  This paper presents a methodology for measuring the technical efficiency of
research activities. It is based on the application of data envelopment
analysis to bibliometric data on the Italian university system. For that
purpose, different input values (research personnel by level and extra funding)
and output values (quantity, quality and level of contribution to actual
scientific publications) are considered. Our study aims at overcoming some of
the limitations connected to the methodologies that have so far been proposed
in the literature, in particular by surveying the scientific production of
universities by authors' name.
