From a theoretical perspective the present contribution concentrates on exposing the importance and necessity of developing systematic strategies of research evaluation to improve management in the Cuban communication field. The evaluation of the topic is briefly addressed by emphasizing Social Sciences. This paper also presents the potentialities of the metric tools which carry out intensive and systematic evaluation exercises. Conditions and characteristic of the research in the field are presented in order to explain its "professional character", scarce value given to the theoretical-historical research, incipient existence of national publications, null international visibility of the national scientific production relying on its own sources, nonexistence of a model of research management and of a scientific information system. Potentialities are identified in order to elaborate a solid group of indicators in total harmony with the reality and characteristic of the issue in question, as well as to conceive the evaluation as the central axis of a national scientific politics that motivates research in communication, its management and development.
Social communication; Cuba; Bibliometric studies; Scientific evaluation; Scientific research; Research policy