On April 24, 2024, the 4th Lecture of the Swiss Year of Scientometrics took place in Zurich. Professor Ludo Waltman spoke to an audience of more than 40 participants on the topic of “Openness of research information – Democratizing the use of scientometrics”. The video recording of the lecture and the slides are now available.
Professor Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President for Infrastructure at ETH Zurich, opened the event. In his welcome address, he emphasized the strategic relevance of scientometrics for further academic development. He formulated key questions that needed clarification. Furthermore, he expressed his hope for the establishment of a Swiss-wide community on scientometrics and stated that ETH Library and ETH Zurich are committed to support this initiative.
Then, Professor Ludo Waltman was invited to take the floor. He first introduced the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) and then outlined current trends regarding assessment reform and open science in the Netherlands. Next, Professor Waltman argued that scientometrics need to be transparent, open, and democratic. Therefore, he further suggested, they should be based on open research information. In this light, he presented the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, which, Waltman explained, underlined his argument. Professor Waltman pointed out that the CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition already put this reform into practice. He concluded his presentation by proposing next steps towards open research information and by outlining its opportunities for Swiss higher education institutions to further strengthen the scientometric community in Switzerland.
The inspiring lecture was followed by a lively Q&A session in which a variety of topics were addressed. For example, the discussion covered the questions why universities should sign yet another declaration; how publishers could become partners for open research information; and how excellence could be measured? Given that researchers are always part of an institution the questions whether full democracy could really be achieved in terms of research assessment and how collective action could be supported to accelerate the transition to democratization of research assessment were raised as well.
In a closing statement, Dr David Johann provided a brief review and outlook about the Swiss Year of Scientometrics (SYoS). His perception that the lectures and workshops held as a part of SYoS marked important steps towards encouraging those involved in research and science policy in Switzerland, and to deal with scientometric data and indicators more responsibly. From the point of view of the organizers, the SYoS events were a great success. This was only possible with the active participation and interest of the audience as well as all important questions raised by the participants. With great pleasure, David Johann announced that the SYoS event series will continue: The first follow-up event is expected to take place in November at the University of Fribourg.
The lecture was followed by an apéro. Topical discussions continued until late.
The video recording of the lecture is available:
00:00:05 Introduction by Dr David Johann
00:01:55 Welcome address by Professor Ulrich Weidmann
00:06:53 Start of the lecture by Professor Ludo Waltman
00:09:40 Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS)
00:13:14 Assessment reform and open science in the Netherlands
00:24:56 The need for open research information
00:42:53 Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information
00:52:28 CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition
00:58:08 Next steps toward open research information
01:03:16 Opportunities for Swiss organizations
01:04:46 Dr David Johann opens the Q&A session
01:25:23 End of the Q&A session
01:26:09 Outlook by Dr David Johann
01:28:51 End of the event
The slides are also available for download.
