The objectives, design and selection process of the Flemish Academic Bibliographic Database for the Social Sciences and Humanities (VABB-SHW)

The present chapter introduces the goals, design and procedure of the VABB-SHW (Vlaams Academisch Bibliografisch Bestand voor de Sociale en Humane Wetenschappen/Flemish Academic Bibliographic Database for the Social Sciences and Humanities). After briefly sketching the background and history of the systems for university funding in Flanders (Belgium) and other European countries, we discuss the design and procedure of the VABB-SHW itself. By highlighting some major publication patterns in the SSH (social sciences and humanities) as reflected by the data contained in the VABB-SHW, we thereafter illustrate how the Flemish database is adapted to, and further evolving towards, reliably capturing the diverse publication output of the SSH as practised at Flemish universities. Finally, focusing on book publications, we make a comparison with the selection process in the Scandinavian countries.status: publishe