A bibliometric critique of the EURISTOTE database

Some bibliometric characteristics of university research on European Integration were investigated via the EURISTOTE database and its equivalent printed sources. Of 14,065 records in the database, 67% referred to studies in progress or completed and 33% to researchers. It is thus of the mixed bibliographic and factual type. "Sectoral affairs of the European Communities" were the most studied subject (35.7%) not surprisingly as they include "Agriculture" (18% of "Sectoral affairs" and 6.5% of the total number of database entries by subject). Germany produced the largest number of studies (24%), whilst the Communrty countries indmdually and the European Communities as a whole were the most studied countries (78.5%). The low proportion of research published as a periodical article (20%) was characteristic of social science literature. "Other research reports" was the dominant document form (44%) French was the most popular language of publication (28%), whilst English was the most common working language of the researchers (27%). Of the researchers studying European Integration prob lems. two thirds held the academic rank of Professor or its equivalent. Economics and Law were their most common academic disciplines (33% each). Keyboarding errors are observable but few. Missing data, probahly due to incomplete questionnaire returns, are quite high In some fields.