Anthony van Raan and bibliometrics

This issue, inspired by the extensive scientific oeuvre of Anthony van Raan, provides a concise tour de horizon of current research evaluation topics and quantitative studies of science. A historiography analysis positions key documents, written by Van Raan and other authors, that helped define the present-day field of bibliometrics. A life-cycle output analysis traces phases in the development of CWTS, Anthony's institute at Leiden University. Other contributions in this issue focus on the longterm importance of a paper's references as exemplified by landmark scholarly texts and the phenomenon of 'Sleeping Beauties'. Several papers focus on how the autonomy of institutes and researchers is related to bibliometric research evaluation. High-quality S&T indicators can act as structuring devises in policy debate and collective learning processes. We also learn about the need for statistical tests to distinguish among researchers with a similar h-index.