Bibliometria

Por cá a bibliometria ainda "só" afecta as avaliações dos centros da FCT, e não sei muito bem como se passam as coisas nas áreas menos propensas a essas contas.

Mas no Reino Unido, onde as questões da avaliação (das pessoas, das instituições, dos produtos e serviços) não são despicientes, a bibliometria vai passar a ter muito peso na renovação de contratos e na progressão na carreira dos docentes universitários.

Vem mesmo a tempo, portanto, o relatório da International Mathematical Union, "Citation Statistics". Transcrevo do sumário, sem mais comentários:

This is a report about the use and misuse of citation data in the assessment of scientific research. The idea that research assessment must be done using "simple and objective" methods is increasingly prevalent today. The "simple and objective" methods are broadly interpreted as bibliometrics, that is, citation data and the statistics derived from them. There is a belief that citation statistics are inherently more accurate because they substitute simple numbers for complex judgments, and hence overcome the possible subjectivity of peer review. But this belief is unfounded.

• Relying on statistics is not more accurate when the statistics are improperly used. Indeed, statistics can mislead when they are misapplied or misunderstood. Much of modern bibliometrics seems to rely on experience and intuition about the interpretation and validity of citation statistics.
• While numbers appear to be "objective", their objectivity can be illusory. The meaning of a citation can be even more subjective than peer review. Because this subjectivity is less obvious for citations, those who use citation data are less likely to understand their limitations.
• The sole reliance on citation data provides at best an incomplete and often shallow understanding of research—an understanding that is valid only when reinforced by other judgments. Numbers are not inherently superior to sound judgments.

[...]We hope those involved in assessment will read both the commentary and the details of this report in order to understand not only the limitations of citation statistics but also how better to use them. If we set high standards for the conduct of science, surely we should set equally high standards for assessing its quality.