Assessment of social sciences: The use of advanced bibliometric methods as a necessary complement of peer review

In this paper it is argued that bibliometric performance indicators allow substantial improvement of peer-review based evaluation in the social sciences. Advanced bibliometric indicators provide up-to-date, detailed, ‘objective’and structured information on the performance (particularly ‘impact’) of a research group. They prevent the peer-review process from becoming too soft or too ‘uninterested’. They also provide information not readily made available by peer review. For instance, they allow comparison of performance within research fields but also between-fields analysis. Advanced bibliometric indicators provide a substantial insight into scientific communication practices. This is important for research management and for the work of individual scientists, and it contributes to a better understanding of the dissemination and use of knowledge. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.