Scientometrics and the Digital Existence of Scientist(s): Methodology, Myth(s) & Reality

Transcription

1 Scientometrics and the Digital Existence of Scientist(s): Methodology, Myth(s) & Reality Vijay Kothari Ph.D. Ahmedabad State Level Symposium at SRKI Surat October 3, 2015

2 Who are you? What is your contribution? Vijay Kothari

3 [An example of a scientometric introduction] Vijay Kothari Google Schloar link: ResearchGate: ORCID ID: Scopus author ID: Researcher ID: VIDWAN Expert Database ID: Publons verified peer review record: Statistics Publications 51 (39 papers/book chapters, 12 books) plus 13 general articles h -index 8 Downloads > 42,000 Reads > 12,000 Citations 273 (as of Sept. 29, 2015) RG Score Publons 40 merit Vijay Kothari

4 Scientometrics: What? Scientometrics is concerned with the quantitative features and characteristics of science and scientific research. It involves investigations in which the development and mechanism of science is studied by statistical/ mathematical methods. Vijay Kothari

5 Scientometrics: Why? Quantifying scientific contribution Making comparisons among individuals Ranking of institutes of higher education Ranking nations for their scientific output A tool of packaging and marketing your resume Statistical data helping administrators/funding agencies to take decisions Strengthening your grant / promotion/ job application Can form part of your signature Can act as mood-enhancer (motivation factor) For fun! Vijay Kothari

6 Types of measures available For an individual: h index i 10 index Citation count RG score Downloads Publons reviewer merit Cumulative IF Patents Number of dissertations guided For a journal: Impact Factor (IF) h index Indexing IC value Vijay Kothari

7 Vijay Kothari

8 h-index: one among the many available bibliometric measures In 2005, physicist Jorge E. Hirsch developed the h-index as a process for quantifying the output of an individual researcher. Hirsch argues: I propose the index h, defined as the number of papers with citation number h, as a useful index to calculate the scientific output of a researcher (2005). Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(46), doi: /pnas Vijay Kothari

9 84% of Nobel Laureates had h index 30 Vijay Kothari

10 From where one can get computed h-index and citation count?

11 Vijay Kothari

12 Vijay Kothari

13 Vijay Kothari

14 Vijay Kothari

15 Which parameter to rely on? Vijay Kothari

16 It has become common practice to judge a researcher s work by looking at the Impact Factor of the journals in which she/he has published papers. While this approach could give a general idea about quality of research, it leads to a variety of complications when applied to situations including recruitment, promotions, etc. for which it is not that suitable. Vijay Kothari

17 The Impact Factor is, basically, an indirect measure of quality. It indicates the average citations received by an article published in a particular journal. Needless to say, every article in a given journal does not receive citations equal to the Impact Factor of that journal. So the Impact Factor really says more about the journal than the individual papers published in it. Vijay Kothari

18 Citations may be a more realistic measure of the impact (or value) of an individual researcher. To evaluate the contribution made by the researcher, her/his total citation count (over her/his entire career or over the time period under evaluation) could be considered. In addition to total citation count, one can also compute citations per paper, h index, etc. Vijay Kothari

19 When two researchers compete for a particular fellowship or promotion, it is not uncommon for the applicant with the higher Impact Factor to be favored, even when they both have the same total citation count, implying that their papers are referred to at same frequency by their peers. One of them loses out despite having made, arguably, the same scientific impact. Similarly, in eligibility criteria for various academic benefits, we often read that only people with a total Impact Factor of 5 or 10 (or some such number) can apply. Is it not erroneous to assume that papers published in high impact journals will automatically receive more citations? Vijay Kothari

20 Currently, many journals are operating in open access mode, making their content openly available to a wider audience. Increased access to scientific papers is changing the way they are referred to as well as cited. Papers are increasingly cited based on their relevance and content, rather than the reputation or Impact Factor of the journals in which they are published. If this trend of open access to research was to grow stronger, we can logically assume that if a paper is not good or interesting enough, then it will not get cited, irrespective of the journal in which it has been published. Vijay Kothari

21 Intention here is not to put an argument against use of the Impact Factor. It is not a bad parameter, when applied with due consideration of its limitations. But it is, really, better for evaluating journals than individual researchers. Unlike Impact Factors, which are translated from a journal to the papers it contains, citations are to be earned by each individual paper on its own merit. These days it is easy to generate the citation count from Google Scholar, Scopus, and other sources. It would be for the betterment of science if policymakers/decision-making authorities replaced Impact Factor with Citation Count as the parameter of evaluating the scientific excellence of a researcher and her/his contribution. Citation Count can also be a good and reliable parameter for ranking of research institutes and universities. Let us move towards a more direct and realistic evaluation, based on a more reasonable and effective parameter. Vijay Kothari

22 Other lesser used measures Immediacy index Cited/citing half-life Academic Performance Index (API) / PBAS New metrices are waiting to be formulated! Vijay Kothari

23 Applications of Scientometrics Few Examples

24 Journal rankings for the year

25 Vijay Kothari

26 Country rankings ( )

27 Vijay Kothari

28 Digital Platforms for Scientists ResearchGate Researcher ID ORCID Publons Google Scholar Scopus Vidwan Why to be on them? Valid sources of statistics If you do not exist on Google, you do not exist at all! For a researcher it is more important to be on scientific networking platforms than to be on social networking platforms Vijay Kothari

29 What one can do on these digital platforms? Requesting full-text(s) Finding/ posting jobs Question-answering Follow the stalwarts of the field Showcasing one s expertise Finding potential collaborators Finding experts for RPC / Ph.D. viva Exporting professionely formatted resume Vijay Kothari

30 Vijay Kothari

31 Vijay Kothari

32 Vijay Kothari

33 Vijay Kothari

34 Vijay Kothari

35 Interesting issues of importance to ponder on Current publication model is highly skewed towards the publishing houses Self-citation Impact is more important than impact factor Good science remains independent of the journal in which it is published. (?) No scientometric measure can be immune to misuse and ill-interpretation. Scientometrics: a career option Dedicated journals for scientometrics In-house UG/PG dissertations as a tool for enhancing scientometric reputation of the institute Scientometric scores for generating pride-of-place Vijay Kothari

36 Vijay Kothari

37 Vijay Kothari

38 Open access Open access and citation probability Open access fee versus paid (predatory) journals The open access model: Merits & Downsides Vijay Kothari

39 Scientific Excellence Networking with Scientific Peers Increase in Scientometric Scores Scientific Writing & Publications Establishing/ Managing Lab and Students Vijay Kothari

40 Vijay Kothari

41 How to select a suitable journal ISSN SJR: SCImago journal & country rank Indexing (IC/Scopus/Pubmed-Medline/RG/GoogleScholar/DOAJ) NAAS rating Beware of fake IF Preparing a list of valid journals as per UGC guidelines? Vijay Kothari

42 Vijay Kothari

43 Vijay Kothari

44 Vijay Kothari

45 Scientometric scores will move ahead only when the researcher and his/her work moves ahead. Building-up of scientometric profile is a dynamic process. Some essential facets of this dynamic process are displayed in next few slides. Vijay Kothari

46 Vijay Kothari

47 Vijay Kothari

48 Vijay Kothari

49 Vijay Kothari

50 Vijay Kothari

51 Issues specific to a teaching professional Your lectures are not going to be counted. Your efforts for teaching and administration are not going to build your scientometric profile, still you have to perform that. You may have to compete with the full-time researchers. Research has to be done, but when and how are to be answered by you only. Vijay Kothari

52 Acknowledgements Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF) All M.Sc. dissertation ( ) students who have been part of my research journey. Chinmayi Joshi (Ph.D. student) Pooja Patel (Ph.D. student) Vijay Kothari

53 Vijay Kothari

54 Thanks Best wishes to all for achieving high scientometric scores. Vijay Kothari