Level 1 & Level 2 publications – Norwegian Scientific Index
The Norwegian Scientific Index (Norwegian: Norsk vitenskapsindeks, NVI) is a Norwegian bibliographic database, aimed at covering all academic publication channels worldwide. It is operated by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services (Norwegian: Norsk Samfunnsvitenskapelig Datatjeneste, NSD) on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Research (Norwegian: Kunnskapsdepartementet, KD), and is a part of CRISTIN (Current Research Information System in Norway).
The index divides journals and publishers considered to meet scientific quality criteria into “Level 1” and “Level 2,” where “Level 2” is superior than “Level 1” and it is reserved for the internationally most prestigious journals and publishers. Some “Level 2” examples for publishers: Proceedings of the IEEE, Harvard University Press, Columbia Law Review, and some examples for journals: Science, Nature. “Level 2” status may only be given to 20% at most of all publication channels in a given discipline.
Each “Level 2” publication should first pass from “Level 1” and be suggested to get promoted. “Level 1” status is given to journals, series and publishers (after a user/researcher-submitted suggestion) considered to meet basic scientific criteria. Those criteria are:
– for journals and series
- Have a valid ISSN.
- Have a scientific editorial board consisting primarily of scientists employed by research institutions/entities that perform research.
- Have peer-review processes in place.
- Have a national or international authorship, i.e. a maximum of 2/3 of the authors may belong to the same institution.
– for publishers
- Be an editorial channel that publishes publications that comply with the definition of scientific publications.
- Have an academic publishing program with an external peer-review process.
- Have a national or international authorship, i.e. a maximum of 2/3 of the authors may belong to the same institution.
You can look for the “Level 1” or “Level 2” publications at the NSD website.
Funding of research institutions in Norway is partially tied to the Norwegian Scientific Index, and only recognised “Level 1” or “Level 2” publications generate funding, with publications in “Level 2” journals/publishers leading to significantly increased funding compared to “Level 1”. The Norwegian Scientific Index gives out publication points according to the Level of the publication and then the publication points are translated to funding.
The publication points are given according to the category of the publishing channel:
| Category | Level 1 | Level 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Academic publication with ISSN | 1 | 3 |
| Academic publication with ISBN, without ISSN | 0.7 | 1 |
| Monograph | 5 | 8 |
The number of publication points is divided by the number of authors (authors from non-Norwegian affiliations included). Example: A “Level 1” journal article with 3 authors: one from MIT, one from Harvard, and one from Gjøvik University College will give the GUC author 1/3=0.33 publication points.
1 publication point earns the author’s institution about NOK 33,000 today according to this source. Naturally, the funding is divided according to the points. Therefore, in the example above, the GUC author would ensure a NOK 11,000 funding about his/her institution.
For the author to get the publication points (and the funding for the institution) should register the publication (himself/herself or the institution’s librarian) to the CRISTIN system.
The Norwegian Scientific Index – at this time – includes appr. 21,000 “Level 1” and appr. 2000 “Level 2” academic journals and series, as well as appr. 1500 “Level 1” and appr. 100 “Level 2” publishers. Any researcher from a Norwegian (and possibly from a non-Norwegian, I’m not sure about that) academic institution can suggest publishing channels for “Level 1” or “Level 2” nominations. The “Level 1” nomination is pretty straight-forward through a web form on the NSD website. The “Level 1” -> “Level 2” promotion is more complicated and I will get back to that with a guide, in the near future.
PS. A personal comment: it would be beneficial for research purposes that the Open Access publishing channels have some priority over the other channels, for the “Level 1” -> “Level 2” promotion process.
Sources:
Gjøvik University College
University of Oslo
NSD
CRISTIN
The Idiosyncratic Reader blog
Norwegian Scientific Index on Wikipedia