This book deals with the evaluation of scholarly research performance, and focuses on the contribution of scholarly work to the advancement of scholarly knowledge. Its principal question is: how can citation analysis be used properly as a tool in the assessment of such a contribution?

Citation analysis involves the construction and application of a series of indicators of the a ~impacta (TM), a ~influencea (TM) or a ~qualitya (TM) of scholarly work, derived from references cited in footnotes or bibliographies of scholarly research publications. It describes primarily the use of data extracted from the Science Citation Index and the Web of Science, published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)/Thomson Scientific. But many aspects to which this book dedicates attention relate to citation analysis in general,

It provides a wide range of important facts, and corrects a number of common misunderstandings about citation analysis. It introduces basic notions and distinctions, and deals both with theoretical and technical aspects, and with its applicability in various policy contexts, at the level of individual scholars, research groups, departments, institutions, national scholarly systems, disciplines or subfields, and scholarly journals.

Although the major part of the analysis relates to the basic science a" a domain in which citation analysis is used most frequently a" this book also addresses its uses and limits in the applied and technical sciences, social sciences and humanities.

It reveals the enormous potential of quantitative, bibliometric analyses of the scholarly literature for a deeper understanding of scholarly activity andperformance, and highlights their policy relevance. But this book is also critical, underlines the limits of citation analysis in research evaluation, and issues warnings for potential misuse. It proposes criteria for proper use of citation analysis as a research evaluation tool.

In order to be used properly as a research evaluation tool, it is essential that all participants have insight into the nature of citation analysis, how its indicators are constructed and calculated, what the various theoretical positions state about what they measure, and what are their potentialities and limitations, particularly in relation to peer review. This book aims at providing such insight.

This handbook offers a state-of-the-art overview of quantitative science and technology research. It focuses on the development and application of indicators derived from data on scientific or scholarly publications and patents. It comprises 34 chapters written by leading specialists in the various sub-domains. These chapters deal with theoretical and methodological issues, illustrate applications, and highlight their policy context and relevance. Authors present a survey of the research topics they address, and show their most recent achievements. The 34 chapters are arranged into 5 parts: Disciplinary Approaches; General Methodology; The Science System; The Technology System; and The Science-Technology Interface. The Editor's Introduction provides a further specification of the handbook's scope and of the main topics addressed in its chapters. This handbook aims at four distinct groups of readers: - practitioners in the field of science and technology studies; - research students in this field; - scientists, scholars and technicians who are interested in a systematic, thorough analysis of their activities; - policy makers and administrators who wish to be informed about the potentialities and limitations of the various approaches and about their results.

This book is written for members of the scholarly research community, and for persons involved in research evaluation and research policy. More specifically, it is directed towards the following four main groups of readers: - All scientists and scholars who have been or will be subjected to a quantitative assessment of research performance using citation analysis. - Research policy makers and managers who wish to become conversant with the basic features of citation analysis, and about its potentialities and limitations. - Members of peer review committees and other evaluators, who consider the use of citation analysis as a tool in their assessments. - Practitioners and students in the field of quantitative science and technology studies, informetrics, and library and information science. Citation analysis involves the construction and application of a series of indicators of the 'impact', 'influence' or 'quality' of scholarly work, derived from citation data, i.e. data on references cited in footnotes or bibliographies of scholarly research publications. Such indicators are applied both in the study of scholarly communication and in the assessment of research performance. The term 'scholarly' comprises all domains of science and scholarship, including not only those fields that are normally denoted as science - the natural and life sciences, mathematical and technical sciences - but also social sciences and humanities.

This handbook offers a state-of-the-art overview of quantitative science and technology research. It focuses on the development and application of indicators derived from data on scientific or scholarly publications and patents. It comprises 34 chapters written by leading specialists in the various sub-domains. These chapters deal with theoretical and methodological issues, illustrate applications, and highlight their policy context and relevance. Authors present a survey of the research topics they address, and show their most recent achievements. The 34 chapters are arranged into 5 parts: Disciplinary Approaches; General Methodology; The Science System; The Technology System; and The Science-Technology Interface. The Editor's Introduction provides a further specification of the handbook's scope and of the main topics addressed in its chapters. This handbook aims at four distinct groups of readers: - practitioners in the field of science and technology studies; - research students in this field; - scientists, scholars and technicians who are interested in a systematic, thorough analysis of their activities; - policy makers and administrators who wish to be informed about the potentialities and limitations of the various approaches and about their results.