Measuring Research Impact

Introduction

Scholars are expected to pursue a research program and to contribute the results of their investigations to the scholarly record of their disciplines. This guide discusses the advantages and drawbacks of several metrics that can be used to quantify the impact of scholarly contributions.

Characteristics of a Useful Metric

To be useful, an evaluation metric should be:

•  Objectively derived
•  Simple to calculate
•  Consistently applied
•  Fair

The metric should arise from some established body of data, and the method used should be explained. Deriving the metric should not require complicated techniques or take a long time. The same metric should be applied to all, in all cases. Research traditions of various disciplines should be respected in comparisons across disciplines.

Metrics Rely on the Scientific Literature

Candidate methods for establishing research impact generally rely on some form of bibliometrics, or the mathematical or statistical analysis of a portion of the scholarly record. Among the most common methods of estimating research impact are:

Each of these has advantages and limitations.