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Policy documents as sources for measuring societal impact: how often is climate change research mentioned in policy-related documents?

Author

Listed:
  • Lutz Bornmann

    (Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society)

  • Robin Haunschild

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

  • Werner Marx

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

Abstract

In the current UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) and the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), societal impact measurements are inherent parts of the national evaluation systems. In this study, we deal with a relatively new form of societal impact measurements. Recently, Altmetric—a start-up providing publication level metrics—started to make data for publications available which have been mentioned in policy documents. We regard this data source as an interesting possibility to specifically measure the (societal) impact of research. Using a comprehensive dataset with publications on climate change as an example, we study the usefulness of the new data source for impact measurement. Only 1.2 % (n = 2341) out of 191,276 publications on climate change in the dataset have at least one policy mention. We further reveal that papers published in Nature and Science as well as from the areas “Earth and related environmental sciences” and “Social and economic geography” are especially relevant in the policy context. Given the low coverage of the climate change literature in policy documents, this study can be only a first attempt to study this new source of altmetrics data. Further empirical studies are necessary, because mentions in policy documents are of special interest in the use of altmetrics data for measuring target-oriented the broader impact of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Lutz Bornmann & Robin Haunschild & Werner Marx, 2016. "Policy documents as sources for measuring societal impact: how often is climate change research mentioned in policy-related documents?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1477-1495, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:109:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-016-2115-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2115-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Robin Haunschild & Lutz Bornmann, 2017. "How many scientific papers are mentioned in policy-related documents? An empirical investigation using Web of Science and Altmetric data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1209-1216, March.
    8. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Filippo Chiarello & Gualtiero Fantoni, 2021. "Impact for whom? Mapping the users of public research with lexicon-based text mining," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1745-1774, February.
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    12. Yang, Chao & Huang, Cui, 2022. "Quantitative mapping of the evolution of AI policy distribution, targets and focuses over three decades in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
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    14. Bornmann, Lutz & Haunschild, Robin, 2018. "Normalization of zero-inflated data: An empirical analysis of a new indicator family and its use with altmetrics data," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 998-1011.
    15. Caterina Lucarelli & Camilla Mazzoli & Michela Rancan & Sabrina Severini, 2020. "Classification of Sustainable Activities: EU Taxonomy and Scientific Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-25, August.
    16. Xiaozan Lyu & Rodrigo Costas, 2020. "How do academic topics shift across altmetric sources? A case study of the research area of Big Data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(2), pages 909-943, May.
    17. Lutz Bornmann & Robin Haunschild, 2017. "Does evaluative scientometrics lose its main focus on scientific quality by the new orientation towards societal impact?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(2), pages 937-943, February.
    18. Dotti, Nicola Francesco & Walczyk, Julia, 2022. "What is the societal impact of university research? A policy-oriented review to map approaches, identify monitoring methods and success factors," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    19. Zhihong Huang & Qianjin Zong & Xuerui Ji, 2022. "The associations between scientific collaborations of LIS research and its policy impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(11), pages 6453-6470, November.
    20. Cui Huang & Chao Yang & Jun Su, 2018. "Policy change analysis based on “policy target–policy instrument” patterns: a case study of China’s nuclear energy policy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(2), pages 1081-1114, November.
    21. Knut Blind & Alex Fenton, 2022. "Standard-relevant publications: evidence, processes and influencing factors," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(1), pages 577-602, January.
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