A Comparative Measurement of Researchers’ International Mobility (MEWI)

Start of the project: 2021-Jan-01 - End of the project: 2021-Jun-30

Researchers are carriers of knowledge, possessing specific skills and talents. Accordingly, international scientific mobility drives global innovation capacity and economic growth. Academic human capital mobility can benefit both sending and receiving countries and is therefore supported by various national institutions such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), monitored in reports such as Wissenschaft Weltoffen, and is a substantial subfield of science studies.

However, identifying and measuring international mobility is challenging because mobility can be measured with different data sources and operationalized in different ways. Data sources commonly used to assess mobility include publication lists in bibliometric databases or information from academic social networks or registries. In addition to the particular idiosyncrasies of the data source, international mobility as a construct can furthermore be operationalized in a variety of ways (e.g. dealing with length of stay, retention of previous affiliations, or period of analysis).

In the MEWI study, we compare estimates of international mobility based on five different data sources (Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions, ResearchGate, ORCID) and using different measurement choices in operationalization. The extent to which the picture of international mobility depends on the data source used and the extent to which the estimates respond to different operationalizations of the concept of mobility are examined. The results of the project serve to validate the Wissenschaft Weltoffen report series and can support further analyses of international scientist mobility.

The MEWI project engages in research accompanying the Wissenschaft Weltoffen reports.

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Publications

Gastbeitrag: Zur bibliometrischen Messung der internationalen Wissenschaftlermobilität.

Stephen, D., & Stahlschmidt, S. (2021).
Gastbeitrag: Zur bibliometrischen Messung der internationalen Wissenschaftlermobilität. Wissenschaft Weltoffen: Daten und Fakten zur Internationalität von Studium und Forschung in Deutschland und weltweit 2021. Deutschland: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst und Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung.
Presentations

Robust measurement of Scientific Mobility: (Dis-)Agreement between Author and Publisher Information.

Stephen, D., & Stahlschmidt, S. (2022, Januar).
Robust measurement of Scientific Mobility: (Dis-)Agreement between Author and Publisher Information. Vortrag auf dem Seminar OST-KB Scientometric Joint Seminar, Haut Conseil de l’évaluation de la recherche et de l’enseignement supérieur, Observatoire des sciences et techniques (OST).

A comparative analysis of international scientist mobility between data sources and measurement pathways.

Stephen, D., & Stahlschmidt, S. (2021, November).
A comparative analysis of international scientist mobility between data sources and measurement pathways. Vortrag auf der Konferenz Nordic Workshops on Bibliometrics and Research Policy 2021 (NWB2021), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

A comparative analysis of international scientist mobility between data sources and measurement pathways.

Stephen, D., & Stahlschmidt, S. (2021, September).
A comparative analysis of international scientist mobility between data sources and measurement pathways. Vortrag auf dem Workshop Methodological Innovations in Research on Spatial Mobility: Potentials and Pitfalls, Forschungscluster Mobilität und migrationsspezifische Ungleichheiten und Empirische Methoden der Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung, Hannover.

Contact person

Stephan Stahlschmidt
Dr. Stephan Stahlschmidt +49 30 2064177-18

Researchers

Dr. Dimity Stephen

Funded by

Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst