{"id":153646,"date":"2023-08-15T07:43:16","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T05:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/citationer-det-er-sket-med-det-danske-mirakel\/"},"modified":"2023-08-15T11:39:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T09:39:25","slug":"citations-so-much-for-the-danish-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/citations-so-much-for-the-danish-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"Citations: \u00bbThe Danish miracle\u00ab is over"},"content":{"rendered":"

It came as a surprise to most people in Danish academia when a Swedish report back in 2012<\/a> proclaimed that Denmark was among the top nations in terms of global research influence.<\/p>\n

In the period from 1990 to 2010, the total Danish citation impact \u2013 a metric of the number of citations per research article \u2013 had risen to an exceptional level compared to the 39 other countries included in the study.<\/p>\n

In fact the trend was so exceptional that the two researchers behind the study dubbed it \u00bbthe Danish miracle\u00ab.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Nordic praise for ‘Danish miracle’ in research impact<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

It did not take long, however, for the Danish citation impact to drop. Danish researchers found in 2014 that the upward trend had stagnated. And as no-one knew how the miracle had come about, it was not clear what was needed to keep it that way.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIn Sweden they were distressed about the fact that there could be such a big difference between Sweden and Denmark,\u00ab the former Prorector for Research at UCPH (2010-18) Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm remembers.<\/p>\n

\u00bbBut in Denmark, we did not not really take it that seriously. We definitely thought it was great fun, but there was no attempt to try and understand the underlying causes,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n

It came as a real surprise to us back in 2012, but in reality it did not leave as big an impression as it should have.<\/p>\n

Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This might help to explain why the heady days came to an end \u2013 because they certainly did. At least according to a new, follow-up, report<\/a> that identifies citation impact trends over the past ten years. Using the same method as the original study, the researchers behind the new study have found a continuous decline in citation impact for Danish research from 2010 to 2020.<\/p>\n

And the downturn may well be connected to the fact that they never made any proper effort to understand the underlying mechanisms while things were going well, according to Bj\u00f8rnholm. He is now research director at the Villum Foundation, which has helped finance the new study.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt came as a real surprise to us back in 2012, but in reality it did not leave as big an impression as it should have.<\/p>\n

Needs a full picture<\/h3>\n

There are good things in the report \u2013 a significant increase in the volume of Danish publications for example. But the declining citation impact gives rise to concern among the report\u2019s authors.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe have not been that good at talking about how things are going now, and what it takes for it to go well in the future,\u00ab says one of the authors, senior researcher at Aarhus University Maria-Theresa Norn.<\/p>\n

The declining citation numbers should lead to a more in-depth study of how impactful Danish research actually is internationally.<\/p>\n

\u00bbMany of the studies in the field try to answer one specific question. So they tend to suffer from tunnel vision,\u00ab she says, and calls for a thorough review to try and find out the underlying complicated causes and mechanisms.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO: <\/strong>Danish numbers illustrate how scientists cite each other<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bbI’m not certain that the system that we have leads to enough variation in research. Whether it gives enough space to develop talent and to undertake the kind of risky research that in the longer term also leads to new breakthroughs and new research areas,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n

\u00bbBut that’s exactly what we need to find out.\u00ab<\/p>\n

We have not been that good at talking about how things are going now, and what it takes for it to go well in the future.<\/p>\n

Maria-Theresa Norn<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maria-Theresa Norn points to the research commission which was set up in 2000 and that published its report in 2001<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt delivered a thorough analysis of the Danish research system. And on this basis they made recommendations to politicians and the ministries on how to support Danish research in the coming years. This, as many people have pointed out, helped to lay the foundations for a broad political agreement on the research field in the years that followed.\u00ab<\/p>\n

As Norn’s report shows, however, a lot has changed since 2001. But a similar analysis has not been carried out since then.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt is clearly something along these lines that we are looking for,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n

Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm agrees.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThe analysis would be a great opportunity for universities, foundations, and the government to sit down together and talk about the fact that we have delivered an increase in Danish research in terms of volume, which is fantastic \u2014 but how do we increase the impact<\/em> of research? That is the question,\u00ab he says.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danish research used to be among the world’s most influential in terms of citation numbers. This is no longer the case. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":153471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6428],"class_list":["post-153646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-impact-en","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nCitations: \u00bbThe Danish miracle\u00ab is over \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Danish research used to be among the world's most influential in terms of citation numbers. 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number of citations per article is a commonly-used metric in research \u2013 also known as the citation impact."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Downturn","text":"Danish research used to be among the world's most influential in terms of citation numbers. This is no longer the case. ","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>It came as a surprise to most people in Danish academia when a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forskasverige.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fostering-Breakthrough-Research.pdf\">Swedish report back in 2012<\/a> proclaimed that Denmark was among the top nations in terms of global research influence.<\/p>\n<p>In the period from 1990 to 2010, the total Danish citation impact \u2013 a metric of the number of citations per research article \u2013 had risen to an exceptional level compared to the 39 other countries included in the study.<\/p>\n<p>In fact the trend was so exceptional that the two researchers behind the study dubbed it \u00bbthe Danish miracle\u00ab.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/nordic-praise-for-danish-miracle-in-research-impact\/\">Nordic praise for ‘Danish miracle’ in research impact<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>It did not take long, however, for the Danish citation impact to drop. Danish researchers found in 2014 that the upward trend had stagnated. And as no-one knew how the miracle had come about, it was not clear what was needed to keep it that way.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn Sweden they were distressed about the fact that there could be such a big difference between Sweden and Denmark,\u00ab the former Prorector for Research at UCPH (2010-18) Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm remembers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut in Denmark, we did not not really take it that seriously. We definitely thought it was great fun, but there was no attempt to try and understand the underlying causes,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It came as a real surprise to us back in 2012, but in reality it did not leave as big an impression as it should have.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm<\/p>\n<p> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This might help to explain why the heady days came to an end \u2013 because they certainly did. At least according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/cfa-research.au.dk\/publications\/2023\/3\/1\/\">new, follow-up, report<\/a> that identifies citation impact trends over the past ten years. Using the same method as the original study, the researchers behind the new study have found a continuous decline in citation impact for Danish research from 2010 to 2020.<\/p>\n<p>And the downturn may well be connected to the fact that they never made any proper effort to understand the underlying mechanisms while things were going well, according to Bj\u00f8rnholm. He is now research director at the Villum Foundation, which has helped finance the new study.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt came as a real surprise to us back in 2012, but in reality it did not leave as big an impression as it should have.<\/p>\n<h3>Needs a full picture<\/h3>\n<p>There are good things in the report \u2013 a significant increase in the volume of Danish publications for example. But the declining citation impact gives rise to concern among the report\u2019s authors.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe have not been that good at talking about how things are going now, and what it takes for it to go well in the future,\u00ab says one of the authors, senior researcher at Aarhus University Maria-Theresa Norn.<\/p>\n<p>The declining citation numbers should lead to a more in-depth study of how impactful Danish research actually is internationally.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbMany of the studies in the field try to answer one specific question. So they tend to suffer from tunnel vision,\u00ab she says, and calls for a thorough review to try and find out the underlying complicated causes and mechanisms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO: <\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/danish-numbers-reveal-how-scientists-get-cited-by-other-scientists\/\">Danish numbers illustrate how scientists cite each other<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI’m not certain that the system that we have leads to enough variation in research. Whether it gives enough space to develop talent and to undertake the kind of risky research that in the longer term also leads to new breakthroughs and new research areas,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut that’s exactly what we need to find out.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We have not been that good at talking about how things are going now, and what it takes for it to go well in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Maria-Theresa Norn<\/p>\n<p> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Maria-Theresa Norn points to the research commission which was set up in 2000 and that published<a href=\"https:\/\/ufm.dk\/publikationer\/2001\/forskningskommissionens-betaenkning-bind-1\"> its report in 2001<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt delivered a thorough analysis of the Danish research system. And on this basis they made recommendations to politicians and the ministries on how to support Danish research in the coming years. This, as many people have pointed out, helped to lay the foundations for a broad political agreement on the research field in the years that followed.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>As Norn’s report shows, however, a lot has changed since 2001. But a similar analysis has not been carried out since then.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is clearly something along these lines that we are looking for,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Bj\u00f8rnholm agrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe analysis would be a great opportunity for universities, foundations, and the government to sit down together and talk about the fact that we have delivered an increase in Danish research in terms of volume, which is fantastic \u2014 but how do we increase the <em>impact<\/em> of research? That is the question,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with our top stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":832,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":6428,"name":"impact","slug":"impact-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6428,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":674,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/istock1132751611.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153646"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153714,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153646\/revisions\/153714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}