Bibliometrics for evaluation and research support : An interview study with focus on the humanities and social sciences

The aim of this study was to explore bibliometrics for evaluation and research support, with emphasis on humanities and social sciences. A literature review was combined with an empirical evaluation of qualitative interviews with librarians and bibliometricians from selected academic libraries. Dahler-Larsen’s theories on the evaluation society were applied, as well as Abbott’s theoretical models of the professionalization of librarians. The first part of the analysis consists of a qualitative content analysis of the interview material. The second part investigates the competencies of librarians and bibliometricians and the challenging aspects of bibliometric analysis for the humanities and social sciences, within Abbott’s framework. The majority of the studied universities used the Norwegian model for bibliometric evaluation of the humanities and social sciences. The respondents found the coverage in the citation databases to be lower for these fields, compared with others. Still, it remained the best available indicator. Furthermore, three of seven universities allocated no funds based on bibliometric analyses. The librarians and bibliometricians in the study mentioned the following competencies as important with regard to working with bibliometrics: insight into research and publication practises, knowledge about databases and systems, analytic thinking and ability to understand contexts as well as to handle different bibliometric indicators. Future perspectives for bibliometrics include the use of the new Swedish list, development of altmetrics as well as investment in open access and increasing digitalization of the society