Databases in the evaluation of scientific production in Latin America. Exploring OpenAlex’s potential for Argentine universities

Authors

  • Osvaldo Gallardo CONICET, Centro de Estudios de la Circulación del Conocimiento–Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina
  • Manuel Bruccoleri Ochoa Centro de Estudios de la Circulación del Conocimiento–Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7708-7943

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15381/dds.n13.27890

Keywords:

Argentina, OpenAlex, Scopus, evaluation, university rankings

Abstract

This article examines the coverage of OpenAlex and Scopus for scientific publications by Argentine authors, both nationwide and for a selection of 10 national universities, over the period 2019-2023. The objective is to compare the performance of both databases in terms of the overall volume of indexed publications, languages, and disciplinary areas. The results show that OpenAlex has a broader and more diverse coverage, in particular for publications in Spanish, in social sciences and humanities, and authored by a single individual. Additionally, it is observed that OpenAlex's coverage is especially relevant for smaller universities and articles with national collaborations or single authorship, which are often underrepresented in traditional bibliometric databases. These findings hold special significance amidst current challenges to science produced in Argentina made by the federal government elected in 2023 and the restriction of access to Scopus as a source for scientific research.

Author Biographies

  • Osvaldo Gallardo, CONICET, Centro de Estudios de la Circulación del Conocimiento–Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina

    Doctor en Estudios Sociales de América Latina (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba) y licenciado en Historia (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo). Investigador de tiempo completo del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, y profesor en la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina. Integrante del Centro de Estudios de Circulación del Conocimiento. Se especializa en estudios de trayectorias académicas y economía política de la ciencia.

  • Manuel Bruccoleri Ochoa, Centro de Estudios de la Circulación del Conocimiento–Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina

    Estudiante avanzado de Sociología (en proceso de elaboración de tesina) de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Trabajando actualmente como asistente de investigación, en el marco de una pasantía dentro de Centro de Estudios de Circulación del Conocimiento. Formación en procesamiento de datos, principalmente de pertinencia académica.

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Published

2024-07-24

Issue

No. 13 (2024)

Section

Dossier

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Osvaldo Gallardo, Manuel Bruccoleri Ochoa

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

THE AUTHORS RETAIN THEIR RIGHTS:

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(b) The authors retain the right to share, copy, distribute, execute and publicly communicate the article published in Discursos Del Sur (in example, depositing the article in an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with recognition of its initial publication in the Discursos Del Sur.
(c) The authors retain the right to make a later publication of their work, to use the article or any part of it (for example: a compilation of their works, notes for conferences, thesis, or for a book), provided that they indicate the source of publication (authors of the work, magazine, volume, number and date).

How to Cite

Gallardo, O., & Bruccoleri Ochoa, M. (2024). Databases in the evaluation of scientific production in Latin America. Exploring OpenAlex’s potential for Argentine universities. Discursos Del Sur, Revista De teoría crítica En Ciencias Sociales, 1(13), 63-85. https://doi.org/10.15381/dds.n13.27890