Do age and professional rank influence the order of authorship in scientific publications? Some evidence from a micro-level perspective

Scientific authorship has important implications in science since it reflects the contribution to research of the different individual scientists and it is considered by evaluation committees in research assessment processes. This study analyses the order of authorship in the scientific output of 1,064 permanent scientists at the Spanish CSIC (WoS, 1994-2004). The influence of age, professional rank and bibliometric profile of scientists over the position of their names in the byline of publications is explored in three different research areas: Biology and Biomedicine, Materials Science and Natural Resources. There is a strong trend for signatures of younger researchers and those in the lower professional ranks to appear in the first position (junior signing pattern), while more veteran or highly-ranked ones, who tend to play supervisory functions in research, are proportionally more likely to sign in the last position (senior signing pattern). Professional rank and age have an effect on authorship order in the three fields analysed, but there are inter-field differences. Authorship patterns are especially marked in the most collaboration-intensive field (i.e. Biology and Biomedicine), where professional rank seems to be more significant than age in determining the role of scientists in research as seen through their authorship patterns, while age has a more significant effect in the least collaboration-intensive field (Natural Resources).Peer reviewe

A bibliometric classificatory approach for the study and assessment of research performance at the individual level: the effects of age on productivity and impact

This paper sets forth a general methodology for conducting bibliometric analyses at the micro level. It combines several indicators grouped into three factors or dimensions which characterize different aspects of scientific performance. Different profiles or “classes” of scientists are described according to their research performance in each dimension. A series of results based on the findings from the application of this methodology to the study of CSIC scientists in Spain in three thematic areas are presented. Special emphasis is made on the identification and description of top scientists from structural and bibliometric perspectives. The effects of age on the productivity and impact of the different classes of scientists are analyzed. The classificatory approach proposed herein may prove a useful tool in support of research assessment at the individual level and for exploring potential determinants of research success.Peer reviewe

Do age and professional rank influence the order of authorship in scientific publications? Some evidence from a micro-level perspective

FSW - CWTS - Ou

A bibliometric classificatory approach for the study and assessment of research performance at the individual level: the effects of age on productivity and impact

FSW - CWTS - Ou

A bibliometric classificatory approach for the study and assessment of research performance at the individual level: The effects of age on productivity and impact

This paper sets forth a general methodology for conducting bibliometric analyses at the micro level. It combines several indicators grouped into three factors or dimensions which characterize different aspects of scientific performance. Different profiles or “classes” of scientists are described according to their research performance in each dimension. A series of results based on the findings from the application of this methodology to the study of CSIC scientists in Spain in three thematic areas are presented. Special emphasis is made on the identification and description of top scientists from structural and bibliometric perspectives. The effects of age on the productivity and impact of the different classes of scientists are analyzed. The classificatory approach proposed herein may prove a useful tool in support of research assessment at the individual level and for exploring potential determinants of research success.Peer reviewe

Statistical evaluation of research performance of young university scholars: A case study

The research performance of a small group of 49 young scholars, such as doctoral students, postdoctoral and junior researchers, working in different technical and scientific fields, was evaluated based on 11 types of research outputs. The scholars worked at a technical university in the fields of Civil Engineering, Ecology, Economics, Informatics, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Safety Engineering. Principal Component Analysis was used to statistically analyze the research outputs and its results were compared with factor and cluster analysis. The metrics of research productivity describing the types of research outputs included the number of papers, books and chapters published in books, the number of patents, utility models and function samples, and the number of research projects conducted. The metrics of citation impact included the number of citations and h-index. From these metrics -the variables -the principal component analysis extracted 4 main principal components. The 1st principal component characterized the cited publications in high-impact journals indexed by the Web of Science. The 2nd principal component represented the outputs of applied research and the 3rd and 4th principal components represented other kinds of publications. The results of the principal component analysis were compared with the hierarchical clustering using Ward's method. The scatter plots of the principal component analysis and the Mahalanobis distances were calculated from the 4 main principal component scores, which allowed us to statistically evaluate the research performance of individual scholars. Using variance analysis, no influence of the field of research on the overall research performance was found. Unlike the statistical analysis of individual research metrics, the approach based on the principal component analysis can provide a complex view of the research systems.Web of Science30217716

Enhancing European capabilities for application of multi-omics studies in biology and biomedicine space research

Following on from the NASA twins’ study, there has been a tremendous interest in the use of omics techniques in spaceflight. Individual space agencies, NASA's GeneLab, JAXA's ibSLS, and the ESA-funded Space Omics Topical Team and the International Standards for Space Omics Processing (ISSOP) groups have established several initiatives to support this growth. Here, we present recommendations from the Space Omics Topical Team to promote standard application of space omics in Europe. We focus on four main themes: i) continued participation in and coordination with international omics endeavors, ii) strengthening of the European space omics infrastructure including workforce and facilities, iii) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in the commercial space sector, and iv) capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in human subjects research

The Practice of Transformative Consumer Research - Some Issues and Suggestions

Transformative consumer research (TCR) is a new academic initiative among researchers committed to studying the role consumption plays in the major social problems of our day. These problems may involve the over consumption of products among the obese, the addicted, and the materialistic, or the under consumption of products among the hungry, the homeless, and the poor. The goal of transformative research is to do practical research that can be used by consumers, activists, policy makers, and businesses to improve consumer well-being. In this article, we propose rethinking the way that research is traditionally conducted in consumer research to make it more conducive to achieving TCR objectives. We start with the conventional approaches to consumer research and then offer alternative approaches to increase the likelihood that research will deliver useful and useable results