STM publisher Elsevier has announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected Scopus bibliometric data, and LexisNexis patent data as primary source to support its biennial Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) report. The NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) will use Elsevier's data in support of the next SEI report which will be released in 2016.
The NSF's NCSES completed a competitive evaluation under an open bid process and chose Elsevier as the primary data provider for their 2016 report; Elsevier is providing the Scopus bibliometric database and LexisNexis patent data for Science and Engineering Indicators and other analytical uses.
The SEI report provides a broad base of quantitative information about US science, engineering, and technology. It is widely acknowledged to be the definitive source of information on macro trends in the US research funding, output, and performance. American universities and colleges use data from the SEI report for their strategic planning and performance benchmarking of national and institutional comparators. Although the SEI report is policy neutral and does not make policy recommendations, many policymakers rely on the report to support discussions on science and research funding.
