Research Impact Resources and Services

Research metrics are numeric indicators of the influence, attention, reach, or impact of research outputs and creative works. Research metrics include bibliometrics, alternative metrics, and metrics for creative work. This page provides an overview of all three types of metrics.

Bibliometrics

Bibliometrics is defined broadly as the statistical analysis of academic publications. Bibliometrics can be used to count, track, and analyze the citations received by research outputs (such as articles, books, book chapters, and other publications) and can indicate reach and influence within the realm of academic publishing (scholarly journals and books). In addition to citation counts and analysis, bibliometrics includes analyses of co-author networks, frequently occurring keywords among discipline specific sets of publications, and more. Visualizations based on bibliometric data can be created to show connections between and among researchers, journals, and publications.

Here are a few examples of how bibliometric data can be used:

• Track the influence of an author's output by measuring the number of times an author's work has been cited by other works
• Measure journal impact by counting the number of times a journal's articles have been cited, and noting which publications have cited the journal's articles
• Visualize connections between researchers (within institutions and globally) by showing who they are collaborating with, as demonstrated by co-authorship

Alternative Metrics

Alternative metrics, also known as altmetrics, are quantitative indicators of the attention and use that publications, presentations, software, data, and creative work receive online. Altmetrics include mentions on social media, blogs, websites, mainstream media coverage (such as newspapers, news stories and news videos) and mentions in other online sources, such as Wikipedia and Reddit, as well as use in policy documents, patents, reports, and syllabi. Altmetrics also include the number of times a research publication has been viewed, downloaded, or saved to a citation management tool, such as Mendeley. The number of libraries that include a certain book in their collection can also be considered an alternative metric.

Here are a few examples of how altmetric data can be used:

• Demonstrate engagement with the broader public through sharing research on social media and being included in news stories
• Show impact on education through inclusion in syllabi
• Note influence on public policy development through citations in government documents
• Indicate broad reach by quantifying the number of views or downloads received by an article, a conference talk, a music recording, or other performance

Metrics for Creative Work

In addition to bibliometrics and alternative metrics, scholars who produce creative work, such a musical performances, music recordings, artwork, art exhibitions, art reviews, novels, sculptures, installations, plays, dances, other live performances, and more, could benefit from additional quantitative measures unique to their fields. These metrics for creative work could include awards, prizes, ticket sales, attendance at events, invitations to exhibit or perform, reviews, and more.

Here are few examples of how metrics for creative work can be used:

• Convey the prestige of being accepted to exhibit artwork in a particular gallery by listing the percentage of applicants accepted from the applicant pool
• Quantify the number of ticket sales for a performance along with context about how many tickets are typically sold for this type of event and venue
• List the number of invitations received to perform or exhibit as an indication of interest from the broader art community and general public

Guidelines on the Use of Research Metrics

As quantitative indicators, research metrics tell only one part of the story of the impact of research or creative work, and should not be considered a proxy or a substitute for the expert, qualitative assessment of research and creative works. Please see this page for important guidelines about the use of research metrics in evaluation:

Examples of Research Metrics

For specific examples of metrics, please see the following page:

Books on Research Metrics

The following books offer additional insight into research metrics:

If you have questions about research metrics, reach out to your subject librarian or send a message to the Research Impact Team.