Prof.dr. Paul Wouters

Paul Wouters is emeritus professor of scientometrics.

He was Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences from January 2019 through December 2023. Before that, he was director of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) (September 2010 – December 2018). He has a Masters in biochemistry (Free University of Amsterdam, 1977) and a PhD in science and technology studies (University of Amsterdam, 1999). In between these degrees he has worked as science journalist and as editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper ("De Waarheid").

He has published on the history of the Science Citation Index, on and in scientometrics, and on the way the criteria of scientific quality and relevance have been changed by the use of performance indicators. His PhD thesis "The Citation Culture" (1999) is available here. He has also studied the role of information and information technologies in the creation of new scientific and scholarly knowledge. In this area, he was appointed as leader of two research programs by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences: Networked Research and Digital Information (Nerdi) (2000 - 2005) and The Virtual Knowledge Studio for the Humanities and Social Sciences (VKS) (2005 - 2010). The experiences and insights gained in the VKS were condensed in Virtual Knowledge. Experimenting in the Humanities and Social Sciences, a collection edited in collaboration with Anne Beaulieu, Andrea Scharnhorst and Sally Wyatt (MIT Press 2013). He was Principal Investigator of several European research consortia, among others ACUMEN on research careers and evaluation of individual researchers.

Paul was coordinator of the Dutch STS Graduate School Science, Technology, and Modern Culture (WTMC) together with Annemiek Nelis (2001-2005). From 2014 until 2019 he was chair of the WTMC board. In 1999, he helped create Onderzoek Nederland, a leading professional journal on Dutch science policy (part of Research Professional) and has since published in the journal. He was member of the Council of the Society for the Social Studies of Science from 2006 to 2008. From 2016 to 2023 he was member of the program board of the ZonMW program to promote responsible research behaviour.

He is a member of the editorial board of Social Studies of Science, Journal of the Association of Information Science and Technology, and Cybermetrics, and sits on various advisory boards of international programs and projects. He is also member of the international advisory board of the Network for Advancing and Evaluating the Societal Impact of Science (AESIS Network).

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4324-5732

Publications

Journal publications (45)

• Fang, Z., Costas, R., Tian, W.C., Wang, X.W., & Wouters, P. (2021). How is science clicked on Twitter? : Click metrics for Bitly short links to scientific publications. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 72(7), 918-932. (paper)
• Levallois, C., Smidts, A., & Wouters, P. (2020). The emergence of neuromarketing investigated through online public communications (2002-2008). Business History, 63(1). (paper)
• Aksnes, D.W., Langfeldt, L., & Wouters, P. (2019). Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories. SAGE Open, 9(1), 1-17. (paper)
• Franssen, T., & Wouters, P. (2019). Science and its significant other: representing the humanities in bibliometric scholarship. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 70(10), 1124-1137. (paper)
• Timans, R., Wouters, P., & Heilbron, J. (2019). Mixed methods research: what it is and what it could be. Theory and Society, 48(2), 193-216. (paper)
• Wouters, P., Sugimoto, C., Larivière, V., McVeigh, M.E., Pulverer, B., De Rijcke, S., & Waltman, L. (2019). Rethinking impact factors: Better ways to judge a journal (comment). Nature, 569, 621-623. (paper)
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., Tatum, C.C., & Wouters, P. (2018). Exploring Possibilities to Use Bibliometric Data to Monitor Gold Open Access Publishing at the National Level. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 69(9), 1161-1173. (paper)
• Waaijer, C.J.F., Teelken, C., Wouters, P., & Van der Weijden, I.C.M. (2018). Competition in Science: Links Between Publication Pressure, Grant Pressure and the Academic Job Market. Higher Education Policy, 31(2), 225-243. (paper)
• Hammarfelt, B.M.S., De Rijcke, S., & Wouters, P. (2017). From eminent men to excellent universities: university rankings as calculative devices. Minerva, 55(4), 391-411. (paper)
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., & Wouters, P. (2017). Analysis of Publications on Journal Impact Factor Over Time, e4. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 2. (paper)
• Wouters, P. (2017). Bridging the Evaluation Gap. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society, 2017(3), 108-118. (paper)
• Wouters, P. (2017). Obituary. Eugene Garfield , e492 (1925-2017). Nature, 543. (paper)
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2017). Mendeley readership as a filtering tool to identify highly cited publications. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 68(10), 2511-2521. (paper)
• De Rijcke, S., Wouters, P., Rushforth, A.D., Franssen, T., & Hammarfelt, B.M.S. (2016). Evaluation practices and effects of indicator use - A literature review. Research Evaluation, 25(2), 161-169. (paper)
• Flis, I., Steinova, E., & Wouters, P. (2016). Digital Humanities Are a Two-Way Street. ISIS, 107(2), 346-348. (paper)
• Ioannidis, J.P.A., Boyack, K.W., & Wouters, P. (2016). Citation Metrics: A Primer on How (not) to Normalize. PLoS Biology, 14(9), e1002542. (paper)
• Leydesdorff, L., Wouters, P., & Bornmann, L. (2016). Professional and citizen bibliometrics: complementarities and ambivalences in the development and use of indicators-a state-of-the-art report. Scientometrics, 109(3), 2129-2150. (paper)
• Noyons, E.C.M., & Wouters, P. (2016). Introduction to the special issue of research evaluation with invited papers of the 19th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators, 3-5 September 2014, Leiden, the Netherlands. Research Evaluation, 25(3), 233-234. (paper)
• Prins, A.A.M., Costas, R., Van Leeuwen, T.N., & Wouters, P. (2016). Using Google Scholar in research evaluation of humanities and social science programs: A comparison with Web of Science data. Research Evaluation, 25(3), 264-270. (paper)
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., Van Wijk, E., & Wouters, P. (2016). Bibliometric analysis of output and impact based on CRIS data: A case study on the registered output of a Dutch university. Scientometrics, 106(1), 1-16. (paper)
• Waltman, L., Van Eck, N.J., Visser, M.S., & Wouters, P. (2016). The elephant in the room: The problem of quantifying productivity in evaluative scientometrics. Journal of Informetrics, 10(2), 671-674. (paper)
• Costas, R., Zahedi, Z., & Wouters, P. (2015). Do altmetrics correlate with citations? Extensive comparison of altmetric indicators with citations from a multidisciplinary perspective. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(10), 2003-2019. (paper)
• Costas, R., Zahedi, Z., & Wouters, P. (2015). The thematic orientation of publications mentioned on social media: Large-scale disciplinary comparison of social media metrics with citations. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 67(3), 260-288. (paper)
• Hicks, D., Wouters, P., Waltman, L., De Rijcke, S., & Rafols, I. (2015). The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. Nature, 520(7548), 429-431. (paper)
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2014). How well developed are altmetrics? A cross-disciplinary analysis of the presence of 'alternative metrics' in scientific publications. Scientometrics, 101(2), 1491-1513. doi:10.1007/s11192-014-1264-0 (paper)
• Waltman, L., Van Eck, N.J., & Wouters, P. (2013). Counting publications and citations: Is more always better? Journal of Informetrics, 7(3), 635-641. doi:10.1016/j.joi.2013.04.001 (paper)
• Levallois, C., Clithero, J.A., Wouters, P., Smidts, A., & Huettel, S.A. (2012). Translating upwards: linking the neural and social sciences via neuroeconomics. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13, 789-797. doi:10.1038/nrn3354 (paper)
• Waltman, L., Calero-Medina, C.M., Kosten, M.J.F., Noyons, E.C.M., Tijssen, R.J.W., Van Eck, N.J., Van Leeuwen, T.N., Van Raan, A.F.J., Visser, M.S., & Wouters, P. (2012). The Leiden Ranking 2011/2012: Data collection, indicators, and interpretation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(12), 2419-2432. doi:10.1002/asi.22708 (paper)
• Kaltenbrunner, W., & Wouters, P. (2010). E-research and methodological innovation in Dutch literary studies. First Monday, 15(9). (paper)
• Frandsen, T.F., & Wouters, P. (2009). Turning working papers into journal articles: An exercise in microbibliometrics. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(4), 728-739. doi:10.1002/asi.20995 (paper)
• Thelwall, M., Wouters, P., & Fry, J. (2008). Information-centered research for large-scale analyses of new information sources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(9), 1523-1527. doi:10.1002/asi.20829 (paper)
• Beaulieu, A., Scharnhorst, A., & Wouters, P. (2007). Not another case study - A middle-range interrogation of ethnographic case studies in the exploration of E-science. Science Technology & Human Values, 32(6), 672-692. doi:10.1177/0162243907306188 (paper)
• Talja, S., Vakkari, P., Fry, J., & Wouters, P. (2007). Impact of research cultures on the use of digital library resources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(11), 1674-1685. doi:10.1002/asi.20650 (paper)
• Hellsten, I., Leydesdorff, L., & Wouters, P. (2006). Multiple presents: how search engines rewrite the past. New Media & Society, 8(6), 901-924. doi:10.1177/1461444806069648 (paper)
• Thelwall, M., & Wouters, P. (2005). What's the deal with the web/blogs/the next big technology: A key role for information science in e-social science research? , 3507, 187-199. doi:10.1007/11495222_15 (paper)
• Arzberger, P., Schroeder, P., Beaulieu, A., Bowker, G., Casey, K., Laaksonen, L., Moorman, D., Uhlir, P., & Wouters, P. (2004). An international framework to promote access to data. Science, 303(5665), 1777-1778. doi:10.1126/science.1095958 (paper)
• Wouters, P., & De Vries, R. (2004). Formally citing the web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 55(14), 1250-1260. doi:10.1002/asi.20080 (paper)
• Gurjeva, L.G., & Wouters, P. (2001). in the context of probabilistic philosophy. Scientometrics, 52(2), 111-126. doi:10.1023/A:1017939001144 (paper)
• Leydesdorff, L., & Wouters, P. (1999). Between texts and contexts: Advances in theories of citation? (a rejoinder). Scientometrics, 44(2), 169-182. doi:10.1007/BF02457378 (paper)
• Wouters, P. (1999). Beyond the holy grail: From citation theory to indicator theories. Scientometrics, 44(3), 561-580. doi:10.1007/BF02458496 (paper)
• Wouters, P. (1998). The signs of science. Scientometrics, 41(1-2), 225-241. doi:10.1007/BF02457980 (paper)
• Wouters, P. (1997). Citation cycles and peer review cycles. Scientometrics, 38(1), 39-55. doi:10.1007/BF02461122 (paper)
• Wouters, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (1997). Introduction - Proceedings of the 1996 Erasmus Workshop on Quantitative Approaches to Science & Technology Studies. Scientometrics, 38(1), 3-5. doi:10.1007/BF02461119 (paper)
• Leydesdorff, L., & Wouters, P. (1994). Crisis or Critique. Scientometrics, 30(2-3), 433-437. doi:10.1007/BF02018119 (paper)
• Wouters, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (1994). Has price dream come true - Is scientometrics a hard science. Scientometrics, 31(2), 193-222. doi:10.1007/BF02018560 (paper)

Conference publications (18)

• De Rijcke, S., Holtrop, T.J., Kaltenbrunner, W., Zuijderwijk, J., Beaulieu, A., Franssen, T., Van Leeuwen, T.N., Mongeon, P., Tatum, C.C., Valkenburg, G., & Wouters, P. (2018). Evaluative Inquiry: Engaging research evaluation analytically and strategically. Vienna: EU Council Conference on Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European Research Agenda – Valuation of SSH in mission-oriented research. In . doi:10.22163/fteval.2019.386 (paper)
• Derrick, G., Molas-Gallart, J., De Rijcke, S., Meijer, I., Van der Weijden, I.C.M., & Wouters, P. (2016). On multiplying methods in the field of research evaluation. 21st International Conference in Science & Technology Indicators, Valencia. In Rafols, I., J. Molas-Gallart, E. Castro-Martínez, & R. Woolley (Eds.), Congress UPV. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 516-517). (paper)
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., Tatum, C.C., & Wouters, P. (2015). Open Access publishing and citation impact - An international study. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (pp. 1130-1141). (paper)
• Waaijer, C.J.F., Van der Weijden, I.C.M., & Wouters, P. (2015). Publication and grant pressure: How they are perceived by early career researchers and influence on career choices. In Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators.
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2015). Do mendeley readership counts help to filter highly cited WoS publications better than average citation impact of journals (JCS)? In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (pp. 16-25). (paper)
• Costas, R., Zahedi, Z., & Wouters, P. (2014). Disentangling the meaning of ‘altmetrics’: Content analysis of Web of Science scientific publications. In altmetrics14: expanding impacts and metrics - An ACM Web Science Conference 2014 Altmetrics Workshop. (paper)
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2014). Assessing the impact of the publications read by the different Mendeley users: Is there any different pattern among users? In Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences. (paper)
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2014). Broad altmetric analysis of Mendeley readerships through the academic status of the readers of scientific publication. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 720-727).
• Costas, R., Calero-Medina, C.M., Waltman, L., & Wouters, P. (2013). The relationship between the performance of editorial board members and the impact of scientific journals : an exploratory analysis. In Proceedings of 18th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 87-95).
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., & Wouters, P. (2013). Analysis of journal impact factor research in time: Development of a specialty? In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (pp. 66-77).
• Van Leeuwen, T.N., Van Wijk, E., & Wouters, P. (2013). Recent developments in Dutch research assessment. Scholarly activity in AAH and Law in a new perspective. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 396-398).
• Waltman, L., Wouters, P., & Van Eck, N.J. (2013). Counting publications and citations: Is more always better? 14th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics, Vienna. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (pp. 455-467).
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2013). How well developed are Altmetrics? Cross-disciplinary analysis of the presence of 'alternative metrics' in scientific publications. In J. Gorraiz, E. Schiebel, C. Gumpenberger, M. Hörlesberger, & H.F. Moed (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics. (paper)
• Zahedi, Z., Costas, R., & Wouters, P. (2013). What is the impact of the publications read by the different Mendeley users? Could they help to identify alternative types of impact? PLoS ALM Workshop, San Francisco. San Francisco, US.: PLoS ALM Workshop. (paper)
• Waltman, L., Calero-Medina, C.M., Kosten, M.J.F., Noyons, E.C.M., Tijssen, R.J.W., Van Eck, N.J., Van Leeuwen, T.N., Van Raan, A.F.J., Visser, M.S., & Wouters, P. (2012). The Leiden Ranking 2011/2012: Data collection, indicators, and interpretation. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 791-802).
• Wouters, P., & Costas, R. (2012). Users, Narcissism and control – tracking the impact of scholarly publications in the 21st Century. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators (pp. 847-857).
• Wouters, P. (2005). Writing history in the virtual knowledge studio for the humanities and social sciences. In Proceedings of the XVIth International Conference of the Association for History and Computing (pp. 288-295).
• Wouters, P. (1999). The creation of the Science Citation Index. In Proceedings of the 1998 Conference on the History and Heritage of Science Information Systems (pp. 127-136).

Book chapters (7)

• Wouters, P., Zahedi, Z., & Costas, R. (2019). Social media metrics for new research evaluation. In W. Glänzel, H.F. Moed, U. Schmoch, & M. Thelwall (Eds.), Springer Handbook of Science and Technology Indicators. Springer. (paper)
• De Rijcke, S., Wallenburg, I., Wouters, P., & Bal, R. (2015). Comparing comparisons. On rankings and accounting in hospitals and universities. In M. Guggenheim, J. Deville, & Z. Hrdlickova (Eds.), Practising Comparison: Logics, Relations, Collaborations. Mattering Press.
• Kok, J., & Wouters, P. (2012). Virtual Knowledge in Family History: Visionary Technologies, Research Dreams and Research Agendas. In P. Wouters, A. Beaulieu, A. Scharnhorst, & S. Wyatt (Eds.), Virtual Knowledge: Experimenting in the Humanities and the Social Sciences (pp. 219-250). MIT Press.
• Levallois, C., Steinmetz, S., & Wouters, P. (2012). Sloppy Data Floods or Precise Social Science Methodologies? Dilemmas in the Transition to Data-intensive research in Sociology and Economics. In P. Wouters, A. Beaulieu, A. Scharnhorst, & S. Wyatt (Eds.), Virtual Knowledge: Experimenting in the Humanities and the Social Sciences (pp. 151-182). MIT Press.
• Wyatt, S., Scharnhorst, A., Beaulieu, A., & Wouters, P. (2012). Introduction to Virtual Knowledge. In P. Wouters, A. Beaulieu, A. Scharnhorst, & S. Wyatt (Eds.), Virtual Knowledge: Experimenting in the Humanities and the Social Sciences (pp. 1-23). MIT Press.
• Wouters, P. (2011). Is minder beter? - de paradox van wetenschapsvoorlichting. In R.P. Hagendijk, & H. Dijstelbloem (Eds.), Onzekerheid Troef (pp. 239-260). Van Gennep.
• Wouters, P. (2000). Garfield as alchemist. In B. Cronin, & H. Barsky Atkins (Eds.), The Web of Knowledge: A Festschrift in Honor of Eugene Garfield (pp. 65-71). American Society for Information Science.