Bibliometrics in Press. Representations and uses of bibliometric indicators in the Italian daily newspapers
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2022
Abstract:
Scholars in science and technology studies and bibliometricians are increasingly revealing the performative nature of bibliometric indicators. Far from being neutral technical
measures, indicators such as the Impact Factor and the h-index are deeply transforming the
social and epistemic structures of contemporary science. At the same time, scholars have
highlighted how bibliometric indicators are endowed with social meanings that go beyond
their purely technical defnitions. These social representations of bibliometric indicators
are constructed and negotiated between diferent groups of actors within several arenas.
This study aims to investigate how bibliometric indicators are used in a context, which, so
far, has not yet been covered by researchers, that of daily newspapers. By a content analysis
of a corpus of 583 articles that appeared in four major Italian newspapers between 1990
and 2020, we chronicle the main functions that bibliometrics and bibliometric indicators
played in the Italian press. Our material shows, among other things, that the public discourse developed in newspapers creates a favorable environment for bibliometrics-centered
science policies, that bibliometric indicators contribute to the social construction of scientifc facts in the press, especially in science news related to medicine, and that professional
bibliometric expertise struggles to be represented in newspapers and hence reach the general public.
Tipologia CRIS:
03A-Articolo su Rivista
Keywords:
Social uses of bibliometrics; Social construction of bibliometric indicators; Performance-based research evaluation; Italy; Impact Factor; h-index
Elenco autori:
Petrovich, Eugenio
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