Summary + Slides for 2013 SSP Panel – Measure for Measure: The role of metrics in assessing research performance

Photo from @Editage

At the 2013 SSP (Society of Scholarly Publishers) Annual conference I was on a panel about research assessment and metrics. As part of my presentation I shared some findings from a large survey conducted by Elsevier’s Research and Academic Relations group (methodology in the slides).

One finding the Twitter back-channel picked up on was the surprising statistic that, from this random sample, only 1% of academics were familiar with altmetrics. I followed this up with a more optimistic statistic  showing that both researchers under 35 and also researchers from developing nations were more likely to view different types of potential altmetrics as useful. For this section of the talk, my primary point was that we need to focus on raising awareness among this demographic if altmetrics are to gain legitimacy in the researcher community.

Also discussed are DORA, Journal Metrics (SNIP, SJR), Snowball Metrics, and more. I summarized the primary take away points as follows:

  1. Choose methods + metrics appropriate to level and impact type being assessed (DORA)
  2. Don’t confuse level with type (alms ≠ altmetrics) – Tip: Embed free Scopus Cited-By counts at article-level
  3. Awareness of metrics correlates to acceptance, raising awareness matters
  4. APAC + younger researchers open to new metrics
  5. Don’t use just one metric, promote a variety of metrics – Tip: Embed free SNIP/SJR on journal pages
  6. Choose transparent and standard methods + metrics – Tip: Learn best practices from Snowball Metrics free ebook

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