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Cities on and off the map: A bibliometric assessment of urban globalisation research
Growing out of writings on Global (North) cities, urban globalisation research (UGR) has expanded its canon to engage with an increasing diversity of cities and locations. Yet, this broadening has been uneven and controversial in its theoretical horizons and empirical universe. Focusing on the latter, this paper combines bibliometric, demographic, economic and georeferenced data to assess how UGR maps onto internationally documented cities ( n : 1692). Our study analyses city-themed publications by city location, demographic size and home-country income (2000–2014). Drawing on social science publications indexed in English (Scopus database), our results provide grounds for cautious optimism: recent publications offer broader, though still uneven coverage. The moving spatial average of publication counts also implies that the topical centre of published research gravity is shifting away from Euro-America. Yet, UGR lags in its coverage of the urban geographical universe, failing to keep pace with the economic/demographic trends that are resulting in southward/eastward shifts in worldwide urbanisation. Furthermore, while smaller cities and those in lower-income countries are still sidelined, cities in upper-middle income countries exhibit the largest gaps between observed and expected publication values. In our conclusion, we contend that urban bibliometrics could be further mobilised to identify publication foci and lacunae. Applied to cities on and off the map and a broader universe of urban knowledges, bibliometrics could help move contentious debates forward, identifying newer paradigms that may be engaging the world of cities beyond the globalisation umbrella and charting out multiple and complex topical relations across variegated worlds of urbanism
Which cities produce excellent papers worldwide more than can be expected? A new mapping approach--using Google Maps--based on statistical significance testing
The methods presented in this paper allow for a statistical analysis
revealing centers of excellence around the world using programs that are freely
available. Based on Web of Science data, field-specific excellence can be
identified in cities where highly-cited papers were published significantly.
Compared to the mapping approaches published hitherto, our approach is more
analytically oriented by allowing the assessment of an observed number of
excellent papers for a city (in the sample) against the expected number. Using
this test, the approach cannot only identify the top performers in output but
the "true jewels." These are cities locating authors who publish significantly
more top cited papers than can be expected. As the examples in this paper show
for physics, chemistry, and psychology, these cities do not necessarily have a
high output of excellent papers
5. Exploring Knowledge Dynamics in the Humanities. Two Science Mapping Experiments
This paper reports and briefly discusses the results of two science mapping experiments we conducted in two humanities fields: analytic philosophy and human geography. In the first section, we provide a non-technical introduction to science mapping techniques, presenting the steps required to produce distance-based science maps. The two following sections present the datasets of our experiments and the maps we produced. Lastly, we discuss the main limitations of science mapping when it is applied to areas in the humanities
The Geography of Scientific Productivity: Scaling in U.S. Computer Science
Here we extract the geographical addresses of authors in the Citeseer
database of computer science papers. We show that the productivity of research
centres in the United States follows a power-law regime, apart from the most
productive centres for which we do not have enough data to reach definite
conclusions. To investigate the spatial distribution of computer science
research centres in the United States, we compute the two-point correlation
function of the spatial point process and show that the observed power-laws do
not disappear even when we change the physical representation from geographical
space to cartogram space. Our work suggests that the effect of physical
location poses a challenge to ongoing efforts to develop realistic models of
scientific productivity. We propose that the introduction of a fine scale
geography may lead to more sophisticated indicators of scientific output.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; minor change
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
A Comparison of Network Clustering Algorithms in Keyword Network Analysis: A Case Study with Geography Conference Presentations
The keyword network analysis has been used for summarizing research trends, and network clustering algorithms play important roles in identifying major research themes. In this paper, we performed a comparative analysis of network clustering algorithms to find out their performances, effectiveness, and impact on cluster themes. The AAG (American Association for Geographers) conference datasets were used in this research. We evaluated seven algorithms with modularity, processing time, and cluster members. The Louvain algorithm showed the best performance in terms of modularity and processing time, followed by the Fast Greedy algorithm. Examining cluster members also showed very coherent connections among cluster members. This study may help researchers to choose a suitable network clustering algorithm and understand geography research trends and topical fields
Introducing recalibrated academic performance indicators in the evaluation of individuals' research performance: A case study from Eastern Europe
In Hungary, the highest and most prestigious scientific qualification is
considered to be the Doctor of Science (DSc) title being awarded by the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The academic performance indicators of the DSc
title are of high importance in the evaluation of individuals' research
performance not only when a researcher applies for obtaining a DSc title, but
also during promotions and appointments at universities, and in the case of the
evaluation of applications for scientific titles and degrees, and the
assessment of applications for funding. In the Section of Earth Sciences
encompassing nine related disciplines, rather than carrying out a
straightforward bibliometric analysis, the performance indicators were designed
as a result of a consensual agreement between leading academicians, each of
whom represented a particular discipline. Therefore, the minimum values of the
indicators, required to be fulfilled if one is applying for a DSc title, do not
adequately reflect the actual discipline-specific performance of researchers.
This problem may generate tension between researchers during the evaluation
process. The main goal of this paper is to recalibrate the minimum values of
four major performance indicators by taking the actual discipline-specific
distance ratios into account. In addition, each minimum value will be defined
by employing integer and fractional counting methods as well. The research
outcome of this study can provide impetus for the Section of Earth Sciences to
optimize the minimum values of the DSc title performance indicators by taking
the specifics of each discipline into account. Because academic performance
indicators are also employed in other Eastern European countries in the
evaluation of individuals' research performance, the methods used in that paper
can be placed into a wider geographical context
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