The F-measure for Research Priority

Abstract

Abstract Purpose In this contribution we continue our investigations related to the activity index (AI) and its formal analogs. We try to replace the AI by an indicator which is better suited for policy applications. Design/methodology/approach We point out that fluctuations in the value of the AI for a given country and domain are never the result of that country’s policy with respect to that domain alone because there are exogenous factors at play. For this reason we introduce the F-measure. This F-measure is nothing but the harmonic mean of the country’s share in the world’s publication output in the given domain and the given domain’s share in the country’s publication output. Findings The F-measure does not suffer from the problems the AI does. Research limitations The indicator is not yet fully tested in real cases. R&D policy management In policy considerations, the AI should better be replaced by the F-measure as this measure can better show the results of science policy measures (which the AI cannot as it depends on exogenous factors). Originality/value We provide an original solution for a problem that is not fully realized by policy makers.