Thomson Scientific, the private firm fueling the bibliometrics drive in academia, is in the process of positioning itself as the anchor point for data on intellectual property (IP) and research. Following tantalizers in the form of free reports such as World IP Today: A Thomson Scientific Report on Global Patent Activity from 1997-2006 (from which the two images below are taken), Thomson Scientific is establishing, in phases, Thomson Innovation, which will provide, when completed:
- Comprehensive prior art searching with the ability to search patents and scientific literature simultaneously
- Expanded Asian patent coverage, including translations of Japanese full-text and additional editorially enhanced abstracts of Chinese data
- A fully integrated searchable database combining Derwent World Patent Index® (DWPISM) with full-text patent data to provide the most comprehensive patent records available
- Support of strategic intellectual property decisions through:
- powerful analysis and visualization tools, such as charting, citation mapping and search result ranking
- and, integration of business and news resources
- Enhanced collaboration capabilities, including customizable folder structures that enable users to organize, annotate, search and share relevant files.
Speaking of bibliometrics, Evidence Ltd., the private firm that is shaping some of the debates about the post-Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) system of evaluating research quality and impact in UK universities, recently released the UK Higher Education Research Yearbook 2007. This £255 (for higher education customers) report:
[P]rovides the means to gain a rapid overview of the research strengths of any UK Higher Education institution, and compare its performance with that of its peers. It is an invaluable tool for those wishing to assess their own institution’s areas of relative strength and weakness, as well as versatile directory for those looking to invest in UK research. It will save research offices in any organisation with R&D links many months of work, allowing administrative and management staff the opportunity to focus on the strategic priorities that these data will help to inform….
It sets out in clear diagrams and summary tables the research profile for Universities and Colleges funded for research. Research Footprints® compare each institution’s performance to the average for its sector, allowing strengths and weaknesses to be rapidly identified by research managers and by industrial customers.
See below, for one example of how a sample university (in this case the University of Warwick) has its “Research Footprint®” graphically represented. This image is included in a brief article about Warwick by Vice-Chancellor Nigel Thrift, and is available on Warwick’s News & Events website.
Given the metrics that are utilized, it is clear, even if the data is not published, that individual researchers’ footprints will be available for systematic and comparative analysis, thereby enabling the governance of faculty with the back-up of ‘data’, and the targeted recruitment of the ‘big foot’ wherever s/he resides (though Sasquatches presumably need not apply!).
Kris Olds
GlobalHigherEd 