Assessing the influence of R&D institutions by mapping international scientific networks: the case of INESC Porto

Although scientometric and bibliometric studies embrace a much wider perspective of the linkages/networks of R&D institutions than standard economic studies, to the best of our knowledge, these studies have not yet made use of scientometric tools to analyse the influence and impact of R&D institutions. Moreover, the international perspective has so far been neglected both in standard and bibliometric studies. Based on networks of 1239 foreign co-authorships and 13035 foreign citation linkages, we demonstrate that INESC Porto international influence has considerably expanded since 2003, a year that coincided with the implementation of an internal policy of granting monetary prizes to publications in scientific international journals. In terms of co-authorship, the network of INESC Porto more than duplicated (13 countries in the initial period to 27 in 2004-07). In terms of citations, INESC Porto’s network encompassed almost 40 countries during the whole period (1996-2007). Its more prolific units (optoelectronics, energy and multimedia) presented a rather distinct pattern both in terms of size and evolution of the corresponding network boundaries. The network size of foreign co-authorships was not much different between the three units by the beginning of the 2000s (around 10 countries) but it evolved quite distinctly. The most remarkable pattern was registered by the multimedia (UTM) unit, whose network size rose exponentially to 21 countries in 2004-07. This contrasted with the decline (down to 8 countries) of the energy (USE) unit. The citation network of the optoelectronic unit (UOSE) was by far the largest, until 2003, involving 34 distinct countries, which contrasted with the size of USE (12 countries) and UTM (1 country). But again, after 2003, the size of the citation network of USE and UTM converged spectacularly to that of UOSE’s, reaching in the last period 21 and 16, respectively. The influence of INESC Porto reaches all five continents, especially when we consider citation networks. Indeed, excluding the citations from authors affiliated in Portuguese institutions, those that most cite INESC Porto’s (and UOSE’s) works are affiliated in institutions located in China, the UK and the US. The scientific works produced by USE influences mostly authors affiliated in institutions located in India, China and Spain, whereas for UTM the corresponding countries are the US, Germany and Italy. We infer from the evidence analysed that not only did the boundaries of INESC Porto’s scientific network substantially enlarge in the period of analysis (1996-2007) but its ‘quality’ also evidenced a positive evolution, with authors affiliated in institutions located in the scientific frontier countries citing works of INESC Porto (and its units).Bibliometrics, Knowledge networks; R&D Institutions

Assessing the influence of R&D institutions by mapping international scientific networks: the case of INESC Porto

Although scientometric and bibliometric studies embrace a much wider perspective of the linkages/networks of R&D institutions than standard economic studies, to the best of our knowledge, these studies have not yet made use of scientometric tools to analyse the influence and impact of R&D institutions. Moreover, the international perspective has so far been neglected both in standard and bibliometric studies. Based on networks of 1239 foreign co-authorships and 13035 foreign citation linkages, we demonstrate that INESC Porto international influence has considerably expanded since 2003, a year that coincided with the implementation of an internal policy of granting monetary prizes to publications in scientific international journals. In terms of co-authorship, the network of INESC Porto more than duplicated (13 countries in the initial period to 27 in 2004-07). In terms of citations, INESC Porto’s network encompassed almost 40 countries during the whole period (1996-2007). Its more prolific units (optoelectronics, energy and multimedia) presented a rather distinct pattern both in terms of size and evolution of the corresponding network boundaries. The network size of foreign co-authorships was not much different between the three units by the beginning of the 2000s (around 10 countries) but it evolved quite distinctly. The most remarkable pattern was registered by the multimedia (UTM) unit, whose network size rose exponentially to 21 countries in 2004-07. This contrasted with the decline (down to 8 countries) of the energy (USE) unit. The citation network of the optoelectronic unit (UOSE) was by far the largest, until 2003, involving 34 distinct countries, which contrasted with the size of USE (12 countries) and UTM (1 country). But again, after 2003, the size of the citation network of USE and UTM converged spectacularly to that of UOSE’s, reaching in the last period 21 and 16, respectively. The influence of INESC Porto reaches all five continents, especially when we consider citation networks. Indeed, excluding the citations from authors affiliated in Portuguese institutions, those that most cite INESC Porto’s (and UOSE’s) works are affiliated in institutions located in China, the UK and the US. The scientific works produced by USE influences mostly authors affiliated in institutions located in India, China and Spain, whereas for UTM the corresponding countries are the US, Germany and Italy. We infer from the evidence analysed that not only did the boundaries of INESC Porto’s scientific network substantially enlarge in the period of analysis (1996-2007) but its ‘quality’ also evidenced a positive evolution, with authors affiliated in institutions located in the scientific frontier countries citing works of INESC Porto (and its units). Length: 64 pagesBibliometrics, Knowledge networks; R&D Institutions

Research on tribology in Southeastern Europe: A bibliometric study

In recent years there is a small but increasing number of articles presenting and/or analyzing the scientific production from discrete geographical regions on a certain scientific topic. These articles applied the so-called bibliometric methods in order to evaluate the contribution of different countries in a scientific research field. In the present work, the research output of all countries in Southeastern Europe (SEE) on the scientific field of tribology is presented by using bibliometric indices such as the total number of publications and citations as well as the h-index and the average number of citations per publication. Such a study is attempted, to the authors' knowledge, for the first time

Research on tribology in Southeastern Europe: A bibliometric study

In recent years there is a small but increasing number of articles presenting and/or analyzing the scientific production from discrete geographical regions on a certain scientific topic. These articles applied the so-called bibliometric methods in order to evaluate the contribution of different countries in a scientific research field. In the present work, the research output of all countries in Southeastern Europe (SEE) on the scientific field of tribology is presented by using bibliometric indices such as the total number of publications and citations as well as the h-index and the average number of citations per publication. Such a study is attempted, to the authors' knowledge, for the first time

Scientific literature on thermal spray coatings from Southeastern Europe: A ten years bibliometric analysis

Bibliometrijske analize naučno-istraživačkog rada u određenoj naučnoj oblasti, u okviru definisanog geografskog regiona, predstavljaju jedan od načina za kvantitativno poređenje i rangiranje akademskih i/ili istraživačkih institucija. U ovim analizama se primenjuju tzv. bibliometrijske metode, a u ovom radu su prikazani rezultati naučno-istraživačkog rada u zemljama jugoistočne Evrope, u oblasti prevlaka nanetih termički procesom raspršivanja. Rezultati su prikazani pomoću sledećih bibliometrijskih parametara: ukupan broj publikacija i citata, h-indeks i prosečan broj citata po publikaciji. Razmatrane su publikacije objavljene u poslednjih deset godina, a podaci potrebni za izračunavanje bibliometrijskih parametara su dobijeni korišćenjem Skopus (Scopus®) citatne baze podataka.One of the tools used within the effort of developing new quantitative scientometric tools, reliable to be used for ranking academic/research unities is the bibliometric analysis of the scientific production from discrete geographical regions on a certain scientific topic. These analyses apply the so-called bibliometric methods. In the present work, the research output of all countries in Southeastern Europe (SEE) on the scientific topic of thermal spray coatings is presented by using bibliometric indices such as the total number of publications and citations as well as the h-index and the average number of citations per publication. Analysis spans the last ten years and the required scientific data in order to calculate the bibliometric indices were retrieved using the Scopus® scientific database

Scientific literature on thermal spray coatings from Southeastern Europe: A ten years bibliometric analysis

Bibliometrijske analize naučno-istraživačkog rada u određenoj naučnoj oblasti, u okviru definisanog geografskog regiona, predstavljaju jedan od načina za kvantitativno poređenje i rangiranje akademskih i/ili istraživačkih institucija. U ovim analizama se primenjuju tzv. bibliometrijske metode, a u ovom radu su prikazani rezultati naučno-istraživačkog rada u zemljama jugoistočne Evrope, u oblasti prevlaka nanetih termički procesom raspršivanja. Rezultati su prikazani pomoću sledećih bibliometrijskih parametara: ukupan broj publikacija i citata, h-indeks i prosečan broj citata po publikaciji. Razmatrane su publikacije objavljene u poslednjih deset godina, a podaci potrebni za izračunavanje bibliometrijskih parametara su dobijeni korišćenjem Skopus (Scopus®) citatne baze podataka.One of the tools used within the effort of developing new quantitative scientometric tools, reliable to be used for ranking academic/research unities is the bibliometric analysis of the scientific production from discrete geographical regions on a certain scientific topic. These analyses apply the so-called bibliometric methods. In the present work, the research output of all countries in Southeastern Europe (SEE) on the scientific topic of thermal spray coatings is presented by using bibliometric indices such as the total number of publications and citations as well as the h-index and the average number of citations per publication. Analysis spans the last ten years and the required scientific data in order to calculate the bibliometric indices were retrieved using the Scopus® scientific database

The citation merit of scientific publications

We propose a new method to assess the merit of any set of scientific papers in a given field based on the citations they receive. Given a citation indicator, such as the mean citation or the h-index, we identify the merit of a given set of n articles with the probability that a randomly drawn sample of n articles from a reference set of articles in that field presents a lower citation index. The method allows for comparisons between research units of different sizes and fields. Using a dataset acquired from Thomson Scientific that contains the articles published in the periodical literature in the period 1998-2007, we show that the novel approach yields rankings of research units different from those obtained by a direct application of the mean citation or the h-index.Citation analysis, Citation merit, Mean citation, h-index

Research Performance Based Funding Systems: a Comparative Assessment

Performance based funding is used by most EU Member States to increase the performance of their public research system. This report analyses the different nature of systems in EU Member States, selected associated and third countries. It aims to inform Member States which are in a process of mutual learning to improve the design of their allocation systems. • Research Performance based funding systems provide incentives to increase scientific performance and concentrates resources in well performing organisations • The nature of systems in place differs widely • The specific features of RPBF assessment designs can generate unintended consequences • The assessment suggests RPBF as a potential avenue for several Member States • The choice for specific designs, taking into accounts costs and potential benefits, should take into account the national contextJRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysi