This book presents a comprehensive, data rich assessment of how research communities can be evaluated in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and globally accessible scientific datasets. Building on extensive empirical material—ranging from classical indicators such as literature citations and library presence to emerging AI driven signals like chatbot references and Wikipedia visibility—the author develops one of the first integrated frameworks for understanding scholarly impact in the twenty first century.

Focusing on the case of Austrian political science, the study draws on large, already structured datasets and applies factor analytic and multivariate methods to explore how traditional and novel metrics interact. By examining citation patterns, academic visibility, digital knowledge diffusion, and algorithmic assessments side by side, the book uncovers the multidimensional architecture of contemporary scientific influence.

The findings offer new insights into how a national academic community is positioned within global knowledge networks. They also highlight both the opportunities and the conceptual challenges that arise as AI systems, large knowledge repositories, and digital platforms increasingly shape how scholarly relevance is recognized and measured.

This volume will appeal to scholars of political science, scientometrics, higher education studies, and AI based research analytics, as well as to librarians, research managers, and policymakers interested in innovative and empirically grounded approaches to assessing scientific impact in a rapidly evolving data environment.

"Ambitious and fascinating, Professor Tausch's impressive study benefits by pulling from large pools of newly available scientometric data while staying focused on a smaller, more easily interpretable set of researchers, their research and the effects - the resonance – that they have on different audiences."
Euan Adie, Director of Open Policy (overton.io) and founder of Altmetric.com

Arno Tausch is currently a visiting professor of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is also an adjunct professor of Political Science at Innsbruck University, Department of Political Science, Innsbruck University, Austria (since 1988). Tausch authored or co-authored books and articles for major international publishers and journals, including 33 books in English, 2 books in French, 9 books in German, and currently 123 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 32 articles in edited volumes, and numerous press articles in the media of several countries.