The Web of Science databasebibliometrics and alternative metrics

econlibrary@eui.eu13.02.15

- ISI Social Sciences Citation Index- Web of Science - electronic database

Bibliography building Bibliometrics

Topic / keyword Citation metricsAuthor Journal rankingCited references Impact factorsShared references Data by disciplineSave & export University metrics

Coverage

• 12,600 refereed journals• Titles of non-English journal articles translated • Abstracts of non-English language articles

available in English from 1990• Social Sciences & Humanities databases

Search

• Phrase searching– eg. “inflation targeting” finds this exact phrase

• Author names– Last name, followed by first, or initial

• Lemley, Mark

• Search operatorshttp://images.webofknowledge.com/WOK46P9/help/WOS/ht_operators.html

New Web of Science

• Consolidated search field

• Simplified navigation and grouping of functional controls

• Multiple expanded search fields available

Cross-links from Web of Science to Google Scholar

Google Scholar automatically displays link to full text at user’s university if

available based on IP address.

Cross-links from Google Scholar to the Web of Science

• http://www.eui.eu/Research/Library/ServicesAndFacilities/Tools/UsingGoogleScholar.aspx

5-year Impact factor

• The 5-year Journal Impact Factor:– "The 5-year journal Impact Factor is the average

number of times articles from the journal published in the past five years have been cited in the Journal Citations Report year. It is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the Journal Citation Report year by the total number of articles published in the five previous years."

http://admin-apps.webofknowledge.com/JCR/help/h_impfact.htm

h-Index

• Developed by Jorge E. Hirsch'An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output'– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

102 (46) November, 2005

Calculation

• H-index of 3 means there are 3 items that have 3 citations or more. "This metric is useful because it discounts the disproportionate weight of highly cited papers or papers that have not yet been cited."

h-Index

Controversies

• Book-intensive disciplines 'under-weighted'• Number of authors per work not factored. Multi-

authored papers favoured• Variation of citation numbers/patterns in different

disciplines and sub-disciplines not factored• No citation context: eg. 'routine' background/theory

citations and 'bad science' citations• Cannot account for bias or 'author cartels'

Caveats

• Web of Science a database of refereed article records

• ‘Main’ articles sometimes mis-classified as ‘reviews’• Language coverage• Thomson Reuters does not correct/change metadata• Abstracts only since 1992• Author names – variations/diacritics• Citation because of ‘controversial’ or ‘bad science’• Differences between disciplines: citation patterns.

Database caveats

• The journal selection process– "Many excellent regional journals target a local,

rather than an international, audience. Therefore, the emphasis on extensive international diversity is less than for internationally focused journals."

• Scientometrics as sub-discipline• Key in WoS: “bibliometrics"

Atlas of Science: Visualizing What We Know / Katy Börner

Institutional Rankings

• Times Higher Education– World University Rankings

• Scientific ‘competitiveness’ analysis– eg. UNESCO Science Report

2014 University rankings’ indicators

• Teaching: the learning environment

(30% of the overall ranking score)• Research: volume, income and reputation (30%)• Citations: research influence (30%)• International outlook: staff, students and research (7.5%)• Industry income: innovation (2.5%)

• ISI/SSCI - Paper• Web of Science electronic database• Scholarly communication / new media• Web of Science 'Scientific Web Plus'• 2014: Thomson Reuters & Google Scholar

Academic Communication Paper and Electronic

• Internet• Open Access• ‘Advanced’ OA / Web dissemination

• Example of PLoS article

• Books & e-Books• PalgravePivot• SpringerBriefs

Alternative metrics

• Altmetrics.org - methodology• ROAR - repository metrics• PLoS - article-level metrics• Webometrics - University web data• Blog Metrics• The Impact Blog (LSE)

• Google Scholar (May 2002)

• Google Books (December 2003)

• Google Ngram (May 2010) use firefox

• Google Scholar Metrics (November 2010)

• Google Citations (July 2011)

• Google Scholar Library (19 November 2013)

• Google Scholar Web of Science (March 2014)

U-Multirank (EC funded)

• U-Multirank is a new multidimensional, user-driven approach to international ranking of higher education institutions. It compares the performances of universities in 5 dimensions:

• (1) teaching and learning• (2) research• (3) knowledge transfer• (4) international orientation• (5) regional engagement

http://www.umultirank.org/#!/methodology?trackType=home&sightMode=undefined

The Debate

• Authors’ societies / language groups• Briefings (eg) ANVUR (Roma) 17 November

La valutazione della ricerca nelle Humanities and Social Sciences

• Chronicle of Higher Education• Times Higher Education

The Web of Science databasebibliometrics and alternative metrics

econlibrary@eui.eu13.02.15