Scientific publication indices at FEUP and mechanical engineering departments in Portugal

This paper undertakes an examination of bibliometric indicators by the faculty members affiliated in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (FEUP) and the other mechanical departments from Portuguese universities. Evaluation of the performance across both realms of associate and full professors is conducted through an assessment of individuals’ publication output and their impact within the scientific community. The teaching staff of FEUP includes engineering departments: mechanical; chemical; civil; informatics; metallurgical and materials; electrical and computer; industrial engineering and management. Outside the faculty, the mechanical engineering departments from University of Coimbra (UC) and University of Lisbon (IST-UL) where considered. The citation profiles (CP) pertaining to the professors are publicly accessible and were retrieved from the Scopus database as of April 2024. The methodology consists in processing and analysing Scopus datasheets recurring to bibliometric indices. The Canberra distance was one employed metric to qualify disparities between datasets. The results were compared through two approaches: i) presented in two-dimensional normalized graphics to easily compare both associate and full professors in each and throughout departments; ii) using multidimensional scaling techniques (MDS) and hierarchical clustering, which enables direct comparison of professors by leveraging their relative positioning and discernible patterns within two-dimensional maps. The results confirm expected trends of higher scientific performance with academic rank, while revealing notable inter- and intra-institutional differences, especially within FEUP, where strong internal categories stratification contrasts with the more uniform profiles of FCTUC and IST, and where full professors excel but assistant professors lag behind their peers elsewhere.