Informetrics: New Challenges in a New International Research Context

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue addresses the new issues and challenges that have appeared in the field of informetrics over the last few years. On the one hand, new databases and sources have emerged, while on the other, the open access movement is expanding along with open source, data sharing and Open Citations. New techniques and methodologies from data science have been introduced allowing the analysis of big data sets. These developments have led to a global ecosystem in which the capacity to generate indicators and quantify scientific activity and performance offer more opportunities than ever. At the same time, science policy makers are demanding new types of indicators to respond to societal demands at the local level while reconciling with global challenges and ensuring research integrity. Finally, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are living in a new international research context, which has introduced new challenges in the international science system in a broad sense. Therefore, informetrics is currently at a methodological crossroads, and the solutions proposed should be contextualized within the framework of the theory, models and laws of information. Considering this multi-faceted scenario, we welcome contributions on, but not limited to, the following topics and sub-topics:

Entropy and Informetrics

- Laws and the theory basis of informetrics;

- Information flow models;

- Entropy-based bibliometric indicators.

Altmetrics and Social Media

- Altmetrics in the context of information theory;

- Information sources and validation studies;

- Practical applications.

Indicators of Science and Technology

- Application of methodological frameworks in different policy contexts;

- Integration of responsible metrics in institutional settings;

- Career trajectories/paths and gender indicators.

Science and Social Interest

- Open access, open data and open science;

- Participatory science, action research and social interactions;

- Social outreach and social engagement.

COVID-19 and Informetrics

- Effect of COVID-19 in the science system;

- Singularities of COVID-19 literature from an informetric perspective.

Dr. Daniel Torres-Salinas
Prof. Dr. Enrique Herrera-Viedma
Dr. Nicolás Robinson-García
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• information theory
• entropy
• informetrics
• research policies
• social media
• indicators of science and technology
• responsible metrics
• gender indicators
• open access
• open science
• social engagement
• COVID-19 and informetrics