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Taking scholarly books into account: current developments in five European countries

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Abstract

For academic book authors and the institutions assessing their research performance, the relevance of books is undisputed. In spite of this, the absence of comprehensive international databases covering the items and information needed for the assessment of this type of publication has urged several European countries to develop custom-built information systems for the registration of scholarly books, as well as weighting and funding allocation procedures. For the first time, these systems make the assessment of books as a research output feasible. The present paper summarizes the main features of the registration and/or assessment systems developed in five European countries/regions (Spain, Denmark, Flanders, Finland and Norway), focusing on the processes involved in the collection and processing of data on book publications, their weighting, as well as the application in the context of research assessment and funding.

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Acknowledgments

This research is partially the result of the project ‘Evaluación de editoriales científicas (españolas y extranjeras) de libros en Ciencias Humanas y Sociales a través de la opinión de los expertos y del análisis de los procesos HAR2011-30383-C02-01 (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Plan Nacional de I+D+I). F.V. and T.E. thank the Flemish government for financial support through the Centre for R&D Monitoring (ECOOM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, ÍLIA Research Group, CSIC, Albasanz Street, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Elea Giménez-Toledo & Jorge Mañana-Rodríguez

  2. Centre for R&D Monitoring (ECOOM), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, Middelheimlaan 1, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    Tim C. E. Engels & Frederik T. Verleysen

  3. Antwerp Maritime Academy, Noordkasteel Oost 6, 2030, Antwerp, Belgium

    Tim C. E. Engels

  4. Royal School of Library and Information Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Ingwersen & Alesia A. Zuccala

  5. Publication Forum, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Snellmaninkatu 13, 00170, Helsinki, Finland

    Janne Pölönen

  6. Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), PO Box 2815, 0608, Tøyen, Oslo, Norway

    Gunnar Sivertsen

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  1. Elea Giménez-Toledo
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Giménez-Toledo, E., Mañana-Rodríguez, J., Engels, T.C.E. et al. Taking scholarly books into account: current developments in five European countries. Scientometrics 107, 685–699 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1886-5

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