Unveiling the multiple faces of mobility: Towards a taxonomy of scientific mobility types based on bibliometric data

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the phenomenon of scientific mobility by using bibliometric data. The main goal is to discuss problems derived from mobility indicators based on this type of data. First, we note how mobility instances are dependent on production levels and hence indicators based on these data should control by publications rather than overstate productivity differences between researchers. Second, we indicate that indicators based on a brain drain/gain frameworks do not reflect the complexity of the mobility phenomenon, omitting many cases where researchers are mobile without disconnecting from their country of origin. A taxonomy of mobility types is proposed in which we distinguish between ‘travelers’ and ‘migrants’. We believe that these mobility types provide better insights of the complexity of mobility while at the same time providing technical grounds to develop mobility indicators for science policy makers. Further research will focus on the refinement and expansion of the proposed taxonomy.