scholarly journals Characteristics of research output in social sciences and humanities: From a research evaluation perspective

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 1819-1828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mu-hsuan Huang ◽  
Yu-wei Chang
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities

Towards complexity-sensitive book metrics for scholarly monographs in national databases for research output

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Sīle ◽  
Raf Guns ◽  
Alesia A. Zuccala ◽  
Tim C.E. Engels
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Bibliographic Records ◽  
Bibliographic Data ◽  
The One ◽  
National Databases

PurposeThis study investigates an approach to book metrics for research evaluation that takes into account the complexity of scholarly monographs. This approach is based on work sets – unique scholarly works and their within-work related bibliographic entities – for scholarly monographs in national databases for research output.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines bibliographic records on scholarly monographs acquired from four European databases (VABB in Flanders, Belgium; CROSBI in Croatia; CRISTIN in Norway; COBISS in Slovenia). Following a data enrichment process using metadata from OCLC WorldCat and Amazon Goodreads, the authors identify work sets and the corresponding ISBNs. Next, on the basis of the number of ISBNs per work set and the presence in WorldCat, they design a typology of scholarly monographs: Globally visible single-expression works, Globally visible multi-expression works, Miscellaneous and Globally invisible works.FindingsThe findings show that the concept “work set” and the proposed typology can aid the identification of influential scholarly monographs in the social sciences and humanities (i.e. the Globally visible multi-expression works).Practical implicationsIn light of the findings, the authors outline requirements for the bibliographic control of scholarly monographs in national databases for research output that facilitate the use of the approach proposed here.Originality/valueThe authors use insights from library and information science (LIS) to construct complexity-sensitive book metrics. In doing so, the authors, on the one hand, propose a solution to a problem in research evaluation and, on the other hand, bring to attention the need for a dialogue between LIS and neighbouring communities that work with bibliographic data.

scholarly journals Are book publications disappearing from scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities?

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 592-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim C.E. Engels ◽  
Andreja Istenič Starčič ◽  
Emanuel Kulczycki ◽  
Janne Pölönen ◽  
Gunnar Sivertsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Book Publishing ◽  
Scholarly Book ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Comprehensive Coverage

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution in terms of shares of scholarly book publications in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in five European countries, i.e. Flanders (Belgium), Finland, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. In addition to aggregate results for the whole of the social sciences and the humanities, the authors focus on two well-established fields, namely, economics & business and history. Design/methodology/approach Comprehensive coverage databases of SSH scholarly output have been set up in Flanders (VABB-SHW), Finland (VIRTA), Norway (NSI), Poland (PBN) and Slovenia (COBISS). These systems allow to trace the shares of monographs and book chapters among the total volume of scholarly publications in each of these countries. Findings As expected, the shares of scholarly monographs and book chapters in the humanities and in the social sciences differ considerably between fields of science and between the five countries studied. In economics & business and in history, the results show similar field-based variations as well as country variations. Most year-to-year and overall variation is rather limited. The data presented illustrate that book publishing is not disappearing from an SSH. Research limitations/implications The results presented in this paper illustrate that the polish scholarly evaluation system has influenced scholarly publication patterns considerably, while in the other countries the variations are manifested only slightly. The authors conclude that generalizations like “performance-based research funding systems (PRFS) are bad for book publishing” are flawed. Research evaluation systems need to take book publishing fully into account because of the crucial epistemic and social roles it serves in an SSH. Originality/value The authors present data on monographs and book chapters from five comprehensive coverage databases in Europe and analyze the data in view of the debates regarding the perceived detrimental effects of research evaluation systems on scholarly book publishing. The authors show that there is little reason to suspect a dramatic decline of scholarly book publishing in an SSH.

scholarly journals Mapping Diversity of Publication Patterns in the Social Sciences and Humanities: An Approach Making Use of Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik T. Verleysen ◽  
Arie Weeren
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Fuzzy Cluster ◽  
Fuzzy Cluster Analysis ◽  
Publication Type ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Publication Patterns ◽  
The Social ◽  
Publication Language

AbstractPurposeTo present a method for systematically mapping diversity of publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities in terms of publication type, publication language and co-authorship.Design/methodology/approachIn a follow-up to the hard partitioning clustering by Verleysen and Weeren in 2016, we now propose the complementary use of fuzzy cluster analysis, making use of a membership coefficient to study gradual differences between publication styles among authors within a scholarly discipline. The analysis of the probability density function of the membership coefficient allows to assess the distribution of publication styles within and between disciplines.FindingsAs an illustration we analyze 1,828 productive authors affiliated in Flanders, Belgium. Whereas a hard partitioning previously identified two broad publication styles, an international one vs. a domestic one, fuzzy analysis now shows gradual differences among authors. Internal diversity also varies across disciplines and can be explained by researchers’ specialization and dissemination strategies.Research limitationsThe dataset used is limited to one country for the years 2000–2011; a cognitive classification of authors may yield a different result from the affiliation-based classification used here.Practical implicationsOur method is applicable to other bibliometric and research evaluation contexts, especially for the social sciences and humanities in non-Anglophone countries.Originality/valueThe method proposed is a novel application of cluster analysis to the field of bibliometrics. Applied to publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities, for the first time it systematically documents intra-disciplinary diversity.

scholarly journals Quantitative quality: a study on how performance-based measures may change the publication patterns of Danish researchers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniella Bayle Deutz ◽  
Thea Marie Drachen ◽  
Dorte Drongstrup ◽  
Niels Opstrup ◽  
Charlotte Wien
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Publication Patterns ◽  
Quantitative Performance ◽  
New Research ◽  
Academic Authors ◽  
The Impact

AbstractNations the world over are increasingly turning to quantitative performance-based metrics to evaluate the quality of research outputs, as these metrics are abundant and provide an easy measure of ranking research. In 2010, the Danish Ministry of Science and Higher Education followed this trend and began portioning out a percentage of the available research funding according to how many research outputs each Danish university produces. Not all research outputs are eligible: only those published in a curated list of academic journals and publishers, the so-called BFI list, are included. The BFI list is ranked, which may create incentives for academic authors to target certain publication outlets or publication types over others. In this study we examine the potential effect these relatively new research evaluation methods have had on the publication patterns of researchers in Denmark. The study finds that publication behaviors in the Natural Sciences & Technology, Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) have changed, while the Health Sciences appear unaffected. Researchers in Natural Sciences & Technology appear to focus on high impact journals that reap more BFI points. While researchers in SSH have also increased their focus on the impact of the publication outlet, they also appear to have altered their preferred publication types, publishing more journal articles in the Social Sciences and more anthologies in the Humanities.

scholarly journals Journal article publishing in the social sciences and humanities: A comparison of Web of Science coverage for five European countries

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249879
Author(s):  
Michal Petr ◽  
Tim C. E. Engels ◽  
Emanuel Kulczycki ◽  
Marta Dušková ◽  
Raf Guns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Pattern Dynamics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Eastern European Countries

This study compares publication pattern dynamics in the social sciences and humanities in five European countries. Three are Central and Eastern European countries that share a similar cultural and political heritage (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland). The other two are Flanders (Belgium) and Norway, representing Western Europe and the Nordics, respectively. We analysed 449,409 publications from 2013–2016 and found that, despite persisting differences between the two groups of countries across all disciplines, publication patterns in the Central and Eastern European countries are becoming more similar to those in their Western and Nordic counterparts. Articles from the Central and Eastern European countries are increasingly published in journals indexed in Web of Science and also in journals with the highest citation impacts. There are, however, clear differences between social science and humanities disciplines, which need to be considered in research evaluation and science policy.

scholarly journals How scientific research changes the Vietnamese higher education landscape: Evidence from social sciences and humanities between 2008 and 2019

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Thi-Huyen-Trang Nguyen ◽  
Trung Tran ◽  
The-Tung Dau ◽  
Thi-Song-Ha Nguyen ◽  
Thanh-Hung Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Vietnamese Higher Education

Background: In the context of globalization, Vietnamese universities, whose primary function is teaching, there is a need to improve research performance. Methods: Based on SSHPA data, an exclusive database of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities researchers’ productivity, between 2008 and 2019 period, this study analyzes the research output of Vietnamese universities in the field of social sciences and humanities. Results: Vietnamese universities have been steadily producing a high volume of publications in the 2008-2019 period, with a peak of 598 articles in 2019. Moreover, many private universities and institutions are also joining the publication race, pushing competitiveness in the country. Conclusions: Solutions to improve both quantity and quality of Vietnamese universities’ research practice in the context of the industrial revolution 4.0 could be applying international criteria in Vietnamese higher education, developing scientific and critical thinking for general and STEM education, and promoting science communication.

scholarly journals Dialnet Métricas como herramienta de evaluación bibliométrica: aportes al análisis de la actividad científica en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orlando Gregorio-Chaviano ◽  
Rafael Repiso ◽  
Antonio Calderón-Rehecho ◽  
Joaquín León-Marín ◽  
Evaristo Jiménez-Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Citation Index ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Debate ◽  
Eugene Garfield ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The Impact

Within the current panorama of science evaluation, the limitations of citation indexes to study the social sciences and humanities have been the subject of wide debate. To resolve this situation, different products have been created for use in national contexts, since they cover certain aspects not contained in more international indices. An example is the In-RECS family, where an indicator such as the impact factor of Eugene Garfield is defined, but its contribution lies in the ability to evaluate research in Spain by obtaining citation indicators. This paper thus highlights the need to create new products for research evaluation in general, but particularly in the social sciences and humanities. The context in which different alternatives arise and are developed to evaluate existing journals is presented, along with Dialnet Metrics, a citation index developed by the Dialnet Foundation in collaboration with the EC3 Group and dozens of Spanish universities. Based on an analysis of the citations of source journals from different subject areas, Dialnet Metrics provides indicators to evaluate the research impact at different levels. This bibliometric product enables contextualized analysis at the micro (researchers), meso (journals), and macro (areas and universities) levels. Finally, the content, data volumes, and structure of this citation index are described quantitatively. Resumen Dentro del panorama actual de evaluación de la ciencia, las limitaciones de los índices de citación para estudiar las Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades han sido motivo de amplio debate. Para resolver esta situación, se han creado distintos productos para ser usados en contextos nacionales, dado que cubren ciertos aspectos no presentes en los índices de carácter más internacional. Como ejemplo se encuentran los de la familia In-RECS, donde se define un indicador similar al factor de impacto de Eugene Garfield, pero su aporte radica en la capacidad de evaluar la investigación en España mediante la obtención de indicadores de citas. Es por ello por lo que en este trabajo se expone la necesidad de crear nuevos productos para la evaluación de la investigación en general, pero particularizando en las Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. Se muestra el contexto en el que surgen y se desarrollan las distintas alternativas de evaluación de revistas existentes y se presenta Dialnet Métricas. Este es un índice de citación realizado por la Fundación Dialnet en colaboración con el Grupo EC3 y decenas de universidades españolas. A partir del análisis de las referencias citadas de revistas fuente de distintos campos temáticos, Dialnet Métricas proporciona indicadores para evaluar el impacto de la investigación a varios niveles. Este producto bibliométrico posibilita el análisis contextualizado a nivel micro (investigadores), meso (revistas) y macro (áreas y universidades). Por último, se describen cuantitativamente los contenidos, volúmenes de datos y estructura de este índice de citas. Palabras clave

scholarly journals Mirror, mirror on the wall: Is Economics the fairest of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan-Hoang Vuong ◽  
Nguyen Phuc Khanh Linh ◽  
Viet-Phuong La ◽  
Thu-Trang Vuong ◽  
Tung Manh Ho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Gender Disparity ◽  
Social Medicine ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Total Output ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Policy Application

As an example of a recent emerging economy, Vietnam has witnessed changes in its research policies and productivity during the last ten years. Since the establishment of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) in 2008, the Vietnamese scientific community had adapted to new international standards in 2014 and 2017, which resulted in different productivity between social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines. Therefore, to understand the effects of new research policies, this study deploys Bayesian analysis on a comprehensive dataset of 1,564 Vietnamese authors in the 2008-2018 period. The dataset was extracted from the exclusively designed Social Sciences Humanities Peer Award (SSHPA) database (http://sshpa.com/). Various factors are considered in the data collecting process, including age, gender, new authors in a year, leading authors, co- authorship, and journal’s Impact Factor (JIF). The findings indicate three main characteristics of the Vietnamese SSH community after the research policy application. First, in terms of output, Economics is the dominant field relative to other SSH’s disciplines in Vietnam. It has contributed 858 publications in 12 years, about two times as much as the total output of Education, the second place. Economics also experiences a high level of contribution from authors at the age of 40-44 and nearly 500 new authors within the period. Secondly, despite a rapid rise in the number of lead authors, gender disparity among disciplines is a critical issue. Male researchers outnumber female ones in Economics and Social medicine, with Education being the sole exception. Lastly, authors in Education appears to have less international collaboration than those in Social medicine, Economics, and other fields. The success of Economics could be a reference point for other SSH disciplines to increase their research output. These findings enable a better understanding of SSH research policy application and call for a more suitable policy to support female academics in a number of SSH fields.

Do we need a book citation index for research evaluation?

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Gingras ◽  
Mahdi Khelfaoui
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Citation Index ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Citation Metrics ◽  
The Web

Abstract Given the importance of books and book chapters as vehicles of knowledge in social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, it has previously been thought that the application of citation metrics to the evaluation of these disciplines should also include, in addition to journal articles, citations from books and book chapters. The main argument supporting this claim is the belief that top cited authors in journal articles and in monographs form two distinct populations. In this article, we compare the rankings of the most cited authors in three SSH disciplines (sociology, philosophy, and history), obtained by counting citations in the journal articles covered in the Web of Science, and a large sample of books and book chapters covered in the book citation index. Contrary to what is often suggested, we show that adding book and book chapter citations to journal citations does not produce significantly different rankings than those obtained solely on the basis of citations in journal articles.

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