Bibliometrics

Bibliometrics is a collective term for various statistics-based methods used to analyse research through publications. Broadly speaking, bibliometric analyses can be divided into descriptive and evaluative analyses.

Bibliometrics at Uppsala University

At Uppsala University, it is primarily the bibliometrician in the Planning Division who works on the evaluative aspect of bibliometrics. For a brief introduction to the subject, as well as information on data sources, the Norwegian model, and evaluation in general, see the Planning Division’s webpages on bibliometrics.

Descriptive bibliometrics can be used to visualise networks of co-authorship, subject affiliations, or connections between different research areas. Publishing statistics and citation information can also be included.

At Uppsala University, the Planning Divison and the Library collaborate on bibliometric issues, although their target groups differ. The Planning Division's work is primarily directed towards the University's management, while the Library caters to individual researchers, institutions, and research groups.

The Library's bibliometric support

The Library offers bibliometric support, visualisations and data for analysis. Data from DiVA and other sources is used to generate the following:

• Citation information and h-index from
  • Web of Science
  • Scopus
• Publishing statistics
  • Distribution between different types of publication
  • Distribution over different years
  • Proportion of OA publishing
  • Distribution between journals and impact factor
• Co-publication and network analyses
  • Organisations, countries, and researchers
  • Subjects
  • Keywords

Altmetrics

Altmetrics, or "alternative metrics," are used to measure the impact and dissemination of research in society. Using a publication's unique identifiers, such as DOI or ISBN, one can track sharing on blogs, social media, links in Wikipedia, mentions in news articles, and references in policy documents.

The free version of the Altmetric service is used at Uppsala University. It enables users to track the dissemination of individual publications through publication lists in DiVA or on the web.

Whilst altmetrics and bibliometrics are both methods for measuring research, they have certain differences:

• Altmetrics are faster than citation analysis, as likes, posts on X, and downloads can occur instantly.
• While citation analysis is exclusive to published science, altmetric methods can be applied to film, datasets, and more.
• Citation analysis measures how research has influenced other research, while altmetrics measure how research is noticed by the public, together with the broader scientific discussion.
• Altmetrics are rarely used for university-wide evaluations, largely because altmetric measures correlate weakly with other measures of quality.