The annual report as a source of bibliometric data to study the activity of a Polytechnic University

Abstract

Scientific activity of a Polytechnic University is analysed during three academic courses: 1998-99, 1999-2000 y 2000-01 by means of the university annual reports. Two different types of data are considered: a) research input data, including personnel and type of research projects conducted; and b) research output data, such as the number of articles, monographs, collective works, patents and dissertations for thesis and master degree. Inter-departmental differences in types of activity lead to differences in the type of documental product that predominates, type of financial source and in the national/international nature of the publications. Articles, which constitute 13-76% of the documental products of the departments, are a better indicator of activity for the basic departments than for the applied ones, since collective works predominate in the latter. Only 46% of the articles of the polytechnic university were published in journals covered by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Usefulness of bibliometric studies based only on ISI journals is limited, especially for the most applied departments. Studies based on annual reports provide a more comprehensive overview of the activity of the departments.