CRIStin (Current Research Information System in Norway) is the national research information system of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, and is owned by the
Royal Ministry of Education and Research. CRIStin documents all scholarly publications by Norwegian researchers, and complements the
BIBSYS
BIBSYS is an administrative agency set up and organized by the Ministry of Education and Research (Norway), Ministry of Education and Research in Norway. They provide the exchange, storage and retrieval of data pertaining to research, teaching a ...
database, which focuses on storage and retrieval of data pertaining to research, teaching and learning – historically metadata related to library resources. CRIStin is the first database of its kind worldwide.
The CRIStin system includes the Norwegian Scientific Index, a comprehensive government-owned bibliographic database aimed at covering and rating all serious academic publication channels worldwide, including
academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
s and
publishers
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
. Publication channels may be nominated by Norwegian academics, and the database does not accept self-nominations by publishers. The index includes
journal
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...
-level ratings and
book publisher
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
-level ratings. Publishers and journals may be assigned the rating 1 (standard rating for publication channels that meet basic academic quality criteria), 2 (rating for internationally leading publication channels), 0 (non-academic) or X (possibly
predatory
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
publication channels).
The database was started at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
, but later became a national system operated on behalf of the government. As the first and largest database of its kind, the Norwegian Scientific Index is also used in other countries than Norway, e.g. in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and it is the model of similar indices in other countries, including
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. It also serves as the basis for a joint
Nordic bibliographic database that is being developed under the auspices of the Nordic governments and the
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...
. Additionally, the European database
ERIH PLUS
ERIH PLUS (originally called the European Reference Index for the Humanities or ERIH) is an index containing bibliographic information on academic journals in the humanities and social sciences (SSH). The index includes all journals that meet the ...
is now a sister project of the Norwegian Scientific Index, after it was transferred from the
European Science Foundation
The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...
to the
Norwegian Centre for Research Data in 2014.
History
The CRIStin system traces its roots to the research documentation system of the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
, that was developed during the 1990s and known as ''Forskningsdokumentasjon ved Universitetet i Oslo'' ("Research Documentation at the University of Oslo"), abbreviated ForskDok. Until 2010/2011 Norway had two competing research documentation databases. Almost all colleges and universities used the
BIBSYS
BIBSYS is an administrative agency set up and organized by the Ministry of Education and Research (Norway), Ministry of Education and Research in Norway. They provide the exchange, storage and retrieval of data pertaining to research, teaching a ...
FORSKDOK database, that was developed from 1991 as part of the national BIBSYS system, itself established in 1972. The University of Oslo, the country's preeminent university, chose to develop its own and similarly named system. In 2004, the research documentation system of the University of Oslo formed the basis for a joint system, renamed Frida, for the University of Oslo and the then three other Norwegian universities, but excluding the country's many colleges and other research institutions. In 2010, Frida was transferred to the government and became a national research documentation system, and was renamed CRIStin. The BIBSYS FORSKDOK database was then closed in 2011. CRIStin is being integrated into the National Science Archive (''Nasjonalt vitenarkiv'').
Norwegian Scientific Index
The Norwegian Scientific Index (Norwegian: ''Norsk vitenskapsindeks'', NVI) is a comprehensive Norwegian bibliographic database established by the
Norwegian government
The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power ...
, aimed at covering all academic publication channels worldwide, i.e.
academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
s, series with ISSN, and
scholarly presses. It is operated by the government-owned company
Norwegian Centre for Research Data on behalf of the
Royal Ministry of Education and Research, and forms one of the key parts that together make up the CRIStin system.
The index divides journals and publishers considered to meet academic quality criteria (including peer review) into "level 1" and "level 2." Journals and publishers are rated separately, with journal-level ratings applying to journal publications and publisher-level ratings applying to books. Level 1 is the standard rating for publication channels considered to meet academic quality criteria, and is intended to cover at least 80% of all serious journals and publishers in a given discipline. Level 2 is the highest rating and is reserved for the internationally most prestigious journals and publishers within the discipline. "Level 2" status is granted by national expert committees for each discipline, and may be given to a maximum of 20% of all publication channels in a given discipline.
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. "Level 2" publications generate significantly increased funding compared to "level 1" publications.
Journals and publishers that are designated as not academic are identified as "level 0," which means that they don't count in the official academic career system or public funding of research institutions. The "0" rating may imply that the publication channel lacks adequate peer review or that it in some other way doesn't meet basic quality standards for academic journals, that it is a trade journal with no academic aspirations or some other form of entirely non-academic publication, or that it is regarded as
predatory
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
. Such publication channels are not systematically included in the index, and the rating may, but doesn't necessarily, indicate that the publication channel was nominated for "level 1" status and failed to be approved as such, or that it has been downgraded from "level 1" status, e.g. due to
predatory publishing
Predatory publishing, also write-only publishing or deceptive publishing, is an exploitative academic publishing business model, where the journal or publisher prioritizes self-interest at the expense of scholarship. It is characterized by misle ...
practices. Some Norwegian publications are included in the database and identified as level 0 mainly for legacy reasons, that is, they were included in the database's predecessors before the rating system was invented; they include a number of trade journals, newspapers and other non-academic publications.
In 2021 the National Publication Committee introduced a new level called "level X" for journals and publishers that they are soliciting comments on whether it should be approved or not. Becoming operational in the autumn of 2021, the National Publication Committee linked the creation of level X to concerns regarding the publisher
MDPI
MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) is a publisher of open-access scientific journals. It publishes over 390 peer-reviewed, open-access journals. MDPI is among the largest publishers in the world in terms of journal article o ...
. The new level became active in September 2021; of the 13 initial journals included in the level, five were MDPI journals. In 2022, 10 of the 13 initial journals are rated as non-academic (level 0), while one (''
Geosciences
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
'') has been rated as academic (level 1). As of May 2022, there were 7 journals in the list, out of which 2 from the initial journals. , there is one publisher (
Bentham Science Publishers
Bentham Science Publishers is a company that publishes scientific, technical, and medical journals and e-books. It publishes over 120 subscription-based academic journals and around 40 open access journals.
As of 2023, 66 Bentham Science journal ...
and 46 individual journals in this list, including 13 from MDPI, nine from
Hindawi, and seven from
Elsevier
Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...
.
The Norwegian Scientific Index is also used in other countries than Norway, both formally and informally. For example,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
started using the index in 2016. The Norwegian Scientific Index also forms the basis for the Nordic List, a joint
Nordic bibliographic database that is developed under the auspices of the
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...
and the governments of the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
. , the Nordic List website from its 2018 presentation is not functional.
The responsibility for the European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences, now called
ERIH PLUS
ERIH PLUS (originally called the European Reference Index for the Humanities or ERIH) is an index containing bibliographic information on academic journals in the humanities and social sciences (SSH). The index includes all journals that meet the ...
, was transferred from the
European Science Foundation
The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...
to the Norwegian Centre for Research Data in 2014 and is now available on the same website as the Norwegian Scientific Index.
[Grethe Tidemann,]
Nytt register skal kvalitetssikre europeiske, vitenskapelige publikasjoner
ew index shall ensure the quality of European academic publications ''Uniforum'', 29 May 2015
See also
*
ERIH PLUS
ERIH PLUS (originally called the European Reference Index for the Humanities or ERIH) is an index containing bibliographic information on academic journals in the humanities and social sciences (SSH). The index includes all journals that meet the ...
, a European sister database of the Norwegian Scientific Index
*
Journal ranking by country
Journal ranking is widely used in academic circles in the evaluation of an academic journal's impact and quality. Journal rankings are intended to reflect the place of a journal within its field, the relative difficulty of being published in that ...
References
External links
{{Wikidata property , 1=P2287
CRIStinNorwegian Scientific Index: Scientific journals, series and publishersList of Level X journals(with change log), from the Norwegian Publication Indicator (''Norsk publiseringsindikator'') site
NordicList.org archived from 2021
Science and technology in Norway
Bibliographic databases and indexes