arXiv subjects

Jesper Wiborg Schneider

Publications and source records attributed to Jesper Wiborg Schneider.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Consistency and validity of interdisciplinarity measures

Measuring interdisciplinarity is a pertinent but challenging issue in quantitative studies of science. There seems to be a consensus in the literature that the concept of interdisciplinarity is multifaceted and ambiguous. Unsurprisingly, various different measures of interdisciplinarity have been proposed. However, few studies have thoroughly examined the validity and relations between these measures. In this study, we present a systematic review of these interdisciplinarity measures and explore their inherent relations. We examine these measures in relation to the Web of Science journal subject categories. Our results corroborate recent claims that the current measurements of interdisciplinarity in science studies are both confusing and unsatisfying. We find surprisingly deviant results when comparing measures that supposedly should capture similar features or dimensions of the concept of interdisciplinarity. We therefore argue that the current measurements of interdisciplinarity should be interpreted with much caution in science and evaluation studies, or in relation to science policies. We also question the validity of current measures and argue that we do not need more of the same, but rather something very different in order to be able to measure the multidimensional and complex construct of interdisciplinarity.

cs.DL↗

arXiv2018

Exploration of reproducibility issues in scientometric research Part 1: Direct reproducibility

This is the first part of a small-scale explorative study in an effort to start assessing reproducibility issues specific to scientometrics research. This effort is motivated by the desire to generate empirical data to inform debates about reproducibility in scientometrics. Rather than attempt to reproduce studies, we explore how we might assess "in principle" reproducibility based on a critical review of the content of published papers. The first part of the study focuses on direct reproducibility - that is the ability to reproduce the specific evidence produced by an original study using the same data, methods, and procedures. The second part (Velden et al. 2018) is dedicated to conceptual reproducibility - that is the robustness of knowledge claims towards verification by an alternative approach using different data, methods and procedures. The study is exploratory: it investigates only a very limited number of publications and serves us to develop instruments for identifying potential reproducibility issues of published studies: These are a categorization of study types and a taxonomy of threats to reproducibility. We work with a select sample of five publications in scientometrics covering a variation of study types of theoretical, methodological, and empirical nature. Based on observations made during our exploratory review, we conclude this paper with open questions on how to approach and assess the status of direct reproducibility in scientometrics, intended for discussion at the special track on "Reproducibility in Scientometrics" at STI2018 in Leiden.

cs.DL↗

arXiv2018

Exploration of Reproducibility Issues in Scientometric Research Part 2: Conceptual Reproducibility

This is the second part of a small-scale explorative study in an effort to assess reproducibility issues specific to scientometrics research. This effort is motivated by the desire to generate empirical data to inform debates about reproducibility in scientometrics. Rather than attempt to reproduce studies, we explore how we might assess "in principle" reproducibility based on a critical review of the content of published papers. While the first part of the study (Waltman et al. 2018) focuses on direct reproducibility - that is the ability to reproduce the specific evidence produced by an original study using the same data, methods, and procedures, this second part is dedicated to conceptual reproducibility - that is the robustness of knowledge claims towards verification by an alternative approach using different data, methods and procedures. The study is exploratory: it investigates only a very limited number of publications and serves us to develop instruments for identifying potential reproducibility issues of published studies: These are a categorization of study types and a taxonomy of threats to reproducibility. We work with a select sample of five publications in scientometrics covering a variation of study types of theoretical, methodological, and empirical nature. Based on observations made during our exploratory review, we conclude with open questions on how to approach and assess the status of conceptual reproducibility in scientometrics intended for discussion at the special track on "Reproducibility in Scientometrics" at STI2018 in Leiden.

cs.DL↗