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

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

Handbook for Scientometrics: Science and Technology Development Indicators

The Second edition Russian Scientometric Handbook is designed to provide an overview of the field of scientometrics. The Handbook describes the history of creation of the breakthrough concept of citation indexing by Dr. Eugene Garfield, and development of the first multidisciplinary scholarly citation index, the Science Citation Index. Application of scientometric tools and methods in research management and resource allocation is discussed. Authors survey various scientometric indicators relevant to individual researchers, journals, research institutions and whole countries. Authors explore new types of indicators, such as altmetrics, relationship between scientometric indicators and the nature of scientific communication, and various methods of visualizing scientometric information. Possibilities and limitations of various scientometric techniques are examined. Authors highlight the need for an informed and reasonable approach to the use of quantitative indicators for research assessment. The Handbook includes the first Russian translations of three articles by Dr. Eugene Garfield. The Handbook is intended for use by researchers, science analysts, universities and research institutions administrators, libraries and information centers staff, graduate students, and the general reader interested in scientometrics and research evaluation.

Units of measurement

This chapter discusses how performance is measured in science, such as through the role of citation metrics. Next, the chapter discusses the pros and cons of bibliometric indexes, and of ‘impact factor’, which was introduced by Eugene Garfield in 1955 but not widely used until twenty years later. The various ways that journals attempt to improve their impact factors, and how this will affect science, are also examined. Besides impact factor, the role played by indicators in evaluating scientists, such as the recently introduced h-index, is explored. Finally, fashions and trends in science are touched upon, illustrated with personal anecdotes from the author.