Topics, techniques and applications in urban and regional science in the nineties: a bibliometric analysis

The current state of regional and urban science has been much discussed and a number of studies have speculated on possible future trends in the development of the discipline. However, there has been little empirical analysis of current publication patterns in regional and urban journals. This paper studies the kinds of topics, techniques and data used in articles published in nine top international journals during the 1990s with the aim of identifying current trends in this research field

Topics, techniques and applications in urban and regional science in the nineties: a bibliometric analysis

The current state of regional and urban science has been much discussed and a number of studies have speculated on possible future trends in the development of the discipline. However, there has been little empirical analysis of current publication patterns in regional and urban journals. This paper studies the kinds of topics, techniques and data used in articles published in nine top international journals during the 1990s with the aim of identifying current trends in this research field

The evolution of recent research on Catalan literature through the production of PhD theses: a bibliometric and social network analysis

Introduction. This paper studies the situation of research on Catalan literature between 1976 and 2003 by carrying out a bibliometric and social network analysis of PhD theses defended in Spain. It has a dual aim: to present interesting results for the discipline and to demonstrate the methodological efficacy of scientometric tools in the humanities, a field in which they are often neglected due to the difficulty of gathering data. Method. The analysis was performed on 151 records obtained from the TESEO database of PhD theses. The quantitative estimates include the use of the UCINET and Pajek software packages. Authority control was performed on the records. Analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample and the distribution of responses to each question. Sex differences on key questions were analysed using the Chi-squared test. Results. The value of the figures obtained is demonstrated. The information obtained on the topic and the periods studied in the theses, and on the actors involved (doctoral students, thesis supervisors and members of defence committees), provide important insights into the mechanisms of humanities disciplines. The main research tendencies of Catalan literature are identified. It is observed that the composition of members of the thesis defence committees follows Lotka's Law. Conclusions. Bibliometric analysis and social network analysis may be especially useful in the humanities and in other fields which are lacking in scientometric data in comparison with the experimental sciences.

Bibliotecaris de recerca en un entorn virtual: noves habilitats, nous serveis

En aquest article es posen de manifest tant les noves funcions adquirides pels bibliotecaris de recerca de la UOC com les noves competències que requereix aquest perfil professional, partint de l'experiència de la Biblioteca Virtual (BV) de la UOC. En un context de creació d'unitats de bibliometria, la BV de la UOC també ha trobat la seva manera d'integrar-se dins la Universitat a través dels seus estudis bibliomètrics i altres serveis de suport a la recerca. Un grup de bibliotecaris de recerca dóna suport als investigadors des de l'inici del procés de recerca fins a l'avaluació de la seva producció científica i, d'altra banda, també dóna suport en l'anàlisi de dades bibliomètriques per a la presa de decisions estratègiques de la Universitat.

Bibliotecarios de investigación en un entorno virtual: nuevas habilidades, nuevos servicios

En aquest article es posen de manifest tant les noves funcions adquirides pels bibliotecaris de recerca de la UOC com les noves competències que requereix aquest perfil professional, partint de l'experiència de la Biblioteca Virtual (BV) de la UOC. En un context de creació d'unitats de bibliometria, la BV de la UOC també ha trobat la seva manera d'integrar-se dins la Universitat a través dels seus estudis bibliomètrics i altres serveis de suport a la recerca. Un grup de bibliotecaris de recerca dóna suport als investigadors des de l'inici del procés de recerca fins a l'avaluació de la seva producció científica i, d'altra banda, també dóna suport en l'anàlisi de dades bibliomètriques per a la presa de decisions estratègiques de la Universitat.

Research librarians in a virtual environment : new skills, new services

This paper highlights both the new functions taken on by UOC research librarians and the new skills that this professional profile requires, based on the experience of the UOC Virtual Library. By setting up a series of bibliometric units, the Library has been able to integrate itself into the University through bibliometric studies and other research support services. A group of research librarians provides support to researchers from the start of the research process to the assessment of their scientific output. They also provide support for the University's strategic decision-making through the analysis of bibliometric data.

Research librarians in a virtual environment : new skills, new services

This poster highlights both the new functions taken on by UOC research librarians and the new skills that this professional profile requires, based on the experience of the UOC Virtual Library. By setting up a series of bibliometric units, the Library has been able to integrate itself into the University through bibliometric studies and other research support services. A group of research librarians provides support to researchers from the start of the research process to the assessment of their scientific output. They also provide support for the University's strategic decision-making through the analysis of bibliometric data.

Una aproximación a la evolución de la ciencia regional en España a través de las contribuciones a las Reuniones de Estudios Regionales (1973-2004)

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the contributions that have been presented to the 30 Spanish Regional Studies Meetings which have been hold since 1973. Firstly, the paper displays rankings of the authors and institutions that have participated more actively in the Meetings. Secondly, the paper analyses the main changes in the objectives, topics and research techniques of the contributions, as well as in the scientific specialisation of their authors. This analysis allows drawing some conclusions on the evolution of Regional Science in Spain throughout the last 30 years.

Biblio-MetReS: A bibliometric network reconstruction application and server

Background: Reconstruction of genes and/or protein networks from automated analysis of the literature is one of the current targets of text mining in biomedical research. Some user-friendly tools already perform this analysis on precompiled databases of abstracts of scientific papers. Other tools allow expert users to elaborate and analyze the full content of a corpus of scientific documents. However, to our knowledge, no user friendly tool that simultaneously analyzes the latest set of scientific documents available on line and reconstructs the set of genes referenced in those documents is available. Results: This article presents such a tool, Biblio-MetReS, and compares its functioning and results to those of other user-friendly applications (iHOP, STRING) that are widely used. Under similar conditions, Biblio-MetReS creates networks that are comparable to those of other user friendly tools. Furthermore, analysis of full text documents provides more complete reconstructions than those that result from using only the abstract of the document. Conclusions: Literature-based automated network reconstruction is still far from providing complete reconstructions of molecular networks. However, its value as an auxiliary tool is high and it will increase as standards for reporting biological entities and relationships become more widely accepted and enforced. Biblio- MetReS is an application that can be downloaded from http://metres.udl.cat/. It provides an easy to use environment for researchers to reconstruct their networks of interest from an always up to date set of scientific documents.

Regional Science trends through the analysis of the main facts of the 51st ERSA Conference

The 51st ERSA Conference held in Barcelona in 2011 was one of the largest ever. By examining the characteristics of the conference, this paper identifies the main trends in Regional Science and draws on a broad array of sources of information: the delegates" demographic details, the conference program itself, a satisfaction survey conducted among delegates, a quality survey addressed to those chairing the sessions and, finally, a bibliometric database including each author signing a paper presented at the conference. We finally run a regression analysis from which we show that for ERSA delegates what matters most is quality, and this must be the direction that future conferences should move toward. Ultimately, ERSA conferences are comprehensive, all-embracing occasions, representing an ideal opportunity for regional scientists to present their work to each other and to network.