About

The Hungarian Science Bibliography (Magyar Tudományos Művek Tára, MTMT) is the database of scholarly publications. Listing publications resulting from public funding is obligatory by law. The most important principles of its operation are self-recording of publications by authors and/or research-performing organizations, completeness, multi-level quality control by a system of institutional and central data librarians, openness, standardization and the use of field-specific indicators.

On the verification, authenticity and responsibility of the data in MTMT

1. The importance of MTMT lies in the fact that it provides a nationally uniform and freely accessible scientific bibliography, instead of the heterogeneous and inaccessible bibliographic lists used previously.
2. The data are public, so that errors can be pointed out by anyone.
3. The verification system is complex. The first step is the data provider/s. If the work has multiple authors, they all see the same data, they must agree with the content of the record. The system of institutional administrators is the next level of control (in a larger institutions there is a hierarchy of administrators). The administrators check the publications, the level of the check carried out is indicated on the record (Admin approved, Validated).
4. In the case of an MTA (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) doctorate and a recommendation for membership, or at the request of an institution, an additional independent check is carried out by the MTA KIK MTMT Department.
5. The system keeps a record of the status of the data and logs any changes made to the data (with identification of the person making the change).
6. When using MTMT for evaluation purposes, only verified data should be used.
7. Even with the complex verification system, the database cannot be completely error-free (it contains 2 million communications and 7.7 million references), but if someone finds an error, it will be checked and corrected if necessary. All feedback is welcome.
8. The institution providing the data is responsible for the authenticity of the data as the employer or, in the case of voluntary data provision, the service provider. The authenticity of the system as a whole is guaranteed by the MTA and the MTA KIK.
9. The MTMT user community (researchers and administrators) is constantly monitoring for possible errors and problems. So far, no system-level misuse has been detected. From time to time, incorrect or unprofessional use by an author, administrator or institution will be reported by the community or the MTA KIK MTMT Department and action will be taken by the MTA KIK or the MTMT governing bodies. In most cases, it is sufficient to draw the attention of the data managers to the inappropriate use. In case of a specific data error, the data owner or a competent administrator will correct it, and in case of suspected intentional misuse, an ethical investigation may follow.
10. MTMT data and indicators are an essential, but not the only tool for assessing scientific performance.

Studies carried out with the help of the MTMT database