The research areas of bibliometrics and scientometrics are part of information science and deal with the quantitative analysis of bibliographies as well as literature collections (bibliometrics) and the inner structure and dynamic of scientific disciplines (scientometrics). Bibliometric indicators offer, for example, information on how publications of a research group or an institute are received amongst the expert community in comparison to other institutes. Deeper analysis, such as, for example, the visualization of cooperation of individual scientific disciplines (scientometrics), or discovering what are the most intensely discussed topics (so-called hot topics) are also possible using bibliometric procedures.

Bibliometrics as an academic discipline is relevant for GESIS and its social science users as bibliometric indicators are being drawn upon ever more frequently for the evaluations of researchers and institutions. In this context GESIS tests and evaluates various bibliometric procedures making sure that the individual bibliometric technique is applicable to social science and the social science user. The current focus is the development and evaluation of bibliometric models for improving searches in social science portals and developing indicator sets for heterogeneous research fields (such as education research, for example).