NWB2023_Researcher mobility in Sweden: bibliometric analysis using a newly developed model and a customizable research tool

Researcher mobility is an integral part of the way research is conducted and of a researcher’s career. Its effects on collaboration networks, research impact and knowledge flows drive countries and institutions to quantify and understand this activity.

This poster presents a researcher mobility model which was developed and prototyped as a customisable research tool to provide a unified perspective on mobility at macro (national), meso (institutional) and micro (individual) levels. The approach includes multidimensional perspectives, temporal, geographical, sectoral, and directional mobility.

The model quantifies research mobility volumes and qualifies additional researcher characteristics and productivity indicators in Sweden’s higher education sector, observing researcher mobility patterns (1992-2021). Results show a high degree of variability in researcher mobility patterns across institutions, especially when considered by career age. We present a view of Sweden’s mobility patterns relative to comparator countries, as well as a granular view of mobility for the largest universities. The analysis includes the scholarly output and research impact trends among different cohorts of researchers, identified by their mobility types and career age, as well as an exploration of the destination countries of researchers leaving Swedish universities.

By developing a model that encompasses all these elements, we present a detailed picture of mobility in Sweden and demonstrate the power of a customisable tool. This model is relevant and translatable to other countries and could be a useful tool for the analysis of researcher mobility, with direct applicability for the colleagues attending NWB2023 from the Nordic countries or further afield.