Field normalization of scientometric indicators

Abstract

When scientometric indicators are used to compare research units active in different scientific fields, there is often a need to make corrections for differences between fields, for instance, differences in publication, collaboration, and citation practices. Field-normalized indicators aim to make such corrections. The design of these indicators is a significant challenge. We discuss the main issues in the design of field-normalized indicators and present an overview of the different approaches that have been developed for dealing with the problem of field normalization. We also discuss how field-normalized indicators can be evaluated and consider the sensitivity of scientometric analyses to the choice of a field-normalization approach.