techniques to investigate the translations and interactions and thus to gain a
bibliometric perspective on the dynamics of medical innovations. To this end,
we first analyze the Medline database, the MeSH index tree, and the various
options for a static mapping from different perspectives and at different
levels of aggregation. Following a specific innovation (RNA interference) over
time, the notion of a trajectory which leaves a signature in the database is
elaborated. Can the detailed index terms describing the dynamics of research be
used to predict the diffusion dynamics of research results? Possibilities are
specified for further integration between the Medline database, on the one
hand, and the Science Citation Index and Scopus (containing citation
information), on the other.Comment: forthcoming in the Journal of the American Society for Information
Science and Technolog
The success-index: an alternative approach to the h-index for evaluating an individual's research output
Among the most recent bibliometric indicators for normalizing the differences among fields of science in terms of citation behaviour, Kosmulski (J Informetr 5(3):481-485, 2011) proposed the NSP (number of successful paper) index. According to the authors, NSP deserves much attention for its great simplicity and immediate meaning— equivalent to those of the h-index—while it has the disadvantage of being prone to manipulation and not very efficient in terms of statistical significance. In the first part of the paper, we introduce the success-index, aimed at reducing the NSP-index's limitations, although requiring more computing effort. Next, we present a detailed analysis of the success-index from the point of view of its operational properties and a comparison with the h-index's ones. Particularly interesting is the examination of the success-index scale of measurement, which is much richer than the h-index's. This makes success-index much more versatile for different types of analysis—e.g., (cross-field) comparisons of the scientific output of (1) individual researchers, (2) researchers with different seniority, (3) research institutions of different size, (4) scientific journals, etc
The metric tide: report of the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management
This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment and Management. The review was chaired by Professor James Wilsdon, supported by an independent and multidisciplinary group of experts in scientometrics, research funding, research policy, publishing, university management and administration.
This review has gone beyond earlier studies to take a deeper look at potential uses and limitations of research metrics and indicators. It has explored the use of metrics across different disciplines, and assessed their potential contribution to the development of research excellence and impact. It has analysed their role in processes of research assessment, including the next cycle of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). It has considered the changing ways in which universities are using quantitative indicators in their management systems, and the growing power of league tables and rankings. And it has considered the negative or unintended effects of metrics on various aspects of research culture.
The report starts by tracing the history of metrics in research management and assessment, in the UK and internationally. It looks at the applicability of metrics within different research cultures, compares the peer review system with metric-based alternatives, and considers what balance might be struck between the two. It charts the development of research management systems within institutions, and examines the effects of the growing use of quantitative indicators on different aspects of research culture, including performance management, equality, diversity, interdisciplinarity, and the ‘gaming’ of assessment systems. The review looks at how different funders are using quantitative indicators, and considers their potential role in research and innovation policy. Finally, it examines the role that metrics played in REF2014, and outlines scenarios for their contribution to future exercises
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