Not only Open, but also Diverse and Inclusive: Towards Decentralised and Federated Research Information Sources

The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information highlights that research information systems should not only be open but also diverse and inclusive. We argue that this can only be achieved by interlinking various and decentralised research information sources.

Dominique Babini, Arianna Becerril Garcia, Rodrigo Costas, Lautaro Matas, Ismael Rafols and Laura Rovelli • April 22, 2024

Concurrent Evidence: a framework for using evidence from multiple disciplines

In policy and legal systems, focusing too narrowly on one scientific discipline can lead to questionable conclusions. In this post, Tsuyoshi Hondou and Ismael Rafols introduce ‘Concurrent evidence’, a framework that considers evidence from multiple disciplines to reach more robust decisions.

Tsuyoshi Hondou and Ismael Rafols • March 07, 2024

The UNESCO Open Science Outlook: OS progresses, but unequally

Last December, UNESCO published the first global report on the trends of Open Science (OS). In this blog post, the main findings are highlighted: OS is increasing but does so unevenly and its monitoring is mainly focused on outputs, missing potential progress in participation and dialogue.

Ismael Rafols • February 01, 2024

Why coverage matters: Invisibility of agricultural research from the Global South may be an obstacle to development

To support development and sustainability in the Global South, contextual and locally appropriate knowledge on agriculture needs to be visible and accessible. Improving coverage in global open scholarly infrastructures can play a crucial role in increasing visibility.

Ismael Rafols, Madhan Muthu, Josep-Manuel Rodríguez-Gairín, Marta Somoza-Fernández and Cristóbal Urbano • July 21, 2023

Why are diversity and inclusion important for Global Science?

CWTS is starting a new UNESCO Chair on Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science. In this blog post we outline why this topic matters and how our team aims to contribute to UNESCO's agenda of making science a positive force for development.

Ismael Rafols, Ingeborg Meijer and Rodrigo Costas • November 10, 2022 • 1 comment

Do research priorities for mental health actually reflect the goal of fostering well-being?

Do mental health research priorities reflect societal needs? This post explores the landscape of mental health research and introduces an interactive visualization that allows to explore research portfolios of specific countries, funders and organisations.

Wouter van de Klippe, Alfredo Yegros, Tim Willemse and Ismael Rafols • March 30, 2022

Knowledge integration for societal challenges: from interdisciplinarity to research portfolio analysis

For research to address societal challenges, indicators of average degree of ‘interdisciplinarity’ are not relevant. Instead, we propose a portfolio approach to analyze knowledge integration as a systemic process; in particular, the directions, diversity and synergies of research trajectories.

Ismael Rafols • December 01, 2020

On 'measuring' interdisciplinarity: from indicators to indicating

Indicators of interdisciplinarity are increasingly requested. Yet efforts to make aggregate indicators have failed due to the diversity and ambiguity of understandings of interdisciplinarity. Instead of universal indicators, we propose a contextualised process of indicating interdisciplinarity.

Ismael Rafols • November 30, 2020 • 3 comments

Who benefits from science? A comment on Barry Bozeman’s ‘Public Value Science’

In a new article for Issues in S&T Barry Bozeman argues that current science policies benefit the rich more than the poor, thus reinforcing social inequalities. This blog post discusses his argument in the light of related views on how science can contribute to wider social well-being.

Ismael Rafols • September 22, 2020

Ismael Rafols

Blogs