Abstract
This study presents a description of an open database on scientific output of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities, one that corrects for the shortcomings in current research publication databases such as data duplication, slow update, and a substantial cost of doing science. Here, using scientists’ self-reports, open online sources and cross-checking with Scopus database, we introduce a manual system and its semi-automated version of the database on the profiles of 657 Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities who have published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2008 to 2018. The final system also records 973 foreign co-authors, 1,289 papers, and 789 affiliations. The data collection method, highly applicable for other sources, could be replicated in other developing countries while its content be used in cross-section, multivariate, and network data analyses. The open database is expected to help Vietnam revamp its research capacity and meet the public demand for greater transparency in science management.
Highlights
Background & SummaryBuilding a sustainable scholar community is crucial to the sustainable development of a country[1,2]
An open dataset on the productivity of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities (SS&H) as well as their foreign colleagues can be very useful as the government and the public increasingly call for transparency of research funds and promotions of professors in the higher education system
Nguyen & Pham found that in the 1991–2010 period, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries published over 165,000 articles in journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database, of which Vietnam contributed only 6% and ranked fourth in the region[5]
Summary
Building a sustainable scholar community is crucial to the sustainable development of a country[1,2]. Given the fierce competition for research funding and the demand for transparency in science management, annual subscription to this kind of database poses a considerable cost for researchers, especially those in transition economies like Vietnam[10]. Against this background is Vietnam’s determination to improve research capacity. This study presents two systems, manual and semi-automatic, to collect and verify such information for the 2008–2018 period Both methods start with collecting scientific profiles provided by researchers and published on websites of public institutions, followed by cross validation with free online resources such as journals’ websites, Google Scholar, Scimagojr, Scopus’s open data, etc. As the problems posed by the Scopus original database are common in other scientific publications databases such as WoS, MathSciNet, and Pubmed, among others, our manual and semi-automatic systems will be highly applicable elsewhere
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
