Elsevier and University of Surrey Sign Access Agreement to SciVal Strata

AMSTERDAM, November 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

University library introduces and promotes bibliometrics to help improve the university's research impact

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, and the University of Surrey, U.K., have signed a three-year agreement for access to Elsevier's research performance benchmarking tool SciVal Strata.

The University of Surrey is one of the few universities in the United Kingdom with a dedicated bibliometrician as part of its library staff.  As a result, the role of the library is taking on a new, innovative dimension by driving the use of bibliometrics to help improve the institution's overall research impact.

SciVal Strata, part of the SciVal suite, is a flexible benchmarking tool enabling analyses of internal and external team and researcher performance which includes, among others, productivity, citation history, and collaboration activity. Access to SciVal Strata enables the university's research faculty to benchmark their current performance and illustrate their impact, in comparison to other institutions, which can in part, be used to determine future research strategies.  

"Our experiences with SciVal Strata have been very positive," states Kate Price, Head of E-Strategy and Resources of the University of Surrey Library. "On one hand it has enough depth and flexibility to assess our current performance, but on the other hand the interface is simple enough to use as an introduction to bibliometrics and impact measurement for faculty and research staff. We have found that the impartiality of the Library has greatly helped raise the positive perception of bibliometrics within the institution."

"The role of the librarian in spearheading the effort to introduce bibliometrics to improve their research impact is significant," said Niels Weertman, Vice President, SciVal at Elsevier. "The deployment of SciVal Strata demonstrates yet another critical expert advisory role played by the university's library to drive improvements in their internal processes that, ultimately, will help them maintain their leadership in cutting-edge science."

Recent enhancements to SciVal Strata developed in collaboration with Elsevier's online community of research administrators, have helped align the tool with the requirements set by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and other guidelines. The Research Excellence Framework in the UK uses Scopus as the data source for the bibliometric indicators, the same data source that powers SciVal Strata.

About the University of Surrey

The University of Surrey is one of the UK's leading professional, scientific and technological universities with a world class research profile and a reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Ground-breaking research at the University is bringing direct benefit to all spheres of life - helping the industry to maintain its competitive edge and creating improvements in the areas of health, medicine, space science, the environment, communications, defence and social policy. Programmes in science and technology have gained widespread recognition and it also boasts flourishing programmes in dance and music, social sciences, management and languages and law. In addition to the campus on 150 hectares just outside Guildford, Surrey, the University also owns and runs the Surrey Research Park, which provides facilities for 140 companies employing 2,700 staff.

About the Elsevier SciVal Suite

Elsevier's SciVal® suite of services supports academic and government leadership in evaluating, establishing and executing research strategies that optimize the performance of existing assets and maximize investments to enhance near and long-term productivity. SciVal tools leverage Scopus® data, Elsevier's trusted source of bibliometric data, to offer innovative yet authoritative solutions. Current suite offerings include: SciVal Spotlight, a strategic tool that generates unique institutional and country maps of existing and emerging research strengths based on an interdisciplinary perspective of current performance; SciVal Funding, an online solution that provides targeted recommendations on grants to pursue based on pre-populated research profiles and historical awards; SciVal Strata, a web-based research performance tool that offers users the flexibility to construct relevant contextual data to evaluate research teams or individual researchers, using a range of indicators based on Scopus data; SciVal Experts, a semantic technology-based application that enables researchers to identify and locate sources of expertise at an individual or departmental level within and across institutions.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Iris Kisjes
Elsevier
+31-20-485-3072
i.kisjes@elsevier.com