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Science is being published increasingly on the web. In this article, we explore how Nordic sociology is represented on Google Scholar (GS), what its output and impact is, and what factors explain it. Our data consist of faculty in 16 Nordic sociology departments in March 2005. The distribution of their publications and citations is skewed. Thirteen per cent of scholars do not appear on GS, whereas only 15 per cent have more than 5 publications. Of scholars with at least 1 publication ( n = 240), 75 per cent have at most 10 citations. Both the number of web hits (web visibility) and citations are influenced by the gender of the faculty member, type and age of publication. Web visibility, citations and position are mutually reinforcing. Departmental effect is greater in web visibility than citations. International publications have started to dominate the social sciences, international monographs being particularly frequently cited. The remaining salience of books shows that sociology is still a distinct form of knowledge. The exclusive use of refereed articles and direct comparisons with the natural sciences ignore important aspects of the social sciences. In all, while GS produces findings similar to those in citation databases such as the SSCI, some systematic differences exist. No individual method for measuring scientific output is objective.

The ability of universities to efficiently produce high-standard knowledge has become an important goal in science policies of many developed countries. Thus, many countries nowadays steer universities based on performance monitoring and competition. This article analyzes the connection between the competitiveness of the university funding environment and research performance in five OECD countries in 1987-2006. Besides funding, other science policy factors are analyzed using the framework of four state steering models. Results indicate that the university funding environment has become more competitive in all the compared countries, but the extent and pace of this development varies. Countries also differ in relation to steering models but all have employed policy elements typical of at least two models. In terms of competitive funding environment and research performance, there is no straightforward relationship between the two. With reference to the state steering models, the most traditional model which emphasizes university independence from the state seems to be the most beneficial to research performance. NOWLEDGE HAS BECOME an important resource for industry as an element of both products and production processes over the last couple of decades. This development is associated with the globalization of economy. The developed, industrialized countries have faced a challenge of maintaining their position in global economic competition. Universities have become key components of the economies of developed countries because they create knowledge and disseminate it to industry and wider society and provide the highest education to people. Because of the strategic significance of universities, their performance and costeffectiveness have become highly relevant issues to policy-makers (Slaughter and Leslie, 1997: 36-40).As a result, there is a strong science policy trend that emphasizes the research performance of the university sector. Competition for money and other financial incentives are often used as steering instruments, since funding is regard as having a strong impact on the behaviour of universities which are dependent on resources from other organizations such as state agencies (Hackett, 1990; Nieminen, 2005: 124-125). However, this development is not uniform across countries. Also the long-term usefulness for and impacts of funding incentives and competition on university research are still unclear.In this article, we analyze the connection between the funding and research performance of universities. In addition, we scrutinize the role of other K Laura Himanen, Otto Auranen (corresponding author) and Hanna-Mari Puuska are at