Scimago

Scimago
Name	Scimago
Type	Research evaluation
Founded	2007
Country	Spain
Headquarters	Madrid
Website	Scimago

Scimago is an organization that produces bibliometric indicators, rankings, and analytics for scholarly journals, institutions, and countries. Its outputs are used by publishers, universities, funding agencies, and policymakers to compare performance across fields and time. The project is commonly associated with the Scimago Journal & Country Rank platform and collaborations with research groups and data providers.

Overview

Scimago operates at the intersection of research assessment, bibliometrics, scientometrics, and information science, providing metrics that relate to scholarly communication produced by publishers like Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley-Blackwell, and Taylor & Francis. The platform aggregates data relevant to institutions such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Cambridge, and to countries including United States, China, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Scimago metrics are cited alongside other evaluation systems like Journal Citation Reports, Google Scholar Metrics, Microsoft Academic, CrossRef, and Dimensions. Users from organizations such as European Commission, OECD, UNESCO, World Health Organization, and World Bank consult Scimago outputs for comparative analyses.

History and Development

Scimago emerged in the mid-2000s amid debates involving actors like Eugene Garfield’s legacy, the rise of open access advocates represented by Peter Suber, and the growth of digital platforms such as arXiv, PubMed Central, and SSRN. Early development intersected with initiatives from research groups at institutions like Universidad de Granada and collaborations with bibliometric services linked to Elsevier's Scopus database and independent researchers connected to Leiden University and CWTS. Milestones include the launch of the Scimago Journal & Country Rank, adoption by national agencies like Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Prospectiva and citation in studies involving Clarivate Analytics data comparisons. The project evolved alongside policy shifts exemplified by documents such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and debates at conferences like International Conference on Scientometrics and Informetrics.

Methodology and Data Sources

Scimago derives indicators using citation data, publication counts, and subject classifications imported from databases and repositories including Scopus, CrossRef, PubMed, Web of Science, and institutional repositories maintained by universities such as University of California, Berkeley and University of Tokyo. Calculations reference methods discussed in literature by scholars like Loet Leydesdorff, Jorge E. Hirsch, Diana Hicks, Peter Wouters, and Maryam Zolghadr. Metrics incorporate normalized citation indicators comparable to approaches used in Leiden Ranking and metrics debates around indicators applied by bodies such as Research Councils UK and national research assessment exercises like REF (Research Excellence Framework). Subject area taxonomy aligns with classification schemes similar to those used by Scopus and international classifications propagated by UNESCO.

Products and Services

Primary products include the Scimago Journal & Country Rank portal, offering journal indicators, country profiles, and thematic maps that users from Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, IEEE, and ACM consult. Additional services target institutional benchmarking used by universities such as University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and Peking University, and by research funders like National Institutes of Health and European Research Council. Outputs support tasks familiar to staff from Clarivate Analytics, Google, Microsoft Research, and consulting firms like McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group when assessing research portfolios. Visualizations draw on practices seen in projects like Our World in Data and tools such as Tableau.

Reception and Criticism

Reception spans endorsements and critiques: stakeholders including Elsevier and academic librarians at British Library have used Scimago metrics, while critics from communities around DORA (Declaration on Research Assessment) and scholars like Stevan Harnad and Kathleen Fitzpatrick have raised concerns. Criticisms mirror debates involving Journal Citation Reports and Impact Factor controversies initiated by figures like Eugene Garfield and discussed in venues like Nature and Science. Specific concerns focus on data coverage compared with Web of Science and Scopus, field normalization debates analogous to those around h-index, and the risk of misuse in evaluation processes criticized by organizations such as COARA and panels convened by European University Association.

Impact and Applications

Scimago indicators inform strategic decisions at institutions including Columbia University, Yale University, University of Toronto, Sorbonne University, and University of São Paulo, and feature in national analyses for Brazil, India, Spain, Italy, and South Africa. Applications include journal selection for editors from Nature Publishing Group and editorial boards at PLOS, manuscript submission strategies used by researchers at ETH Zurich and University of Amsterdam, and bibliometric studies by centers like CWTS and Leiden University Centre for Science and Technology Studies. Policymakers at entities such as European Commission and UNESCO have used Scimago-derived maps for comparative studies, while publishers like Springer and Wiley monitor trends captured by Scimago alongside alternative metrics from Altmetric.

Category:Bibliometrics