Scopus and SciVal training for the Department of Research and Innovation staff members

The first workshop was theoretical and virtual, while the second one was in-person and practical. Scopus is an expertly curated abstract and citation database that provides comprehensive enriched data and linked scholarly literature across various disciplines. SciVal on the other hand provides access to the research performance of over 23 100 research institutions and their associated researchers from over 234 nations worldwide. Both these tools can be used for the bibliometric analysis of individual researchers and institutions.

 

During the first workshop, the following topics were covered: the definition of scientometrics (bibliometrics, webometrics, altmetrics), the terminology used in bibliometrics, an overview of SciVal reports, journal rankings, how one can increase their citations, how the library supports researchers with bibliometrics when applying for ratings with the NRF, as well as the limitations of bibliometrics. In the second workshop, colleagues from DRI brought their laptops to the Merensky library auditorium. Dr. Carol Nonkwelo, Director of the Department of Research and Innovation welcomed everyone to the session and informed participants of the value of knowing how to use the tools and the kind of information that can be retrieved. The following practical exercises were carried out: creating an Elsevier account using either Scopus or SciVal, doing a basic search in Scopus, searching for an author and viewing their h-index, publications, citation count, and exporting the results. The participants were also shown the Scopus sources tab and how to use it to check if a journal is indexed by the database. Mr. Lathola Mchunu, Information Specialist in the EBIT faculty library assisted during the workshop.

 

After the tea break which was filled with lively chatting, the participants did a practical on SciVal on the overview module for the following: defining a researcher, generating a researcher’s overview and benchmarking report, using the benchmarking and collaboration modules, trends, and the session was closed off with a question and answer session. There were a number of participants that noted that they did not know why they had to attend the session while others posed challenging questions to the facilitators. The workshops were a great way for the DRI staff to get an overview of what bibliometrics entails and how analysis is done and reports are generated.