In preparation for the Science & Engineering Indicators (SEI) report 2020, NCSES is investigating how it could further update its set of bibliometric indicators specifically regarding the potential to incorporate the specialization index into its suite of tools to better assess the scientific performance of countries, regions and organizations. This memo, prepared by Science-Metrix, presents a brief overview of the indicator, followed by multiple examples highlighting the relevance of the indicator in the context of the SEI, with a special emphasis on its pertinence in assessing national, regional, institutional and disciplinary research patterns.

Note: This work was funded by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of NCSES or the NSF. The analysis for this research was conducted by SRI International on behalf of NSF’s NCSES under contract number NSFDACS1063289.

See the memo here [PDF].

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