Number of publications
The number of publications can be thought of as an indication of the rate and extent of the scientific activity of the subject of the evaluation. The number of publications can be examined from different perspectives, e.g. by university, field of science, year or publication type.
Responsible use
- When examining the number of publications, it is important to take into account the different publishing practices of the fields of science, for example, in terms of the most commonly used publication types and co-authorship. For more information, see the chapters Differences between fields of science and Methodological points of view.
- In addition to the different disciplinary practices, the number of publications is influenced by the resources available to the unit under analysis, such as the number of researchers and the funding received.
- When looking at the numbers of publications by publication types, the different ways in which databases classify publications can pose a challenge. For example, the Finnish publication type classification of the Ministry of Education and Culture may differ significantly from the classifications of international databases.
- See also the questions related to responsible evaluation from the page Indicators.
Indicators based on number of publications in databases and other sources
Numbers of publications and indicators based on the numbers can be found in: