What is researcher independence and how can it be measured?

The paper shows that large scale calculating of independence indicators is possible, using Scopus data. The main data-issue is identifying the PhD supervisors, which is not always easy. One solution might be to take the dominant co-author of the PhD period as the (informal) supervisor. The dominant co-author can be identified quite easily, and it is not unlikely that this is the formal supervisor.

With respect to the independence model and the independence indicator(s), we showed (Figure 5) that the independence from the supervisor (or other senior researchers) indicator is already a good indication of the way the independence of junior researchers advances. Other indicators could be developed, to measure different dimensions of independence: (in)dependence from research infrastructures / labs, and independence to enter other infrastructures or to create an own lab. Also the independence to create own collaborations through international mobility could be measured. Finally, for a reliable measurement, we may need an underlying variable that is based on such larger set of independence related indicators.