Abstract

The peg of this report is the 14th edition of the International Society for Informetrics and Scientometrics (ISSI) Conference, which was held in Vienna in 2013 and was by far the biggest event in this field. Based on this conference the author discusses the hottest and most controversial topics, which bibliometricians and scientometricians will have to face within the next years and even beyond. These are, amongst others, the adjustment of the peer review process to the challenges of the digital era, the crucial role of research data, the rise and necessity of new metrics, as well as the reconsideration of our proxys. Furthermore it is pointed out to which degree all these novel possibilities in the dissemination and promotion of research output will inevitably influence the role of future scientists. Finally, a short reflection on the scientometric community during this crucial period of change is given.

Abstract

 There is a greater need to evaluate the research, and yet it is increasingly more complex to do so. The main criticisms that the inadequate use of informetric indicators receive are exposed. Alternative ways to use them to measure the research performance in an informed and responsible way, exploiting its potential adequately, are suggested.

Abstract

Librarians are playing a secondary role in the process of evaluating research activities, usually as auxiliary providers of raw data extracted from pre-selected sources. Given the subjective nature of the decision committees, there is a strong need for unbiased and objective procedures guaranteed by independent professionals. A neutral, comprehensive, modern, quantitative approach guided by academic librarians is proposed, including closeness to applicants, anonymity of their identities in the reports, contextualization (academic age, gender, and discipline) of data, usage of relative non-central values with indication of thresholds, and incorporation of new bibliometric and non-bibliometric sources.

Abstract

Librarians are playing a secondary role in the process of evaluating research activities, usually as auxiliary providers of raw data extracted from pre-selected sources. Given the subjective nature of the decision committees, there is a strong need for unbiased and objective procedures guaranteed by independent professionals. A neutral, comprehensive, modern, quantitative approach guided by academic librarians is proposed, including closeness to applicants, anonymity of their identities in the reports, contextualization (academic age, gender, and discipline) of data, usage of relative non-central values with indication of thresholds, and incorporation of new bibliometric and non-bibliometric sources.

Abstract

The objective of this work is to determine the volume of videos on Covid-19 published and disseminated through YouTube, and directly or indirectly related to the Spanish national territory, to characterize the impact of those videos (in terms of views, likes and comments received), and finally to categorize the channels through which the videos have been broadcast. For this, 39,531 videos published between January 1 and April 30, 2020 have been analysed. The results show that the number of videos on Covid-19 grew since the establishment of the state of alarm in Spain, and they have been slightly decreasing over time, including certain upswings linked to political decisions. The videos achieve on average high volumes of views, likes/dislikes and comments, and have been published mainly by the media. The videos related both to Blogs and Entertainment are very numerous but with less impact. The videos belonging to the categories of Education and Science and Technology are less numerous, but had a high impact, especially in view counts. In addition, it is concluded that YouTube search filters are not accurate enough to be used in informetric studies without a high data cleansing workload. Likewise, the existence of channels applying defective positioning techniques makes it difficult to carry out this type of study.