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on Sociology of Economics |
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Issue of 2008‒01‒05
four papers chosen by Jonas Holmström Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration |
| By: | Silvia Ferrini |
| Abstract: | The impact factor is one of the most famous instrument used in the scientific field in establishing individual promotion, assumption, journal acquisition and, in some University, even to allocate research funds. This index, invented and promoted by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), born as a bibliometric index able to guide editors’ decision. Subsequently, it has been used in different evaluation activities and in this paper we analyse its use in the research evaluation process. We review different bibliometric indexes and we point out the main lights and shadows of the impact factor. Reviewing the existing literature, we analyse the strategies available to improve the impact factor and we discover that few studies have been done in the economic disciplines. We conclude emphasizing the importance to improve synthetic indexes used to evaluate scientific progress and individual productivity. |
| Keywords: | impact factor, bibliometric indexes, research evaluation. |
| JEL: | A11 A12 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:depfid:002&r=sog |
| By: | Ana Oliveira-Brochado (EDGE – Faculdade de Economia do Porto, CESUR, DECIVIL-IST, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa); Rui Cunha Marques (CESUR, DECIVIL-IST – Universidade Técnica de Lisboa) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this work is to examine the performance of five alternative measures of service quality in the high education sector – SERVQUAL (Service Quality), Importance-weighted SERVQUAL, SERVPERF (Service Performance), Importance-weighted SERVPERF and HedPERF (Higher Education Performance). We aim at determining which instrument has the superior measurement capability. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire containing perception items enhanced from the SERVPERF and HEdPERF scales and expectation items from the SERVQUAL scale, both modified to fit into the higher education sector. The first draft of the questionnaire was subject to a pilot testing through a focus group and an expert evaluation. Data were gathered from a 360 students’ sample of a Portuguese university in Lisbon. Scales were compared in terms of unidimensionality, reliability, validity and explained variance. Managerial conclusions were also drawn. |
| Keywords: | service quality scales; higher education; reliability |
| JEL: | C10 C42 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:258&r=sog |
| By: | Jönsson, Sten (Gothenburg Research Institute); Rovio-Johansson, Airi (Gothenburg Research Institute) |
| Abstract: | No abstract. |
| Keywords: | vetenskaplig kreativitet; grupp-processer; innovation; kommunikation; lärande i professionella grupper; ledningsstrategier |
| Date: | 2007–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:gungri:2007_003&r=sog |
| By: | Bondonio, Daniele |
| Abstract: | L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è stimare l'impatto netto della riforma dei cicli e degli ordinamenti didattici universitari ( D.M. 509/99) su tre importanti fattori misurabili attraverso i micro-dati dell'Indagine sull'Istruzione Universitaria dell'Ufficio di statistica del MIUR: il volume delle immatricolazioni, la percentuale di studenti immatricolati che negli anni successivi permangono come iscritti nelle medesime sedi di facoltà e la percentuale di studenti che si laureano in corso. I modelli di analisi sviluppati nel lavoro mirano a separare la parte dei cambiamenti occorsi tra il periodo pre- e post-riforma imputabili all'impatto netto della riforma stessa rispetto ai cambiamenti che si sarebbero comunque prodotti anche in assenza di quest'ultima, per effetto di altri fattori ad essa non ascrivibili. I risultati delle analisi sono robusti rispetto ad una ampia gamma di diverse forme funzionali dei modelli di stima e permettono di quantificare con buona precisione statistica gli effetti della riforma al netto delle principali variazioni prodotte da altri concomitanti fattori di cambiamento. (English Abstract: This paper is aimed at evaluating the net impact of the recent "3+2" (D.M. 509/1999) Italian University reform which shortened to three academic years the length of most of the undergraduate "Laurea" programs and introduced two-year graduate "Laurea" programs open to students holding an undergraduate "Laurea" degree. The evaluation analysis develop in the paper focus on the following outcomes, measured using data from the "Indagine sull'Istruzione Universitaria" by the "Ufficio di statistica" of MIUR: number of student enrolled in the first year of an undergraduate "Laurea" University program; percent of students enrolled in the first year of a "Laurea" program that are still enrolled in the same college in the subsequent academic years; percent of students that earn a "Laurea" degree within the standard number of academic years indicated by the program curriculum. Impact estimates are retrieved using data covering the academic years from 1998/99 to 2003/04, aggregated at the college level. Under plausible impact identification assumptions, results highlight the effects of the reform net of the outcome variations due to factors independent from the reform. A large sensitivity analysis indicates that the significance and magnitude of the impact estimates are robust across a variety of different specifications of the model.) |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uca:ucapdv:96&r=sog |