Obstacles and opportunities in the application of network analysis to the evaluation of R&D

A comprehensive review of studies that apply the network approach to investigating the development of S&T identifies obstacles characterizing current network research and impeding the revelation of its potential fruitfulness in research assessment. It is argued that, in order to fulfill its promise, network analysis needs to: reformulate the 'quintessential bureaucratic evaluation question'; examine more closely untidy networks; focus on the content of network links rather than their formal aspects; and develop a concept of 'network effectiveness' in terms of the network's ability to expand the uses of S&T knowledge.