Annals of Library and Information Studies

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Education Scholars from Eastern Europe in the Digital Environment: A Comparative Study of Selected Universities from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia


Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, College of Social Sciences, Institute of Education, Department for Research on the Mediatised Society, 35-959 Rzeszow, Ul. Ks. Jalowego 24, Poland
2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
 

One of the most common methods for creating a presence in the scientific virtual space is the e-profile as a "digital representation" of a researcher. The aim of this study was to compare the e-visibility of academics, to examine the correlation between researchers’ visibility and their productivity, as well as to identify the main predictors of the e-visibility of the academics affiliated with selected universities/institutes in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia. Five platforms most often used for the digital representation were selected for the study: Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar Citation, ResearchGate and Academia.edu. The research included qualitative and quantitative analysis of collected data available on relevant websites. The results showed that academics from Eastern Europe do have e-profiles on scholarly platforms. However, differences were evident, especially concerning the WoS and Scopus databases. A positive correlation was confirmed between visibility and productivity, indicating that scholars with more e-profiles and publications, especially in a foreign language were the most effective and were cited most often. Linear regression analysis showed that the most important predictors for the scholarly visibility were publications in English language posted in e-profiles, and papers indexed in the prestigious bibliographic databases WoS and Scopus.

Keywords

Scholarly Visibility, E-Visibility, Research Profile, Academic Social Sites, Scientific Effectiveness, Scientific Productivity.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Haustein S, Scientific interactions and research evaluation: From bibliometrics to altmetrics. In F. Pehar, C. Schlogl, & C. Wolff (Eds.), Re:inventing Information Science in the Networked Society. Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Information Science (ISI 2015), 2015 p. 36–42. Gluckstadt: Verlag Werner Hulsbusch.

  • Kedzierska E, Wzmocnione publikacje: Nowy model wsparcia komunikacji naukowej [Reinforced publications: A new model of supporting scholarly communication]. Zagadnienia Informacji Naukowej, 53 (1) (2015) 44–53.

  • Borgman C L, & Furner J, Scholarly communication and bibliometrics, Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 36 (1) (2005) 2–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/ aris.1440360102

  • Lores R, From Print form to Digital Communication: The One-way Journey of Academic Research, Discourses on Culture, 45 (2021) https://doi.org/10.36145/DoC2021.04.

  • Adriaanse L S, & Rensleigh C, E-visibility to enhance knowledge sharing. In Africa Research Group Conference (pp. 29-31). (2017)1–12. https://doi.org/10.13140/ RG.2.2.17191.24489

  • Tena-Espinoza-de-los-Monteros M-A, García-Holgado A, Merlo-Vega J A, & Garcia-Penalvo F J, Diseno de un plan de visibilidad científica e identidad digital para los investigadores de la Universidad de Guadalajara (Mexico) [Design of a plan for the scientific visibility and digital identity of the researchers of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico)]. Ibersid: Revista de Sistemas de Informaciony Documentacion, 11 (1) (2017) 83–92.

  • Becher M, Factors impacting library visibility on academic institution home pages. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41 (5) (2015) 621–628. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.acalib.2015.06.019

  • Mikki S, Zygmuntowska M, Gjesdal O L, & Al Ruwehy H A, Digital presence of Norwegian scholars on academic network sites—Where and who are they? PLOS ONE, 10 (11) (2015), e0142709. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0142709

  • Vassileva I, Chankova M, Breuen E, & Schneider K P, (Eds.) The Digital Scholar: Academic Communication in Multimedia Environment, (Frank & Timme), 2020.

  • Strielkowski W, & Chigisheva O, Research functionality and academic publishing: Gaming with altmetrics in the digital age, Economics & Sociology, 11 (4) (2018) 306–316. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-4/20

  • Ortega J L, The life cycle of altmetric impact: A longitudinal study of six metrics from PlumX, Journal of Informetrics, 12 (3) (2018) 579–589. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.joi.2018.06.001

  • Danesh F, Fattahi R, & Dayani M H, Stratification of Iranian LIS academics in terms of visibility, effectiveness and scientific and professional performance: Research report Part 1, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 49 (2) (2017) 191–198. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616632866

  • Ward J, Bejarano W & Dudas A, Scholarly social media profiles and libraries: A review, LIBER Quarterly, 24 (4) (2015) 174–204. https://doi.org/10.18352/lq.9958

  • Ortega J L, Relationship between altmetric and bibliometric indicators across academic social sites: The case of CSIC’s members, Journal of Informetrics, 9 (1) (2015) 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2014.11.004

  • Pulikowski A, Widocznosc polskich publikacji naukowych w Internecie [Visibility of Polish scientific publications on the Internet], Zagadnienia Informacji Naukowej. Studia Informacyjne, 1 (2015) 59–70.

  • Rehrl M, Palonen T, Lehtinen E & Gruber H, Experts in science: Visibility in research communities, Talent Development & Excellence, 6 (1) (2014) 31–45.

  • Rychlik M, Perspektywy stosowania wskaznikow altmetrycznych w ocenie dorobku polskiej humanistyki [Perspectives for the use of altimetric indicators in the evaluation of the Polish humanities output]. In E. Kulczycki (Ed.), Komunikacja naukowa w humanistyce: Vol. V, (2017) p. 91–102. Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Instytutu Filozofii UAM.

  • Haustein S, Peters I, Bar-Ilan J, Priem J, Shema H & Terliesner J, Coverage and adoption of altmetrics sources in the bibliometric community, Scientometrics, 101 (2) (2014) 1145–1163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1221-3

  • Chung C J, & Park H W, Web visibility of scholars in media and communication journals, Scientometrics, 93 (1) (2012) 207–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0707-8

  • Norman E R, Maximizing journal article citation online: Readers, robots, and research visibility, Politics & Policy, 40 (1) (2012) 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00342.x

  • Popovic A, Antonic S, & Matutinovic S F, Rapid changes of Serbian scientific journals: Their quality, visibility and role in science locally and globally. In S. Kurbanoğlu, U. Al, P. L. Erdogan, Y. Tonta, & N. Ucak (Eds.), E-Science and Information Management, Vol. 317, (2012) p. 61–70. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 642-33299-9

  • Lindsey D, Using citation counts as a measure of quality in science measuring what’s measurable rather than what’s valid, Scientometrics, 15 (3–4) (1989) 189–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02017198

  • Lowe D J and Van Fleet D D, Scholarly achievement and accounting journal editorial board membership, Journal of Accounting Education, 27 (4) (2009) 197–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccedu.2010.07.004

  • Rebisz S, The presence of Polish, Hungarian and Slovak publications in the field of education in the Web of Science database. A bibliometric comparative study, Practice and Theory in Systems of Education, 12 (1) (2017) 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1515/ptse-2017-0003

  • Bucher S, Bibliometric analysis of Central European journals in the Web of Science and JCR Social Science Edition, Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 23 (2) (2018) 95–110. https://doi.org/10.22452/ mjlis.vol23no2.6

  • Rebisz S, & Kapczynski M, Aktywnosc publikacyjna pracownikow sektora nauki i badan z Polski, Słowacji i Węgier w latach 2005–2009 i 2010–2014 [The Publishing Activity of Polish, Slovakian and Hungarian Academics and Researchers in 2005–2009 and 2010–2014], Zarządzanie Publiczne, 44 (4) (2018) 403–425. https://doi.org/ 10.4467/20843968ZP.18.032.9935

  • Csajbok E, Berhidi A, Vasas L & Schubert A, Hirsch-index for countries based on Essential Science Indicators Data, Scientometrics, 73 (1) (2007) 91–117. https://doi.org/10.1007 /s11192-007-1859-9

  • Kozak M, Bornmann L & Leydesdorff L, How have the Eastern European Countries of the former Warsaw Pact developed since 1990? A bibliometric study. Scientometrics, 102 (2) (2015) 1101–1117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192- 014-1439-8

  • Kwiek M, Inequality in academic knowledge production. The role of research top performers across Europe. In E. Reale & E. Primeri (Eds.), The Transformation of University Institutional and Organizational Boundaries (2015) p. 203–230. SensePublishers.

  • Aaltojarvi I, Arminen I, Auranen O, & Pasanen H-M, Scientific Productivity, Web Visibility and Citation Patterns in Sixteen Nordic Sociology Departments, Acta Sociologica, 51 (1) (2008) 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/000 1699307 086815 31 Harzing A-W and Alakangas S, Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: A longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison, Scientometrics, 106 (2) (2016) 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1798-9

  • Priem J, Altmetrics. In B. Cronin & C. R. Sugimoto (Eds.), Beyond Bibliometrics: Harnessing Multidimensional Indicators of Scholarly Impact. The MIT Press (2014).

  • Thelwall M., & Kousha K, Academia.edu: Social network or academic network? Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 65 (4) (2014) 721–731. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23038 34 Polska Bibliografia Naukowa [Polish Scientific Bibliography], Available at https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/ core/#/home (Accessed on 30 July 2022)

  • Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information. The Central Registry of Publications Activity (CREPČ), Available at https://www.cvtisr.sk/en/support-of-science/ publication-activity.html?page_id=816 (Accessed on 26 July 2022)

  • SCIndeks – Serbian Citation Index, Available at https://scindeks.ceon.rs/static/about.aspx (Access on 1 Aug 2022)

  • Buzdygan D, & Gorski M M, Jak biblioteka moze wspierac zarzadzanie reputacja naukowa uczonych i zespolow badawczych [How the library can support the management of the scientific reputation of scholars and research teams]. In T. Piestrzynski & J. Jerzyk-Wojtecka (Eds.), Biblioteka w społeczenstwie wiedzy. Informacja, Edukacja, Profesjonalizm. (2015) p. 101–118. Wydawnictwo UŁ. https://doi.org/ 10.18778/8088-191-4.08

  • Kwiek M, Internationalists and locals: International research collaboration in a resource-poor system, Scientometrics, 124 (1) (2020) 57–105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020- 03460-2

  • Rębisz S, Scholarly Achievement versus Editorial Board Membership. The Case of the Top Ten Polish Pedagogical Journals, LIBER Quarterly: The Journal of the Association of European Research Libraries, 31 (1) (2021) 1–26. https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.11070

  • Gnanasekaran D & Rajkumar T, Research productivity and altmetrics of NIRF top ranked medical institutions, Annals of Library and Information Studies, 69 (2) (2022) 120–128.

  • Miguel S, Chinchilla-Rodriguez Z & de Moya-Anegon F, Open Access and Scopus: A New Approach to Scientific Visibility from the Standpoint of Access, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62 (6) (2011) 1130–1145. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21532


Abstract Views: 191

PDF Views: 97




  • Education Scholars from Eastern Europe in the Digital Environment: A Comparative Study of Selected Universities from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia

Abstract Views: 191  |  PDF Views: 97

Authors

Slawomir Rebisz
Assistant Professor, College of Social Sciences, Institute of Education, Department for Research on the Mediatised Society, 35-959 Rzeszow, Ul. Ks. Jalowego 24, Poland
Biljana Lungulov
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

Abstract


One of the most common methods for creating a presence in the scientific virtual space is the e-profile as a "digital representation" of a researcher. The aim of this study was to compare the e-visibility of academics, to examine the correlation between researchers’ visibility and their productivity, as well as to identify the main predictors of the e-visibility of the academics affiliated with selected universities/institutes in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia. Five platforms most often used for the digital representation were selected for the study: Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar Citation, ResearchGate and Academia.edu. The research included qualitative and quantitative analysis of collected data available on relevant websites. The results showed that academics from Eastern Europe do have e-profiles on scholarly platforms. However, differences were evident, especially concerning the WoS and Scopus databases. A positive correlation was confirmed between visibility and productivity, indicating that scholars with more e-profiles and publications, especially in a foreign language were the most effective and were cited most often. Linear regression analysis showed that the most important predictors for the scholarly visibility were publications in English language posted in e-profiles, and papers indexed in the prestigious bibliographic databases WoS and Scopus.

Keywords


Scholarly Visibility, E-Visibility, Research Profile, Academic Social Sites, Scientific Effectiveness, Scientific Productivity.

References