No abstract

National bibliographic data bring numerous opportunities for science studies, especially when integrating data from multiple data sources. The use of multiple data sources, however, is hindered by the lack of interoperability. Although progress has been made in developing persistent international identifiers such as ISBN, DOI, and GRID, the interoperability between different data sources still poses challenges at several levels. We reflect upon these challenges with a focus on conceptual and methodological aspects with respect to the Academic Book Publisher Register (ABP), a comprehensive international list of publishers that is created by integrating multiple publisher lists used in different countries. This register, currently in development, is primarily meant to be used in research evaluation settings. At the same time it is potentially a valuable source of data for studies focused on publishing in different knowledge domains. In discussing the challenges encountered while making the ABP, we focus on two main issues: delineation of publishers and establishing connection between local lists and the ABP. In this paper we discuss possible ways to overcome these obstacles and draw conclusions in relation to other data sources that can be of use in research within the social sciences and humanities.

The implementation of a Flemish research evaluation parameter highlights the complexity of author affiliation data collection for publications not included in major bibliographic databases. In this paper, we discuss a set of fundamental challenges that were encountered during a first data collection project. More specifically, we will elaborate the multifaceted data retrieval approach, the quest for a sustainable way of data registration and the development of necessary infrastructure and procedures. Although a lot of efforts are being invested in optimizing the exchange of wellstructured author affiliation data, we will zoom in on opportunities that might arise to facilitate similar projects in the future.Author affiliation data is an essential part of publication metadata. The more it becomes structurally available, the more it will be used in processes like research evaluation. However, the deployment of an affiliation data collection process for a Flemish research assessment parameter in social sciences and humanities demonstrates that continued efforts to optimize the quality and increase the distribution of affiliation data are necessary. Taking a diversity of publication practices into account, the creation of this Flemish dataset requires a multifaceted approach that not only includes the common data sources, but also an integrated set of ad hoc strategies beyond these tools. The organization of this operation, the challenges and opportunities will be elaborated in this paper.