Daniela De Filippo

Quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of mobility and scientific performance: a case study of a Spanish university

In this study we analyse the relationship between mobility and scientific performance in a Spanish university. We used different sources: an institutional database (Universitas XXI) to obtain information about the scientific activity and personal data of researchers, and bibliographic databases (WoS, ICYT and ISOC) to complete the study of scientific output. A select number of researchers was interviewed to gather additional information about the importance of mobility in the academic career and to obtain other subjective results from research stays. Through this quantitative and qualitative approach, we concluded that there is a strong relationship between mobility, productivity, visibility and international collaboration. We propose this methodology mix for the study of other academic institutions. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Visibility in international rankings. Strategies for enhancing the competitiveness of Spanish universities

The world-wide popularity of university rankings has spurred the debate about the quality and performance of higher education systems and has had a considerable impact on global society in light of the internationalisation of higher education. While useful for policy makers, such rankings also furnish information on an institution’s “prestige”, which may in turn contribute to more effective resource capture (students, funding, projects). Certain university profiles and missions may prevent many universities from climbing to higher positions, however. One important question in this regard is: how many of a country’s universities can stand at the top of international rankings? The present article attempts to answer this question on the grounds of a study of the Spanish higher education system, and more specifically of an institutional alliance consisting of four high quality universities. A series of research activity indicators drawn from the IUNE Observatory are used to compare this alliance to leading Spanish and international universities and explore whether their visibility and consequently their position in international rankings would be enhanced if they were able to appear under a joint identity. This prospective study also addresses a series of strategies that the Spanish higher education system might implement to successfully rise to the challenges posed by future scenarios.

Profiles and beyond: constructing consensus on measuring research output in communication sciences

Measuring research output in fields of social sciences and humanities requires particular attention to the specificities of the field, but also to national and cultural contexts. This paper presents an approach adopted in a project constructing an instrument for measuring research output in communication sciences in Switzerland in collaboration with the scientific community. The concept of profiles, allowing combination of output in different dimensions, is central and proved to be fruitful for the discussion of the instrument and its acceptance in the field. Opportunities, challenges and limitations as well as the way in which they were approached and/or overcome are addressed and further steps to be taken are discussed. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Films and Science: quantification and analysis of the use of Science Fiction films in scientific papers

The purpose of this study is to quantify the use of science fiction films in academic papers as well as to analyse the patterns of use of those films indexed in international databases, using the ISI Web of Science database. Twenty films were selected from recognised sources. Films referenced in the scientific literature were detected and, with quantitative methodologies, we classified their genres, the journals of publication and the disciplines they belong to. Finally, we performed a detailed study of each paper in which selected films were found, to observe and categorise specifically the ways such film references are used.

New uses of the institutional databases of universities: indicators of research activity

This paper explores the characteristics of the institutional databases of six universities in three European countries (Italy, Spain and Switzerland). Its aim is to test the extent to which databases can be considered valuable sources for building positioning indicators to describe different profiles of university research activities, rather than their competitive position along the single dimensions of scientific production and academic reputation. Project results support the evidence that institutional databases are social constructs, able to show a representation of the research performance of the universities, which is strongly affected by the interests of the different communities, influencing their development and evolution. Databases can also be valuable sources, when used in combination with international ones and with other information sources, to put together a broad picture of academic institutions and their scientific efforts. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Impacto do Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais Brasileiras (REUNI) na atividade investigativa: crescimento, qualidade e internacionalização

In the last years the Brazilian higher education system has been the object of numerous public policies and one of these is the Program of Support for Plans of Restructuring and Expansion of the Federal Universities (REUNI). The purpose of this study is to analyze its impact on the investigative activity of federal universities: increase, quality and internationalization, establishing a relationship between the results of the Program and scientific publications on the web of science. From data for the period 2003-2012 it is noted that there was a considerable increase in scientific production in Brazil and even more in federal universities. The tenure of PhD teachers has increased, however has not yet reflected in the quality of documents in the first quartile journals. Mobility programs helped to promote formation in different countries. In addition, the publications in international collaboration have grown rapidly, but not yet achieved outstanding percentage. While emphasizing an important transformation in the federal universities, it is necessary still to integrate efforts towards quality and international visibility.

La producción científica española en Comunicación en WOS.: Las revistas indexadas en SSCI (2007-12)

Resumen es: Aunque el campo de las Ciencias de la Comunicacion en Espana ha tenido una organizacion mas tardia que en otros paises de Europa y Estados Unidos, en los...Although the field of Communication Sciences has been slower to organize in Spain than in other European countries and the United States, in recent years it has shown a clear tendency to growth. One way to trace this process is by analyzing scientific production, and this paper focuses on this aspect. Using bibliometric methods, we analyze scientific journals and papers indexed in Thomson Reuter’s international database, the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) for Communication. While the focus of the study is Spanish scientific output, the results are related to international activities in this field. The three Spanish journals included in SSCI in recent years: «Comunicar», «Co municacion y Sociedad» and «Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico» were studied in detail. The results show that Spain plays an important role in Communcation journal publishing (4th in the world) and as a producer of scientific papers (6th in the world), with a remarkable evolution, in quantitative terms, especially in the last five years. The inclusion of these three Spanish journals in the international database has been an important contribution to the country’s visibility in this field, but there is still a need to promote international collaboration to achieve greater impact and openness in the scientific community. RESUMEN Aunque el campo de las Ciencias de la Comunicacion en Espana ha tenido una organizacion mas tardia que en otros paises de Europa y Estados Unidos, en los ultimos anos ha evidenciado un claro proceso de crecimiento. Una forma de rastrear este proceso es a traves del analisis de la produccion cientifica, por lo que este trabajo se centra en este aspecto. Utilizando metodos bibliometricos se estudian las revistas y los documentos publicados en la base de datos internacional Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) de Thomson Reuters en la disciplina Communication. Si bien el foco es el estudio de la produccion espanola, los resultados se ponen en relacion con la actividad internacional en este campo. En cada caso se analizan con mayor detalle las tres revistas espanolas incluidas en SSCI en los ultimos anos: «Comunicar», «Comunicacion y Sociedad» y «Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico». Los resultados obtenidos muestran un importante papel de Espana como editor de revistas sobre Comunicacion (4o del mundo) y como productor de articulos (6o del mundo) con una notable evolucion ‐en terminos cuantitativos‐ en los ultimos cinco anos. La inclusion de las tres revistas espanolas en la base de datos internacional ha sido una importante contribucion a la visibilidad del pais en esta disciplina, aunque aun es necesario promover la colaboracion internacional para lograr un mayor impacto y apertura a la comunidad cientifica.Aunque el campo de las Ciencias de la Comunicacion en Espana ha tenido una organizacion mas tardia que en otros paises de Europa y Estados Unidos, en los ultimos anos ha evidenciado un claro proceso de crecimiento. Una forma de rastrear este proceso es a traves del analisis de la produccion cientifica, por lo que este trabajo se centra en este aspecto. Utilizando metodos bibliometricos se estudian las revistas y los documentos publicados en la base de datos internacional Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) de Thomson Reuters en la disciplina Communication. Si bien el foco es el estudio de la produccion espanola, los resultados se ponen en relacion con la actividad internacional en este campo. En cada caso se analizan con mayor detalle las tres revistas espanolas incluidas en SSCI en los ultimos anos: «Comunicar», «Comunicacion y Sociedad» y «Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico». Los resultados obtenidos muestran un importante papel de Espana como editor de revistas sobre Comunicacion (4o del mundo) y como productor de articulos (6o del mundo) con una notable evolucion en terminos cuantitativos en los ultimos cinco anos. La inclusion de las tres revistas espanolas en la base de datos internacional ha sido una importante contribucion a la visibilidad del pais en esta disciplina, aunque aun es necesario promover la colaboracion internacional para lograr un mayor impacto y apertura a la comunidad cientifica.Although the field of Communication Sciences has been slower to organize in Spain than in other European countries and the United States, in recent years it has shown a clear tendency to growth. One way to trace this process is by analyzing scientific production, and this paper focuses on this aspect. Using bibliometric methods, we analyze scientific journals and papers indexed in Thomson Reuter’s international database, the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) for Communication. While the focus of the study is Spanish scientific output, the results are related to international activities in this field. The three Spanish journals included in SSCI in recent years: «Comunicar», «Comunicacion y Sociedad» and «Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico» were studied in detail. The results show that Spain plays an important role in Communcation journal publishing (4th in the world) and as a producer of scientific papers (6th in the world), with a remarkable evolution, in quantitative terms, especially in the last five years. The inclusion of these three Spanish journals in the international database has been an important contribution to the countrys visibility in this field, but there is still a need to promote international collaboration to achieve greater impact and openness in the scientific community.