Openness of research information - Democratizing the use of scientometrics

Keynote given at ETH Zürich, 24 April 2024 
Swiss Year of Scientometrics, Lecture no 4

Abstract. In this talk I discuss ongoing developments in the Netherlands, where universities and other research organizations are making a large-scale concerted effort to promote responsible research assessment and open science. A key issue at the heart of these developments is the transition to new approaches to scientometrics. Of particular interest are scientometric approaches based on open research information, that is, open information about the inputs and outputs of the research process, the actors participating in the research process, and the activities these actors undertake. Open research information allows scientometric analyses to be performed in fully transparent and reproducible ways. It democratizes the use of scientometrics and supports richer and more flexible approaches to scientometrics. I demonstrate the value of open research information by presenting the new Open Edition of the CWTS Leiden Ranking, launched by my center in January 2024. I also discuss how universities and other research organizations can join the transition to open research information, for instance by supporting the Declaration on Open Research Information.