Productivity and impact of Spanish researchers: reference thresholds within scientific areas

Reference thresholds for the scientific production and impact of internationally visible Spanish research within the areas defined by the Spanish National Agency for Evaluation and Prospective (ANEP) are presented. These percentile reference tables are constructed from the population of researchers who applied for a project within the 2007 National R & D Plan (n = 3.356) and are to be used as benchmarks, permitting comparisons between researchers' bibliometric behavior and mean performance in their respective scientific disciplines. Data relating to mean production, impact and visibility for each ANEP area is also presented. The internationalization process of these areas between 2000 and 2006 is discussed, with special emphasis on the Social Sciences. Finally, we recommend these reference thresholds be used by funding agencies and research institutions as instruments of evaluation in their selection processes.