PhD position in Bibliometrics and Research Evaluation

The Royal School of Library and Information Science, Denmark, and ACUMEN are pleased to announce that a PhD scholarship will be available from June 1, 2012, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Applications are invited for the three-year scholarship from candidates that hold or expect to hold a Master´s degree in a field relevant to the field of bibliometrics and research evaluation.

The PhD position is part of a collaborative European research project (FP7) on assessing research performance of individual researchers, Academic Careers Understood through Measurement and Norms (ACUMEN [http://research-acumen.eu/]).

The Royal School of Library and Information Science (RSLIS; in Danish: Det Informationsvidenskabelige Akademi, [http://www.iva.dk]) contributes to this project with research relating to the use of quantitative indicators, and the successful applicant will contribute to this research.

The main objective of the PhD project is to investigate to what extent bibliometric indicators can be used in the evaluation of individual researchers. Most bibliometric indicators are meant for use on higher levels of aggregation, e.g. at the country, research field or institution level, and unwanted effects may occur especially when they are applied at the individual level. The PhD project should analyse the wide range of existing indicators such as productivity, citation impact, and composite indicators such as field normalised indicators, as well as new bibliometric indicators such as the h-index, the g-index and indicators based on network analysis etc. The aim is to understand and call into question the use of bibliometric indicators and to outline the strengths and weaknesses of each indicator for the evaluation of individuals. On the basis of this, the PhD project should propose a suite of indicators for the assessments of individual researchers - both the most uited of the existing as well as novel indicators. These must be tested on the data set  provided by the ACUMEN project.

The project will have a mathematical theoretical as well as an empirical part. Data sets for the empirical part will be provided by partners in the ACUMEN project.

Place of work: Copenhagen, Denmark

For further information on the ACUMEN research project, please contact Associate Professor, Mr. Birger Larsen (blar@iva.dk), and for further information on PhD scholarships at RSLIS, please contact Dean of Research, Mr. Hans Dam Christensen (hdc@iva.dk).

PhD scholarship

A PhD position is a three-year, fixed-term position involving research and training, and it is to be completed in accordance with the Danish Ministerial order on the PhD programme at the universities (PhD order) from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education. For further information about the PhD programme at RSLIS, see: ttp://www.iva.dk/english/research/phd-programme/

Qualification requirements

The ideal candidate holds or expects to hold a Master´s degree or equivalent in a field relevant to bibliometrics and research evaluation. Mathematical skills and fluency in English rerequired.

Application

  1. Letter stating the interest and qualifications for the project (max. one page)
  2. Preliminary project description with
    theoretical and methodological reflections as well as outline of present state of art of research and including a tentative research plan (up to five pages)
  3. Full CV
  4. Bachelor and Master's degree diploma (including grade transcripts for bachelor´s and master´s degrees) and other documentation
  5. List of publications (if any)
  6. References
  7. Applicants with a Master´s degree from abroad should also enclose a short description of the grading scale used. 

Further procedure

  • Applications, "PhD position in Bibliometrics", must be sent to job@iva.dk. Deadline is March 1, 2012
  • Applicants will, together with a confirmation of the received application, be notified of the composition of the assessment committee
  • Applicants must provide supplementary documentation, if requested by the committee
  • Applicants will individually be informed of his/her assessment
  • Potential candidates may be invited to an interview by a recruitment committee

The following criteria will be taken into consideration:

  • Capacity to undertake stringent research of high quality within the three-year period
  • Scientific concern, creativity and supplementary qualification which are considered essential for undertaking a PhD project
  • Already implemented projects, published works of relevance for the PhD position, carried out during or after the master study
  • Documented fluency in English
  • Documented mathematical skills

Salary

Salary will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confedaration of Professional Associations, AC. Start level salary depends on pre-employment seniority, but will at least amounts to DKK 285.240,00 annually. Pension contribution is added according to agreement for PhD students, as well an annual addition which at presents amounts to DKK 14.934,97 annually.

The PhD student has an obligation to undertake agreed relevant work (including teaching) which totally amounts to 840 work hours during the three years of employment.

Facts about RSLIS

RSLIS is a university institution for development, education and research at the highest scientific level in the field of Information Science. The educational programmes rank from undergraduate to PhD studies. The school's graduates are much appreciated and their capacity for fulfilling vital functions within the emerging knowledge society is increasingly recognized.

RSLIS is located in Copenhagen and Aalborg (the Northern part of Jutland). The total number of students enrolled is app. 800.

RSLIS is a member of iSchool Caucus and is currently working close together with Institut für Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, in order to establish a Euro iSchool network.

As an equal opportunity employer, RSLIS invites applications from all interested candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin or religion.