The application of citation-based performance classes to the disciplinary and multidisciplinary assessment in national comparison and institutional research assessment

The analysis of the high end of citation distributions represented by its tail provides important supplementary information on the citation profile of the unit under study. In a previous study by Glänzel (Scientometrics 97:13–23, 2013a), a parameter-free solution providing four performance classes has been proposed. Unlike in methods based on pre-set percentiles, this method is not sensitive to ties and ensures needless integration of measures of outstanding and even extreme performance into the standard tools of scientometric performance assessment. The applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated for both subject analysis and the combination of different subjects at the macro and meso level.     

Skeletal fluoride deposition in a poisoned cow

In a seven years old cow, which died with severe symptoms of lameness, the fluoride content was measured of nearly all the bones. From each type of bone several samples of fat‐free dry bone dust were collected and analysed for fluoride in order to obtain more information about the most representative sample area for the diagnosis of fluorosis. Taking into account a five percent deviation of the mean value for all the bones analysed and using our sampling technique, the fluoride levels of ribs, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, sacral bones and pelvis seem to be the most representative. However, due to the unequal distribution of fluoride, between the compact and cancellous fraction, especially in long bones, the method of sampling seems to be extremely important.     

Using a bibliometric approach to support research policy making: The case of the Flemish BOF-key

In this paper, we describe the development of a methodology and an instrument to support a major research funding allocation decision by the Flemish government. Over the last decade, and in parallel with the decentralization and the devolution of the Belgian federal policy authority towards the various regions and communities in the country, science and technology policy have become a major component of regional policy making. In the Flemish region, there has been an increasing focus on basing the funding allocation decisions that originate from this policy decentralization on “objective, quantifiable and repeatable” decision parameters. One of the data sources and indicator bases that have received ample attention in this evolution is the use of bibliometric data and indicators. This has now led to the creation of a dedicated research and policy support staff, called “Steunpunt O&O Statistieken,” and the first time application of bibliometric data and methods to support a major inter-university funding allocation decision. In this paper, we analyze this evolution. We show how bibliometric data have for the first time been used to allocate 93 million Euro of public research money between 6 Flemish universities for the fiscal year 2003, based on Web-of-Science SCI data provided to “Steunpunt O&O Statistieken” via a license agreement with Thomson-ISI. We also discuss the limitations of the current approach that was based on inter-university publication and citation counts. We provide insights into future adaptations that might make it more representative of the total research activity at the universities involved (e.g., by including data for the humanities) and of its visibility (e.g., by including impact measures). Finally, based on our current experience and interactions with the universities involved, we speculate on the future of the specific bibliometric approach that has now been adopted. More specifically, we hypothesize that the allocation method now developed and under further improvement will become more criticized if it turns out that it (1) also starts influencing intra-university research allocation decisions and, as a consequence (2) introduces adverse publication and citation behaviors at the universities involved. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A concise review on the role of author self-citations in information science, bibliometrics and science policy

Summary  The objective of the present study is twofold: (1) to show the aims and means of quantitative interpretation of bibliographic features in bibliometrics and their re-interpretation in research policy, and (2) to summarise the state-of-art in self-citation research. The authors describe three approaches to the role of author self-citations and possible conflicts arising from the different perspectives. From the bibliometric viewpoint we can conclude that that there is no reason for condemning self-citations in general or for removing them from macro or meso statistics; supplementary indicators based on self-citations are, nonetheless, useful to understand communication patterns.     

Scientific capabilities and technological performance of national innovation systems: An exploration of emerging industrial relevant research domains

Today's theories and models on innovation stress the importance of scientific capabilities and science-technology proximity, especially in new emerging fields of economic activity. Inthis contribution we examine the relationship between national scientific capabilities, the science intensity of technology and technological performance within six emergent industrial fields. Our findings reveal that national technological performance is positively associated with scientific capabilities. Countries performing better on a technological level are characterized both by larger numbers of publications and by numbers of involved institutions that exceed average expected values. The latter observation holds for both companies and knowledge generating institutes actively involved in scientific activities. As such, our findings seem to suggest beneficial effects of scientific capabilities shouldered by a multitude of organizations. In addition, higher numbers of patent activity coincide with higher levels of science intensity pointing out the relevance of science 'proximity' when developing technology in newer, emerging fields. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.     

Developing technology in the vicinity of science: An examination of the relationship between science intensity (of patents) and technological productivity within the field of biotechnology

In this paper we investigate — at a country level — the relationship between the science intensity of patents and technological productivity, taking into account differences in terms of scientific productivity. The number of non patent references in patents is considered as an approximation of the science intensity of technology whereas a country’s technological and scientific performance is measured in terms of productivity (i.e., number of patents and publications per capita). We use USPTO patent-data pertaining to biotechnology for 20 countries covering the time period 1992–1999. Our findings reveal mutual positive relationships between scientific and technological productivity for the respective countries involved. At the same time technological productivity is associated positively with the science intensity of patients. These results are confirmed when introducing time effects. These observations corroborate the construct validity of science intensity as a distinctive indicator and suggest its usefulness for assessing science and technology dynamics.     

Linking science to technology: Using bibliographic references in patents to build linkage schemes

In this paper, we develop and discuss a method to design a linkage scheme that links the systems of science and technology through the use of patent citation data. After conceptually embedding the linkage scheme in the current literature on science-technology interactions and associations, the methodology and algorithms used to develop the linkage scheme are discussed in detail. The method is subsequently tested on and applied to subsets of USPTO patents. The results point to highly skewed citation distributions, enabling us to discern between those fields of technology that are highly science-interactive and those fields where technology development is highly independent from the scientific literature base. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Scenario-driven forecasting: modeling peaks and paths. Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium

Scientometrics - The recent ‘outburst’ of COVID-19 spurred efforts to model and forecast its diffusion patterns, either in terms of infections, people in need of medical assistance (ICU...     

Can applied science be ‘good science’? Exploring the relationship between patent citations and citation impact in nanoscience

There is a rich literature on how science and technology are related to each other. Patent citation analysis is amongst the most frequently used to tool to track the strengths of links. In this paper we explore the relationship between patent citations and citation impact in nanoscience. Our observations indicate that patent-cited papers perform better in terms of standard bibliometric indicators than comparable publications that are not linked to technology in this way. More specifically, we found that articles cited in patents are more likely to be cited also by other papers. The share of highly cited papers is the most striking result. Instead of the average of 4% of all papers, 13.8% of the papers cited once or twice in patents fall into this category and even 23.5% of the papers more frequently cited in patents receive citation rates far above the standard. Our analyses further demonstrate the presence and the relevance of bandwagon effects driving the development of science and technology.     

‘Triad’ or ‘tetrad’? On global changes in a dynamic world

The US-EU race for world leadership in science and technology has become the favourite subject of recent studies. Studies issued by the European Commission reported the increase of the European share in the world’s scientific production and announced world leadership of the EU in scientific output at the end of the last century. In order to be able to monitor those types of global changes, the present study is based on the 15-year period 1991–2005. A set of bibliometric and technometric indicators is used to analyse activity and impact patterns in science and technology output. This set comprises publication output indicators such as (1) the share in the world total, (2) subject-based publication profiles, (3) citation-based indicators like journal-and subject-normalised mean citation rates, (4) international co-publications and their impact as well as (5) patent indicators and publication-patent citation links (both directions). The evolution of national bibliometric profiles, ‘scientific weight’ and science-technology linkage patterns are discussed as well. The authors show, using the mirror of science and technology indicators, that the triad model does no longer hold in the 21^st century. China is challenging the leading sciento-economic powers and the time is approaching when this country will represent the world’s second largest potential in science and technology. China and other emerging scientific nations like South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and Turkey are already changing the balance of power as measured by scientific production, as they are at least in part responsible for the relative decline of the former triad.