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Researcher Profiles: A Systematic Review of Approaches, Metrics, and Dimensions of Research Performance

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Objectives: To synthesize and contextualize a variety of approaches in the scientific literature for identifying researchers and characterizing and measuring their scholarly activities and research outputs, providing elements that guide the construction of researcher profiles that offer a global and contextualized perspective.
Methodology: A systematic review of the scientific literature was conducted following the SALSA and PRISMA frameworks, based on a Scopus search that retrieved 747 records. After applying inclusión and exclusion criteria, 93 documents were analyzed using text mining techniques and topic modeling (LDA), complemented by an in-depth interpretative analysis of the articles’ content.
Results: The review identified four main thematic axes encompassing researcher identification and personal attributes, academic trajectory, performance metrics in scientific and alternative contexts, distinctions, and dynamics of collaboration and work within research groups. These axes serve as a conceptual and practical guide for developing researcher profiles with enhanced contextualization.

More than 1001 Books you must read before you die: Measuring change, diversity and centrality in an evolving contemporary World Literary Canon according to Wikipedia and Wikidata metrics

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The culture of ranking and selection has a long tradition, increasingly shaped by quantification and digital interactions in contemporary contexts. This phenomenon manifests in various forms, such as bestseller lists and curated compilations of creative works across all time periods, serving as frameworks for cultural promotion and access. Within publishing, audiovisual content, and entertainment, inclusion in such rankings holds significant value. This study proposes methodologies for analyzing and comparing lists and rankings within specific domains, building upon the Wiki3DRank methodology developed for encyclopedic knowledge objects. When applied to literature, this approach offers insights into books as cultural artifacts that capture varying levels of attention.
Leveraging data from Wikipedia and Wikidata, the methodology synthesizes both informational and structured data about literary works. This approach is particularly relevant to exploring literary canons, a longstanding construct within institutional, educational, and cultural contexts. The study focuses on a subset of the canon linked to the creation of lists. While many lists lack in-depth literary critique, they provide schematic overviews of notable works, often organized by time periods, genres, or linguistic and national boundaries. All international editions of Peter Boxall’s work 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, published during the first quarter of the 21st century, are analyzed and measured, proposing metrics for comparison across editions and with other lists, including insights into the authors’ genres and the languages of the works.

Rethinking Book Industry Analysis: A Mesosystem Model for Strategic and Institutional Understanding

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Traditional analytical frameworks used to study the book industry—mainly linear, firm-centered,
and value-chain based—offer limited capacity to capture the relational, institutional dynamics that
characterize publishing ecosystems. To address this gap, this article introduces the Book Industry
Mesosystem Model (BIMM), a novel mesoeconomic and mesoanalytical framework that reconceptualizes
the book industry as a mesosystem embedded in economic, institutional, and territorial
structures. The model integrates five core concepts, six transversal dimensions, and twenty-five
agent typologies, providing an architecture for examining complexity beyond firm or market boundaries.
BIMM was developed through a 39-month multimethod design combining: 1) iterative conceptual
refinement with experts and industry professionals (n = 29), 2) semi-structured interviews with experts
and professionals (n = 43), and 3) application to two case studies focused on creation and production
processes. This hybrid research pathway ensured conceptual rigor, empirical grounding,
and transferability.
The resulting model provides a framework for examining coordination mechanisms, institutional
configurations, inter-agent dependencies, and transversal forces. Its empirical application reveals patterns of precarious work, concentration, technological dependency, and institutional mediation
that remain under-represented in traditional approaches. BIMM expands theoretical and methodological
horizons for research on cultural and creative industries, offering a foundation for comparative
analyses and mixed-method operationalization.

Visibility, Discoverability, Findability, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Academic SEO in Digital Repositories: A scoping review

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Visibility plays a critical role in enhancing the impact of scientific research, yet it is often interpreted in diverse and overlapping ways. Related concepts – such as discoverability, findability, search engine optimization (SEO), and academic search engine optimization (ASEO) – are frequently used interchangeably, despite having distinct meanings. This study aims to clarify how these terms are conceptualized in the context of digital repositories and to identify the techniques proposed to optimize them. A theoretical framework was first developed to define and differentiate these concepts based on their usage in the broader web environment. This was followed by a scoping review, conducted in accordance with the SALSA framework, of 67 scholarly articles that address the use of these terms within the domain of repositories. The review analyses how the concepts are understood and applied, and catalogues the optimization strategies discussed. The results reveal a lack of clear conceptual distinctions among the terms, which are often used synonymously. The review does however identify 22 distinct optimization techniques aimed at improving the visibility of content stored in digital repositories.

Teaching Media and Communication in the GenAI Era: an exploratory study

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Goals. This study investigates the perceptions that faculty members in Media and Communication develop toward the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in current teaching activities, focusing on its influence within the educational environment.
Methodology. We use an exploratory qualitative approach through the focus groups conducted in two universities (University of Bucharest and Université Lumière Lyon 2) which allow us to develop a comparative understanding of the topic. The field of Media and Communication is particularly relevant to study, as it already faces extensive GenAI integration in the respective professional fields.
Results. Both in France, and in Romania, professors in Media and Communication tend to be cautious about using GenAI and integrating it in their practices. Although they recognize AI as a potential tool for innovation (more on the Romanian side), its actual integration in pedagogical methods is still limited. On the French side, the rejection is stronger. Faculty members generally view GenAI use among students with criticism, associating it with plagiarism and a lack of critical thinking. Our research contributes to the reflection about the pedagogical challenges of teaching Media in Communication in the GenAI era, drawing from a Romania-France comparative study performed in two universities.

Good practices on open access publications of projects funded by Horizon 2020

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Elena Pastor-Ramon Biblioteca Virtual de Ciències de la Salut de les Illes Balears (Bibliosalut) elena.pastor@bibliosalut.com 0000-0003-2609-6541 Juan Antonio Casado Responsable de tecnología y data en AlterBiblio juanantonio@alterbiblio.com Alejandra Campos Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona alejandra.campos@uab.cat 0000-0002-3067-2647

Content curation in a university library: Case study of scientific dissemination in Geology and Ocean Sciences with TELLUS and NEREUS newsletters

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The article aims to analyze the content curation process and the impact of TELLUS and NEREUS newsletters on subscribers. These newsletters, focusing on geology and ocean sciences, disseminate curated news to keep readers informed about scientific developments. The study seeks to establish metrics for accurately measuring subscriber interest and satisfaction. A key challenge is the lack of specificity and standardized metrics for such specialized newsletters. This study employs the case study methodology to achieve the objectives. The evolution of the newsletters is analyzed based on data extracted from email marketing platforms. Additionally, participant observation is used to examine key aspects such as platforms used, the curation system, information sources, topics covered, and the developed metrics system. Findings reveal stable open and click-to-open rates over time, indicating that subscribers maintain consistent levels of interest regardless of the specific content. Additionally, subscribers are classified into 16 categories based on interaction habits, providing valuable insights into reader behavior. These classifications and metrics are essential for understanding the audience and measuring the newsletters’ impact and success. The study highlights the importance of continuous adaptation to new technologies, the value of specialized information for a diverse audience, the relevance of email as a communication channel, and the development of own metrics focused on user satisfaction. These contributions can be applied to other libraries and scientific dissemination newsletters.

A bibliometric analysis of the past 25 years at International Journal of Geographical Information Science

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The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and impact of the International Journal of Geographic Information Science (IJGIS) over the past 25 years. IJGIS, the first journal exclusively dedicated to Geographic Information Science (GIS), has significantly expanded its publication output to meet the growing demand for GIS research. Utilizing conceptual science mapping analysis, the study traces the thematic evolution of the journal by collecting scientific papers from the Web of Science database from 1997 to 2021. Bibliometric performance indicators were employed to highlight its influence and thematic development. The primary themes covered include error modeling, digital elevation models, simulation, conservation, and land-use change. Moreover, IJGIS has broadened its scope to include emerging topics such as volunteered geographic information, the integration of big data techniques, and artificial intelligence. Geographically, contributions are predominantly from the USA, followed by China and the UK, underscoring the journal’s international recognition and impact. Compare global averages, IJGIS consistently maintains a high normalized impact within its thematic area. In conclusion, IJGIS has undergone significant evolution, adapting to GIS field changes, and expanding its global influence with prospects for further diversification and technological integration. 

Identification of Positioning Factors in Academic SEO (ASEO) through a Scoping Review

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Academic SEO (ASEO) refers to a set of practices aimed at improving the visibility and impact of an author’s or institution’s academic output. Authors, publishers, and librarians all play important roles within the framework of their expertise in optimizing academic content. The main objective of this work is to identify the ranking factors that impact the algorithms of search engines and academic literature databases, as well as to uncover other factors or strategies that, while not having a direct impact, can be useful for increasing the visibility of an author’s academic production. A scoping review was conducted following the SALSA framework, which identified a total of 23 publications. From these, the factors under study were identified and synthesized. 40 factors were identified, described, and grouped by type (direct / indirect), time (pre-publication / post-publication), and according to the actor(s) involved (author, publisher or librarian). Finally, a series of recommendations are also provided for each of the actors involved.