Scientometric indicators in research evaluation and research misconduct: analysis of the Russian university excellence initiative - Scientometrics

This study aimed to examine the impact of the Russian University Excellence Initiative (RUEI), also known as Project 5–100, on research misconduct in Russian higher education. Launched in 2013, the RUEI incentivized universities to increase the number of publications in internationally indexed journals. The analysis compares the prevalence of retracted publications—as a proxy for research misconduct—between universities that participated in the RUEI and a control group of universities that did not. A total of 2621 retracted papers affiliated with at least one Russian institution were identified. Of which 203 papers were indexed in Web of Science (WoS) and/or Scopus databases. The results showed that RUEI universities had a significantly higher number of retracted publications in WoS- and Scopus-indexed journals, suggesting that pressure to meet quantitative scientometric indicators may have encouraged unethical research practices and research misconduct. In addition, different reasons for retraction were found between publications indexed and not indexed in WoS and/or Scopus databases. These findings suggest that the direct and irresponsible use of scientometric indicators as performance measures may have unintended negative consequences that may undermine research integrity.

Towards the democratisation of open research information for scientometrics and science policy: the Campinas experience

The Barcelona Declaration represented a major step towards the adoption of open data for scientometrics and science policy. This blogpost discusses the importance of also moving towards democratising the access and use of these open resources, by sharing our experience from Campinas in Brazil.

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Preprint: “The Registry of Scientometric Data Sources”

The preprint linked below was recently shared on arXiv. Title The Registry of Scientometric Data Sources Grischa Fraumann Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology Svantje Lilienthal Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology Christian Hauschke Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology Source via arXiv DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2311.06157 Also Posted on MetaArXiv Abstract In this […]

Scientometric Rules as a Guide to Transform Science Systems in the Middle East & North Africa

This study explores how scientometric data and indicators are used to transform science systems in a selection of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. I propose that scientometric-based rules inform such transformation. First, the research shows how research managers adopt scientometrics as 'global standards'. I also show how several scientometric data and indicators are adopted following a 'glocalization' process. Finally, I demonstrate how research managers use this data to inform decision-making and policymaking processes. This study contributes to a broader understanding of the usage of scientometric indicators in the context of assessing research institutions and researchers based on their publishing activities. Related to these assessments, I also discuss how such data transforms and adapts local science systems to meet so-called 'global standards'.

A scientometric methodology based on co-word analysis in gas turbine maintenance

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