Showing papers on "Scientometrics published in 2015"

The metric tide: report of the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management

Abstract: 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.

Mapping the intellectual structure of scientometrics: a co-word analysis of the journal Scientometrics (2005---2010)

Abstract: 959 full text articles has been studied to explore the intellectual structure of scientometrics in the period 2005---2010 using text mining and co-word analysis. The trends and patterns of scientometrics in the journal Scientometrics were revealed by measuring the association strength of selected keywords which represent the produced concept and idea in the field of scientometrics. All articles were collected from the journal Scientometrics through Springerlink (full text database) and keywords were added non-parametrically from the LISA database and the articles themselves (keywords provided by author). Other important keywords are extracted from the title and abstract of the article manually. These keywords are standardized using a vocabulary tool. With the objective of delineating dynamic changes of the field of scientometrics, the period 2005---2010 was studied and further divided into two consecutive periods: 2005---2007 and 2008---2010. The results show that publication has some well-established topics which are changing gradually to adopt new themes.

Alternative metrics in scientometrics: a meta-analysis of research into three altmetrics

Abstract: Alternative metrics are currently one of the most popular research topics in scientometric research. This paper provides an overview of research into three of the most important altmetrics: microblogging (Twitter), online reference managers (Mendeley and CiteULike) and blogging. The literature is discussed in relation to the possible use of altmetrics in research evaluation. Since the research was particularly interested in the correlation between altmetrics counts and citation counts, this overview focuses particularly on this correlation. For each altmetric, a meta-analysis is calculated for its correlation with traditional citation counts. As the results of the meta-analyses show, the correlation with traditional citations for micro-blogging counts is negligible (pooled r = 0.003), for blog counts it is small (pooled r = 0.12) and for bookmark counts from online reference managers, medium to large (CiteULike pooled r = 0.23; Mendeley pooled r = 0.51).

A scientometrics review on aggregation operator research

Abstract: As one of the most important tool for information fusion, aggregation operator has successful application in decision making, combination forecasting, military operations research and so on. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to present in a scientometrics review on the development of aggregation operator. The records adopted in this paper were downloaded from Web of Science. The useful information visualization software called CiteSpace II was utilized to analysis and visualizes the development of the discipline of aggregation operator. According to the results of this study, the main research clusters of this area and their corresponding key elements can be revealed. The close relationship between the different clusters, main journals, and important authors can be found out and shown in a visualization and quantitative way. The research of this paper will become a significant reference source for theoretical researchers and practitioners working in the area of information fusion, decision making and operations research.

Scientometrics and information retrieval: weak-links revitalized

Abstract: This special issue brings together eight papers from experts of communities which often have been perceived as different once: bibliometrics, scientometrics and informetrics on the one side and information retrieval on the other. The idea of this special issue started at the workshop "Combining Bibliometrics and Information Retrieval" held at the 14th International Conference of Scientometrics and Informetrics, Vienna, July 14---19, 2013. Our motivation as guest editors started from the observation that main discourses in both fields are different, that communities are only partly overlapping and from the belief that a knowledge transfer would be profitable for both sides.

Highly cited articles in biomass research: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract: This study aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of highly cited biomass articles in the Science Citation Index Expanded that were published between 1900 and 2013. Articles with at least 100 citations from the Web of Science Core Collection were selected, and the following characteristics were recorded: publication year, authors, institutions, countries/territories, journals, Web of Science categories, and citation life cycles. The results show that 3407 highly cited articles were published between 1966 and 2011, and the most highly cited biomass articles were published in Ecology. The USA produced 49% of all highly cited articles and contributed the most single, internationally collaborative, first-author, singleauthor, and corresponding-author articles. All of the top 13 most productive institutions were located in the USA. In addition, the Y-index was successfully applied to evaluate the publication characteristics of authors. Authors' publication intensities for highly cited articles in biomass research and their publication characteristics were analyzed.

Latin American scientific output in Public Health: combined analysis using bibliometric, socioeconomic and health indicators

Abstract: This study characterizes the volume and visibility of Latin American scientific output in the area of Public Health, through a combined analysis of bibliometric, socioeconomic and health indicators of the top 10 Latin American producers of documents The information was obtained from the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) portal, based on Scopus data, in the category Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, of the area Medicine, for the period 2003---2011 Our scientometric analysis involved a set of quantitative indicators (based on document recount), plus performance ones to measure impact and excellence (based on citation recount) and international collaboration The socioeconomic indicators measured investment in health and in research, and the number of researchers Basic health indicators were used, along with the inequity indicator known as INIQUIS The main results reveal that the research systems with the greatest capacity to communicate scientific results are those of Brazil and Mexico, and potentially Colombia and Argentina The best visibility was demonstrated by Uruguay, Puerto Rico and Peru, countries with high rates of collaboration No single country stands out as having a perfectly balanced relationship regarding all the dimensions analyzed A relative balance is achieved by Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, though with different levels of scientific output The tangible achievements in health attained by Cuba and Chile do not appear to be related with the results of research published in the area of Public Health There is clearly a need to find methods that would allow us to evaluate the transfer of research knowledge into practice, by means of the scientometric perspective

Characterizing highly cited papers in Social Work through H-Classics

Abstract: Highly cited papers are an important reference point in a research field. H-Classics is a new identification method of highly cited papers that is based on the H-index and is sensitive to the own characteristics of any research discipline and also its evolution. Recently, Ho (Scientometrics 98(1):137---155, 2014) presented a study on highly cited papers in Social Work area using as selection criterion a citation threshold value equal to 50 citations received. In this paper, we present a new study on the highly cited papers in Social Work discipline which is developed using the concept of H-Classics. This new study provides more precise results and a different vision on Social Work area.

Using Co-authorship Networks to Map and Analyse Global Neglected Tropical Disease Research with an Affiliation to Germany

Abstract: Background Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) has increased in recent decades, and significant need-gaps in diagnostic and treatment tools remain. Analysing bibliometric data from published research is a powerful method for revealing research efforts, partnerships and expertise. We aim to identify and map NTD research networks in Germany and their partners abroad to enable an informed and transparent evaluation of German contributions to NTD research. Methodology/Principal Findings A SCOPUS database search for articles with German author affiliations that were published between 2002 and 2012 was conducted for kinetoplastid and helminth diseases. Open-access tools were used for data cleaning and scientometrics (OpenRefine), geocoding (OpenStreetMaps) and to create (Table2Net), visualise and analyse co-authorship networks (Gephi). From 26,833 publications from around the world that addressed 11 diseases, we identified 1,187 (4.4%) with at least one German author affiliation, and we processed 972 publications for the five most published-about diseases. Of those, we extracted 4,007 individual authors and 863 research institutions to construct co-author networks. The majority of co-authors outside Germany were from high-income countries and Brazil. Collaborations with partners on the African continent remain scattered. NTD research within Germany was distributed among 220 research institutions. We identified strong performers on an individual level by using classic parameters (number of publications, h-index) and social network analysis parameters (betweenness centrality). The research network characteristics varied strongly between diseases. Conclusions/Significance The share of NTD publications with German affiliations is approximately half of its share in other fields of medical research. This finding underlines the need to identify barriers and expand Germany’s otherwise strong research activities towards NTDs. A geospatial analysis of research collaborations with partners abroad can support decisions to strengthen research capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, which were less involved in collaborations than high-income countries. Identifying knowledge hubs within individual researcher networks complements traditional scientometric indicators that are used to identify opportunities for collaboration. Using free tools to analyse research processes and output could facilitate data-driven health policies. Our findings contribute to the prioritisation of efforts in German NTD research at a time of impending local and global policy decisions.

Computer science research: the top 100 institutions in India and in the world

Abstract: This paper aims to perform a detailed scientometric and text-based analysis of Computer Science (CS) research output of the 100 most productive institutions in India and in the world. The analytical characterization is based on research output data indexed in Scopus during the last 25 years period (1989---2013). Our computational analysis involves a two-dimensional approach involving the standard scientometric methodology and text-based analysis. The scientometric characterization aims to assess CS domain research output in leading Indian institutions vis-a-vis the leading world institutions and to bring out the similarities and differences among them. It involves analysis along traditional scientometric indicators such as total output, citation-based impact assessment, co-authorship patterns, international collaboration levels etc. The text-based characterization aims to identify the key research themes and their temporal trends for the two sets. The key contribution of the experimental work is that it's an analytical characterization of its kind, which identifies characteristic similarities and differences in CS research landscape of Indian institutions vis-a-vis world institutions.

Visualizing the structure and the evolving of digital medicine: a scientometrics review

Abstract: This article aims to analyze and visualize the structure and the emerging trend of digital medicine, a new medical pattern of twenty-first century. Our study objectively explores the document co-citation clusters of 6060 bibliographic records to identify the origin of digital medicine and the hot research specialty of domain. Pivotal point articles, prominent authors, active disciplines and institution have been identified by network analysis theory. CiteSpace was used to visualize the perspective of digital medicine domain. As an interdiscipline which integrated computer science, information engineering with medicine, digital medicine originally and mainly on digital medical imaging technology research for accuracy and speedy clinical diagnosis and therapy. Of 6060 relevant records reviewed, 1719 (28 %) are on radiology, 902 (15 %) are on engineering, 539 (9 %) are on computer science. The largest co-citation cluster is on digital tomosynthesis. The earliest cluster is on medical imaging segmentation and registration. Post-processing imaging technology, detector, phase contrast, reversible watermarking, input, model 3D reconstruct, real-time dynamic imaging, dosimetry have been the hot research topics. The recently cluster is on internet health information. Harvard University of USA is the prominent institution. The coverage of digital medicine research is widely from clinic to laboratory. Recent year, domain research front is thematically on teleradiology, telemedicine and hospital information management system.

Bibliometrics-aided retrieval: where information retrieval meets scientometrics

Abstract: This paper attempts to sketch the interrelation between information retrieval and scientometrics pointing at possible synergy effects provided by some recently developed bibliometric methods in the context of subject delineation and clustering. Examples of specific search strategies based on both traditional retrieval techniques and bibliometric methods are used to illustrate this approach. Special attention is paid to hybrid techniques and the use of `core documents'. The latter ones are defined merely on the basis of bibliometric similarities, but have by definition properties that make `core documents' also interesting and attractive for information retrieval.

Diabetes research in Middle East countries; a scientometrics study from 1990 to 2012.

Abstract: Background: Diabetes burden is a serious warning for urgent action plan across the world. Knowledge production in this context could provide evidences for more efficient interventions. Aimed to that, we quantify the trend of diabetes research outputs of Middle East countries focusing on the scientific publication numbers, citations, and international collaboration. Materials and Methods: This scientometrics study was performed based on the systematic analysis through three international databases; ISI, PubMed, and Scopus from 1990 to 2012. International collaboration of Middle East countries and citations was analyzed based on Scopus. Diabetes’ publications in Iran specifically were assessed, and frequent used terms were mapped by VOSviewer software. Results: Over 23-year period, the number of diabetes publications and related citations in Middle East countries had increasing trend. The number of articles on diabetes in ISI, PubMed, and Scopus were respectively; 13,994,11,336, and 20,707. Turkey, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have devoted the five top competition positions. In addition, Israel, Turkey, and Iran were leading countries in citation analysis. The most collaborative country with Middle East countries was USA and within the region, the most collaborative country was Saudi Arabia. Iran in all databases stands on third position and produced 12.7% of diabetes publications within region. Regarding diabetes researches, the frequent used terms in Iranian articles were “effect,” “woman,” and “metabolic syndrome.” Conclusion: Ascending trend of diabetes research outputs in Middle East countries is appreciated but encouraging to strategic planning for maintaining this trend, and more collaboration between researchers is needed to regional health promotion. Key words: Diabetes, Middle East, scientometrics

Network-based statistical comparison of citation topology of bibliographic databases

Abstract: Modern bibliographic databases provide the basis for scientific research and its evaluation. While their content and structure differ substantially, there exist only informal notions on their reliability. Here we compare the topological consistency of citation networks extracted from six popular bibliographic databases including Web of Science, CiteSeer and arXiv.org. The networks are assessed through a rich set of local and global graph statistics. We first reveal statistically significant inconsistencies between some of the databases with respect to individual statistics. For example, the introduced field bow-tie decomposition of DBLP Computer Science Bibliography substantially differs from the rest due to the coverage of the database, while the citation information within arXiv.org is the most exhaustive. Finally, we compare the databases over multiple graph statistics using the critical difference diagram. The citation topology of DBLP Computer Science Bibliography is the least consistent with the rest, while, not surprisingly, Web of Science is significantly more reliable from the perspective of consistency. This work can serve either as a reference for scholars in bibliometrics and scientometrics or a scientific evaluation guideline for governments and research agencies.

The growth of Brazilian metrics literature

Abstract: Analysis is presented on the growth of the literature on bibliometrics, informetrics, and scientometrics published in Brazil by Brazilian and foreign authors in the form of journal articles, book chapters, and papers presented at conferences. From 1973 to December 2012, close to 2300 documents were published. This literature is growing exponentially at a rate of 24% per year and doubling in size every 3.2 years.

To intervene or not to intervene; is that the question? On the role of scientometrics in research evaluation

Abstract: Recent high-profile statements, criticisms, and boycotts organized against certain quantitative indicators e.g., the DORA declaration have brought misuses of performance metrics to the center of attention. A key concern captured in these movements is that the metrics appear to carry authority even where established agents of quality control have explicitly outlined limits to their validity and reliability as measurement tools. This raises a number of challenging questions for those readers of this journal who are implicated in questions of indicator "production" and, by extension, "effects." In this opinion piece we wish to critically engage the question of how producers of indicators can come to terms with their role as partly responsible parties in the current age of evaluative bibliometrics. We do so through the illuminating case of the professional scientometrics community.

On the categorization of scientific citation profiles in computer science

Abstract: A new dynamic growth model reveals how citation networks evolve over time, pointing the way toward reformulated scientometrics.

Scientometric mapping of computer science research in Mexico

Abstract: This paper presents a detailed scientometric and text-based analysis of Computer Science (CS) research output from Mexico during 1989---2014, indexed in Web of Science. The analytical characterization focuses on origins and growth patterns of CS research in Mexico. In addition to computing the standard scientometric indicators of TP, TC, ACPP, HiCP, H-index, ICP patterns etc., the major publication sources selected by Mexican computer scientists and the major funding agencies for CS research are also identified. The text-based analysis, on the other hand, focused on identifying major research themes pursued by Mexican computer scientists and their trends. Mexico, ranking 35th in the world CS research output during the mentioned period, is also unique in the sense that 75 % of the total CS publications are produced by top ten Mexican institutions alone. Similarly, Mexico has higher ICP instances than world average. The analysis presents a detailed characterization on these aspects.

Classifying Scientific Disciplines in Slovenia: A Study of the Evolution of Collaboration Structures

Abstract: We explore classifying scientific disciplines including their temporal features by focusing on their collaboration structures over time. Bibliometric data for Slovenian researchers registered at the Slovenian Research Agency were used. These data were obtained from the Slovenian National Current Research Information System. We applied a recently developed hierarchical clustering procedure for symbolic data to the coauthorship structure of scientific disciplines. To track temporal changes, we divided data for the period 1986‐2010 into five 5-year time periods. The clusters of disciplines for the Slovene science system revealed 5 clusters of scientific disciplines that, in large measure, correspond with the official national classification of sciences. However, there were also some significant differences pointing to the need for a dynamic classification system of sciences to better characterize them. Implications stemming from these results, especially with regard to classifying scientific disciplines, understanding the collaborative structure of science, and research and development policies, are discussed.

Identifying Directions for the Russia's Science and Technology Cooperation

Abstract: Strong international partnerships are a key vehicle for building an efficient national innovation system. Successful global cooperation needs comprehensive knowledge of the features of the science and technology (S&T) sphere in a changing environment of global division of labour, competition, and political climates. New realities and trends emerge, changing the established ‘rules of the game’ and calling for immediate actions from politicians, experts, and various economic actors.We propose an analytical approach to build and examine an empirical database. Drawing on bibliometric analysis and expert survey tools, such an approach helps us identify the most promising areas for Russia’s international S&T cooperation. We assess the scope for applying the proposed methodology. Based on the latest available data in Web of Science, the international scientific citation indexing service (2014 and early 2015), we compare the structure and variation over time of scientific specializations in Russia, leading S&T countries, and several fast growing global economies.The cooperation priorities that we identified via matrix analysis were complemented with data from expert surveys. The surveys highlighted the partner organizations, thematic areas, and instruments of S&T cooperation, which indicate some of the future possibilities for Russia’s international S&T cooperation.

Measuring relationships in Translation Studies. On affiliations and keyword frequencies in the Translation Studies Bibliography

Abstract: This article provides an analysis of some aspects of academic publishing in Translation Studies, based on the data available in the databases of the online Translation Studies Bibliography. It concentrates especially on: the geographical spread of Translation and Interpreting research measured through academic affiliations; and links between keyword frequency and journals, as well as languages of publication. Firstly, an explanation is given as to why scientometrics/bibliometrics matter and, secondly, what has been done already in this respect in Translation Studies. The results of the analyses are partial and a work in progress; nevertheless they show interesting correlations that could serve as a basis for further analysis of the metadata.

Funding ratios in social science: the perspective of countries/territories level and comparison with natural sciences

Abstract: Research funding plays a key role in current science, thus it has become an aggregative interesting level in scientometric analysis. In this work, we try to explore the funding ratios of 21 major countries/territories in social science based on 813,809 research articles collected from the Web of Science and indexed by the Social Sciences Citation Index covering the period from 2009 to 2013. The results show that the funding ratios of sample countries/territories in social science are far below that in natural science and some specific subjects (chemistry, engineering, physics, neurosciences). However, there is a positive correlation between them. The funding ratios of People's Republic of China, Sweden and Japan rank the top 3 (over 30 %). Generally, the funding ratios of the top 1 % and top 10 % highly cited articles are higher than those of the rest of articles, and for most cases, the high funding ratio of all articles is related to the high funding ratio of the highly cited articles.

Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics: A Scientometrics Analysis

Abstract: Scientometric analysis of 640 analysis articles published in the Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Physics has been dispensed. 5 Volumes of the journal containing 60 problems from 2010–2014 are considered for the current study. The quantity of contributions, authorship pattern and author's productivity, average citations, average length of articles, average keywords and cooperative papers have been analyzed. Out of 640 contributions, only 55 are single authored and rest are multi authored with degree of collaboration is 0.92 and week collaboration among the authors. Pattern of co-authorship exhibited the rising trend of co-authored papers. The study discovered that author productivity is 71.87 and dominated by the Indian authors.