The topics we examine & methodology

: 12 June 2017

The topics we examine & methodology

The Israeli Political Science Index (IPSIX) is based on date retrieved from SCOPUS as well as an original collection by the IPSIX team and other pre-verified self reports.

IPSIX focuses on the personal and the institutional levels:

The personal level of Scholars perfomance.
The institutional level of Academic units (Departments/Divisions/Schools)

IPSIX tracks excellence in three major arenas:

Academic excellence (publications. citations, H index, grants, etc.)
Graduate Students excellence (publications, prizes, participation in conferences, special projects)
Impact on teh community, the society and the media (Contribution to the community, awards granted for exceptional activities at the community, state, and/or international fields).

What data do we exactly collect, and how do we do it?

Topic / Level	Personal Scholars	Institutions/ Units	Source	Notes
Academic Excellence
Journals, books and chapters publications			Scopus (current) + SSCI (planed) + self-reports*
Journals, books and chapters citations			Scopus (current) + SSCI (planed)
Research grants			IPSIX team collection** + self-reports	Overall grants for specific academic units are the sum of grants by the members of a specific academic units, adjusted to their proportionate position in the specific unit.
Major awards			IPSIX team collection + self-reports
Major positions			IPSIX team collection + self-reports	On the departments level, the positions counted are the ones held by the department's scholars
Students excellence
Students' Journal publications and citations	on phase 2	on phase 2	Self-reports	On the scholars level, the students counted are the graduate students promoted by him/her
Students Awards	on phase 2	on phase 2	IPSIX team collection + self-reports	On the scholars level, the students counted are the graduate students promoted by the respective scholar
Students' participation in conferences	on phase 2	on phase 2	Self-reports	On the scholars level, the students counted are the graduate students promoted by the respective scholar
Other exceptional activities of students		on phase 2	Self-reports
Community, society and media
Additional exceptional achievements	on phase 2 on phase 2		IPSIX team collection +self-reports

* All data is currently retrieved from SCOPUS. We plan to integrate data from SSCI in the future.

**All academic units and scholars are encouraged by the IPSIX team to render their report as to their major achievements (especially at the end of each academic year). All self-reports are monitored and discussed by the IPSIX board and decisions whether to include them or not are made based on formal standards and criteria (available to the public on (available HERE).

*** IPSIX team collects the relevant data annually based on available CVs, official websites, and pertinent publications (e.g. major grants).

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Further information about the data we collect and plan to collect in the future:

Academic excellence:

1.Scientific publications and corresponding citations: scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals and citations in scientific articles and books as appears on SCOPUS.

2.Academic publishing of books and/or chapters: Publications as appears on SCOPUS as well as self-reported by scholars.

3.Research grants: Research funds gained by scholars and academic units, taking into consideration the number of active scholars in each school/department. Internal grants rendered by the scholars’ respective institutions are excluded.

4.Major awards: Awards awarded to individual scholars at the institutional, national, and/or international levels.

5.Major positions: Important positions held by scholars in the past five years, in the following categories:

A. Editorial positions – serving on editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals and/or scientific boards of publishing houses.

B. Prominent (or outstanding) positions in international associations included on the IPSIX list (TO BE DECIDED BY THE BOARD).

C. Major consulting/advisory positions/reports commissioned by governments and/or government bodies both in Israel and abroad.

D. Major internal positions (e.g., dean, head of school, vice-president, rector, and president).

Students' excellence:

1.Scientific publications and corresponding citations: Scientific articles authored or co-authored by active graduate students and published in peer reviewed journals, as well as citations in scientific articles and books as appears on SCOPUS.

2.Award-winning students: awards won by active students on one of three levels – institutional level (only awards open to the entire student body attending the institution and not limited to a specific field or faculty), national level (including inter-disciplinary awards), and international level. Scholars are acknowledged in this category as well in case they are the promoters of the students mentioned.

3.Students' participation in conferences: active speaking participation (not mere attendance) by students on international academic conferences (including students-oriented conferences). Scholars are acknowledged in this category as well in case they are the promoters of the students mentioned.

4.Other exceptional activities of students: exceptional student-led activities carried out within the academic unit (e.g., students' societies, journals, and magazines).

Community, society and media:

Additional exceptional achivements: Other non-academic well-deserved achievements (e.g. publication of non-scientific articles and books, appearances and/or interviews in the popular media, and community projects for the sake of the society at large.