Bibliometric Evaluation of the Changing Finnish Astronomy

This is a follow-up on the bibliometric evaluation of Finnish astronomy presented by the author at the LISA V conference in 2006. The data from the previous study are revisited to determine how a wider institutional base and mergers affect comparisons between research units. Bibliometrics can be an useful tool for evaluating research done in separate institutes working in the same field. The author has previously compared four Finnish institutes in the field of astronomy for the period 1995-2004 (Isaksson 2007). Comparisons based on bibliometrics are, however, affected by many change factors. The bibliometric data itself can change – e.g. affiliation data that was sometimes sketchy or missing in the early 1990s is now more likely to be included in research papers, as the administrative importance of evaluation and institutional comparisons is increasing.