Measurement and Statistics on Science and Technology: 1920 to the Present

ISBN-13: 9780415649995 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 384 str.

Benoit Godin

Opis

How do we objectively measure scientific activities? What proportion of economic activities should a society devote to research and development? How can public-sector and private-sector research best be directed to achieve social goals? Governments and researchers from industrial countries have been measuring science and technology for more than eighty years. This text provides a comprehensive account of the attempts to measure science and technology activities in Western countries and the successes and shortcomings of statistical systems.

Spis treści

Introduction.  Part One: Constructing Science and Technology Statistics.  Section One: The Number Makers  1. Seventy Years of Science and Technology Statistics  2. Taking Demand Seriously: Nesti and the Role of National Statisticians  Section Two: Defining Science and Technology  3. Is Research Always Systematic  4. Neglected Scientific Activities: The (Non) Measurement of Related Scientific Activities  5. What's So Difficult About International Statistics? Unesco and the Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities  Section Three: Imagining New Measurements  6. The Emergence of Science and Technology Indicators: Why did Governments Supplement Statistics with the Indicators  7. Measuring Output: When Economics Drives Science and Technology Measurement  8. The Rise of Innovation Surveys: Measuring a Fuzzy Concept  Section Four: Dealing with Methodological Problems  9. Metadata: How Footnotes make for Doubtful Numbers Science and Technology Statistical Classifications  10. Tradition and Innovation: The Historical Contingency of Science and Technology Statistical Classifications  Part Two: Using Science and Technology Statistics  11. The Most Cherished Indictor: Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D (Gerd)  12. Technological Gaps: Between Quantitative Evidence and Qualitative Arguments  13. Highly Qualified Personnel: Should we Really Believe in Shortages?  14. Is There Basic Research Without Statistics?  15. Are Statistics Really Useful? Myths and Politics of Science and Technology Indicators

O autorze

Benoît Godin is a professor at INRS in Montreal, Canada. He holds a Dphil in science policy from Sussex (UK) University and has written extensively on science policy, research evaluation and science indicators.