National Funding Agency for Science and Technology in Portugal Selects Elsevier's Analytical Services to Support Evaluation of R&D Units

AMSTERDAM, June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Data from Scopus ensures up-to-date presentation of researcher IDs in ORCID for five-year review of Portuguese R&D units 

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has announced that it has been selected by the national funding agency for science and technology in Portugal, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), to provide bibliometric analyses that will support its 2013/14 national review assessment of R&D units.

For the first time, FCT's review of R&D units in Portugal will include bibliometric analyses based on data from Elsevier's Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. The analyses, which cover research production, impact and collaboration for the 2008-2012 period, are provided by Elsevier's Analytical Services, part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio of tools.

By selecting Scopus as the data source for the assessment, FCT was able to cover the broadest range of researchers based in Portugal and their publication and citation counts from 2008 to 2012. The 2013/14 assessment exercise includes 324 R&D Units and more than 15,000 researchers.

For the custom bibliometric analyses FCT opted for a process whereby all 15,000 researchers were able to update their unique identifier profiles in ORCID, an open, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and output to these identifiers. Thanks to the free Scopus-to-ORCID feedback wizard, created by Elsevier, researchers in Portugal were able to populate and update their ORCID IDs, ensuring that the bibliometric analyses provided to FCT for the assessment of the R&D units are based on current, accurate data.

Miguel Seabra, FCT President, said, "The bibliometric analyses conducted by Elsevier are an important component of the review process, providing very useful insights for the international review panels. Their involvement will thus contribute to the overall aim of this assessment exercise, which is to reinforce the role of research units as a fundamental pillar in building a modern and competitive scientific system."

Laure Haak, Executive Director of ORCID, said, "Researchers were able to use open tools in ORCID to search for their works, link to their ORCID record and at the same time make any needed adjustments to their Scopus author record. This large-scale implementation of ORCID demonstrated system resilience and scalability, and offers clear hope for researchers requesting to enter research information once, and re-use many times across research systems."

"We are delighted to support FCT with their research evaluation activities, not only by providing them with custom bibliometric analyses, but also in our collaborative approach of updating researcher records in ORCID - a step in the process which benefits all parties involved," said M'hamed el Aisati, Director of Content and Analytics at Elsevier. "We look forward to continue working with FCT, providing data and support for their future assessment initiatives."

FCT funds and evaluates key R&D units across Portugal, as well as project grants, research infrastructures and individual researchers. Periodic (usually five-year) reviews of R&D units have been performed since 1996 with the goal of fostering and supporting international competitiveness of Portuguese research institutions. The final results of the 2013/2014 review will be known at the end of 2014.

National Funding Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation in Portugal  

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) is the national funding agency for science, technology and innovation, in all scientific domains, under responsibility of the Ministry for Education and Science. FCT's mission is to continuously promote the advancement of knowledge in science and technology in Portugal, attain the highest international standards in quality and competitiveness, in all scientific and technological domains, and encourage its dissemination and active role in society and in economic growth.

FCT started its activity in August 1997, succeeding the Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (JNICT). Since March 2012 FCT coordinates public policies for the Information and Knowledge Society in Portugal, after the integration of the Knowledge Society Agency-UMIC. In October 2013, FCT took over the attributions and responsibilities of the Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional (FCCN), [Foundation for National Scientific Computation].

About ORCID 

ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. ORCID is unique in its ability to reach across disciplines, research sectors and national boundaries. It is a hub that connects researchers and research through the embedding of ORCID identifiers in key workflows, such as research profile maintenance, manuscript submissions, grant applications, and patent applications.

About Scopus 

Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its vast database contains abstracts and references from 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and Arts & Humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians internationally; and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software.

About Elsevier Research Intelligence  

Elsevier Research Intelligence is a research information management portfolio that improves institutional and individual ability to establish, execute and evaluate research strategy and performance. Combining SciVal tools, the Pure system and custom Analytical Services with the rich data asset Scopus and the reference management technology of Mendeley, Elsevier Research Intelligence equips research institutions, funders, policy-makers and researchers with a wide range of content, tools, and powerful analytics. Elsevier Research Intelligence helps individuals and institutions make better decisions, improve collaboration, attract more investment and optimize expenditure.

About Elsevier 

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence, and ClinicalKey -  and publishes nearly 2,200 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and over 25,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works.

The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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SOURCE Elsevier