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Research Impact Metrics

Provides an overview of Research Impact Metrics

Demonstrating Researcher Performance and Impact

There are different ways to showcase a researcher's impact, for example, quantitative measures include citation-based metrics like h-index, citation counts, field-weighted citation impact, etc., and alternative metrics to track influence in non-academic fields like mentions from social media and government policies. Research impact can also be demonstrated qualitatively in terms of social and cultural applications and measures of esteem.

Commonly used citation metrics include:

  • Number of research outputs
  • Number of citations received
  • Average citations/ Citations per publication
  • H-index
  • Field-weighted and category normalized citation impact for overall publications or on a specific subject area/ topic
  • Number of research outputs in top citation percentiles and in top journal percentiles
  • Benchmarking against other researchers
  • Number of patents and/or number of research articles referenced by patents

Below resources provide guidelines and suggestions of using citation metrics:

 Alternative metrics are a measure of web-based scholarly interaction, especially in non-academic communities. They aim to measure such things as how often research is tweeted, blogged, downloaded or bookmarked, these metrics track:

  • Social Media Mentions: tracks mentions on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 
  • Blog Posts and News Articles: measures how often research is discussed in blogs and news outlets. 
  • Policy Documents: counts citations in policy papers and government documents. 
  • Patent Documents: counts citations in patent registration documents.

There are other indicators of research quality or academic esteem.   Measures of esteem may provide additional evidence of research quality and/or research capacity, to sit alongside traditional metrics. They may be relevant for competitive grant applications and academic promotions.

Pure can be used to keep a record of esteem measures and as such be used to enhance a researcher's public profile.

The below methods provide a more holistic view of research impact, capturing a broader range of contributions beyond just academic citations.

1. Professional Success

  • Previous successful grant applications and completed research projects.
  • Conference presentations, keynotes, and publications
  • Editorial or reviewer role for a significant journal or reference work
  • International engagement and collaboration
  • Partnerships with other institutions, research groups, or industry.
  • Research Fellowships

2. Case Studies 

  • Detailed narratives on how specific research projects have led to real-world changes or advancements. 

3. Usage Metrics 

  • How often research papers are downloaded or viewed online. 
  • Usage of research data in repositories. 

4. Societal Impact 

  • Involvement and impact of research on local communities. 
  • Contributions to public health and well-being and Influence on government or public policy
  • Holdings of edited, authored or contributed to books in libraries.  

5. Economic Impact 

  • Research Commercialisation Income, patents, spin-off companies, and other commercial applications of research. 
  • The number of jobs created as a result of research activities. 
  • Industrial advisory roles

6. Educational Impact 

  • How research influences educational programs and materials. 
  • Ihe impact on student learning and career development

7. Environmental Impact 

  • Contributions to environmental sustainability and conservation efforts.