Science Models as Value-Added Services for Scholarly Information Systems

The paper introduces scholarly Information Retrieval (IR) as a further dimension that should be considered in the science modeling debate. The IR use case is seen as a validation model of the adequacy of science models in representing and predicting structure and dynamics in science. Particular conceptualizations of scholarly activity and structures in science are used as value-added search services to improve retrieval quality: a co-word model depicting the cognitive structure of a field (used for query expansion), the Bradford law of information concentration, and a model of co-authorship networks (both used for re-ranking search results). An evaluation of the retrieval quality when science model driven services are used turned out that the models proposed actually provide beneficial effects to retrieval quality. From an IR perspective, the models studied are therefore verified as expressive conceptualizations of central phenomena in science. Thus, it could be shown that the IR perspective can significantly contribute to a better understanding of scholarly structures and activities.Comment: 26 pages, to appear in Scientometric

Applied Evaluative Informetrics: Part 1

This manuscript is a preprint version of Part 1 (General Introduction and Synopsis) of the book Applied Evaluative Informetrics, to be published by Springer in the summer of 2017. This book presents an introduction to the field of applied evaluative informetrics, and is written for interested scholars and students from all domains of science and scholarship. It sketches the field's history, recent achievements, and its potential and limits. It explains the notion of multi-dimensional research performance, and discusses the pros and cons of 28 citation-, patent-, reputation- and altmetrics-based indicators. In addition, it presents quantitative research assessment as an evaluation science, and focuses on the role of extra-informetric factors in the development of indicators, and on the policy context of their application. It also discusses the way forward, both for users and for developers of informetric tools.Comment: The posted version is a preprint (author copy) of Part 1 (General Introduction and Synopsis) of a book entitled Applied Evaluative Bibliometrics, to be published by Springer in the summer of 201

Characterizing creative scientists in nano S & T : productivity, multidisciplinarity, and network brokerage in a longitudinal perspective

While some believe that publication and citation scores are key predictors of breakthroughs in science, others claim that people who work at the intersection of scientific communities are more likely to be familiar with selecting and synthesizing alternatives into novel ideas. This paper contributes to this controversy by presenting a longitudinal comparison of highly creative scientists with equally productive researchers. The sample of creative scientists is identified by combining information on science awards and nominations by international peers covering research accomplishments in the mid-1990s. Results suggest that it is not only the sheer quantity of publications that causes scientists to produce creative pieces of work. Rather, their ability to effectively communicate with otherwise disconnected peers and to address a broader work spectrum also enhances their chances to be widely cited and to develop novel ideas. --

A Consensus Proposal for Nutritional Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of a Healthy Diet: The Mediterranean Diet as a Case Study

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence of the multiple effects of diets on public health nutrition, society, and environment. Sustainability and food security are closely interrelated. The traditional Mediterranean Diet (MD) is recognized as a healthier dietary pattern with a lower environmental impact. As a case study, the MD may guide innovative inter-sectorial efforts to counteract the degradation of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and homogeneity of diets due to globalization through the improvement of sustainable healthy dietary patterns. This consensus position paper defines a suite of the most appropriate nutrition and health indicators for assessing the sustainability of diets based on the MD. METHODS: In 2011, an informal International Working Group from different national and international institutions was convened. Through online and face-to-face brainstorming meetings over 4 years, a set of nutrition and health indicators for sustainability was identified and refined. RESULTS: Thirteen nutrition indicators of sustainability relating were identified in five areas. Biochemical characteristics of food (A1. Vegetable/animal protein consumption ratios; A2. Average dietary energy adequacy; A3. Dietary Energy Density Score; A4. Nutrient density of diet), Food Quality (A5. Fruit and vegetable consumption/intakes; A6. Dietary Diversity Score), Environment (A7. Food biodiversity composition and consumption; A8. Rate of Local/regional foods and seasonality; A9. Rate of eco-friendly food production and/or consumption), Lifestyle (A10. Physical activity/physical inactivity prevalence; A11. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern), Clinical Aspects (A12. Diet-related morbidity/mortality statistics; A13. Nutritional Anthropometry). A standardized set of information was provided for each indicator: definition, methodology, background, data sources, limitations of the indicator, and references. CONCLUSION: The selection and analysis of these indicators has been performed (where possible) with specific reference to the MD. Sustainability of food systems is an urgent priority for governments and international organizations to address the serious socioeconomic and environmental implications of short-sighted and short-term practices for agricultural land and rural communities. These proposed nutrition indicators will be a useful methodological framework for designing health, education, and agricultural policies in order, not only to conserve the traditional diets of the Mediterranean area as a common cultural heritage and lifestyle but also to enhance the sustainability of diets in general

The use of bibliometrics for assessing research : possibilities, limitations and adverse effects

Researchers are used to being evaluated: publications, hiring, tenure and funding decisions are all based on the evaluation of research. Traditionally, this evaluation relied on judgement of peers but, in the light of limited resources and increased bureaucratization of science, peer review is getting more and more replaced or complemented with bibliometric methods. Central to the introduction of bibliometrics in research evaluation was the creation of the Science Citation Index (SCI)in the 1960s, a citation database initially developed for the retrieval of scientific information. Embedded in this database was the Impact Factor, first used as a tool for the selection of journals to cover in the SCI, which then became a synonym for journal quality and academic prestige. Over the last 10 years, this indicator became powerful enough to influence researchers’ publication patterns in so far as it became one of the most important criteria to select a publication venue. Regardless of its many flaws as a journal metric and its inadequacy as a predictor of citations on the paper level, it became the go-to indicator of research quality and was used and misused by authors, editors, publishers and research policy makers alike. The h-index, introduced as an indicator of both output and impact combined in one simple number, has experienced a similar fate, mainly due to simplicity and availability. Despite their massive use, these measures are too simple to capture the complexity and multiple dimensions of research output and impact. This chapter provides an overview of bibliometric methods, from the development of citation indexing as a tool for information retrieval to its application in research evaluation, and discusses their misuse and effects on researchers’ scholarly communication behavior

Individual and Organizational Aspects of University-Industry Relations in Nanotechnology: The Turkish Case

Emerging nanotechnologies bring a new challenge for developing countries to improve knowledge and technology transfer between universities and firms. In developing countries, weaker ties between academia and the industry seem to be one of the main barriers to the dissemination of nanotechnology innovations. This study aims to understand individual and organizational factors affecting university-industry interactions in emerging nanotechnologies in a developing country context, namely Turkey. For this study, 181 questionnaires were collected from a sample of nano-science and nanotechnology academics who are currently employed by Turkish universities. The results provide that informal / interpersonal and research-related interactions are the most common forms of relationship between academics and firms. On the other hand, the study provides a useful insight to understand how human and social capitals of university-scientists as well as organizational resources/ capabilities influence the formation of links between universities and the industry.Nanotechnology, nanoscience, emerging technologies, technology transfer, university-industry relations, science and technology policies, probit model, disproportionate stratified sampling, emerging economies, Turkey.

Measuring Time-Dynamics and Time-Stability of Journal Rankings in Mathematics and Physics by Means of Fractional p-Variations

[EN] Journal rankings of specific research fields are often used for evaluation purposes, both of authors and institutions. These rankings can be defined by means of several methods, as expert assessment, scholarly-based agreements, or by the ordering induced by a numeric index associated to the prestige of the journals. In order to be efficient and accepted by the research community, it must preserve the ordering over time, at least up to a point. Otherwise, the procedure for defining the ranking must be revised to assure that it reflects the presumably stable characteristic prestige that it claims to be quantifying. A mathematical model based on fractional p-variations of the values of the order number of each journal in a time series of journal rankings is explained, and its main properties are shown. As an example, we study the evolution of two given ordered lists of journals through an eleven-year series. These journal ranks are defined by using the 2-year Impact Factor of Thomson-Reuters (nowadays Clarivate Analytics) lists for MATHEMATICS and PHYSICS, APPLIED from 2002 to 2013. As an application of our model, we define an index that precludes the use of journal ranks for evaluation purposes when some minimal requirements on the associated fractional p-variations are not satisfied. The final conclusion is that the list of mathematics does not satisfy the requirements on the p-variations, while the list of applied physics does.The work of the first author was supported by Ministerio de Economi, Industria y Competitividad, Spain, under Research Grant CSO2015-65594-C2-1R Y 2R (MINECO/FEDER, UE). The work of the third author was supported by Ministerio de Economi, Industria y Competitividad, Spain, under Research Grant MTM2016-77054-C2-1-P. We did not receive any funds for covering the costs to publish in open access.Ferrer Sapena, A.; Díaz Novillo, S.; Sánchez Pérez, EA. (2017). Measuring Time-Dynamics and Time-Stability of Journal Rankings in Mathematics and Physics by Means of Fractional p-Variations. Publications. 5(3):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications5030021S1145

Побудова багатофакторної моделі світових рейтингових систем університетів

Now we have a lot of world ranking system that are based on a set of indicators for the universities evaluation, so it is difficult determine which indicators are essential in the ranking systems. So the aim of the article is to provide an integrated multi-factor model of university ranking systems. The influential world and world university ranking systems are analyzed. Factor analysis of the influential world and world university ranking systems based on a retrospective analysis of three years were applied. Research in several groups and with normalized ranking indicators values for stable and the objective result was conducted. Integrated multi-factor model of world university ranking systems is proposed. The proposed model allows to evaluate the majority of the world's universities.Рассматривается проблема многофакторной оценки университетов рейтинговыми системами. Проанализированы влиятельные мировые и мировые рейтинговые системы университетов. Проведен факторный анализ влиятельных мировых и мировых рейтинговых систем. Исследования проводились в нескольких группах, а также с учетом нормированных значений индикаторов для обеспечения стабильного и объективного результата. Предложена интегрированная многофакторная модель мировых рейтинговых систем университетов.Розглядається проблема багатофакторної оцінки університетів рейтинговими системами. Проаналізовано впливові світові та світові рейтингові системи університетів. Проведено факторний аналіз впливових світових і світових рейтингових систем. Дослідження проводилось в декількох групах, а також з урахуванням нормованих значень індикаторів для забезпечення стабільного і об'єктивного результату. Запропоновано інтегровану багатофакторну модель світових рейтингових систем університетів