Why an Unbiased External R&D Evaluation System is Important for the Progress of Social Sciences—the Case of a Small Social Science Community

Social Sciences

关键词: social sciences;    external R&D evaluation;    bibliometry;    publication productivity;    third-party funding;    scientific impact;   

DOI  :  10.3390/socsci2040284

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

This article deals with the impact of external R&D evaluations as one of the institutional factors that can encourage (or discourage) the progress of the social sciences. A critical overview is presented of the increasing use of bibliometric indicators in the external R&D evaluation procedures employed by the Slovenian Research Agency, which is the leading research council for financing the public sector of social sciences in Slovenia. We attempt to establish that, in order to ensure a good external R&D evaluation practice for a small social science community, it is insufficient to only have reliable bibliometric meta-databases. It is argued that it is equally important to formulate very precise criteria to ascertain their validity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.