supporting bibliometrics

connecting you with information, support and your community

JIBS - “Research evaluation - is it our business? Librarians' roles in the brave new world of research evaluation”

Supporting Bibliometrics

Jenny DelasalleAcademic Support Manager (Research)


I will cover…

• Some background information about University of Warwick and about me.

• Bibliometrics in use: how they can be relevant to researchers

• Understanding bibliometrics: stuff I tell researchers!


About me & my role at Warwick

Academic Support Manager

(Research)

Academic Support Manager (Teaching & Learning)

Teaching Grid and Learning Grid Manager

Academic Services Development Manager

Head ofAcademic Services

Academic Support Librarian (Research)

Research Exchange Advisers, Co-ordinator, Assistant., Ambassadors


What the Library offers to Researchers

• Subject expert ASLs who liaise with departments about their needs & deliver information skills training, enquiries support, etc

• Specialist collections, including MRC (Archive)• Information Management strand on the Research Student Skills

Programme• One-off, tailored workshops and presentations.• WRAP repository & NEW Publications Service• Expertise on advanced information skills… including

bibliometrics, copyright, publishing, Web 2.0

• The Wolfson Research Exchange


Liaison with ….

• IT Services• Student Careers and Skills - for training students (including

PhD students)• Graduate School – administration of post-graduate students

(including PhD students)• Institute for Advanced Studies – early career fellowships• Learning and Development Centre - part of HR, for training

staff.• Research Support Services – help with grant applications but

also managing fincances throughout project• Management & Planning office – handle REF return but also

provide HoDs with information.• Communications Office – promoting Warwick research• Legal Compliance – guidance on copyright, data protection,

etc


Routes to reach researchers at Warwick

• RSF – Research Staff Forum• Research Committee• Faculty Research Forum (chairs)• (Heads of) Research Centres/ Institutes • (Heads of) Doctoral training centres• Directors of Graduate studies • PhD supervisers’ training• Direct e-mail (list from HR)• Via ASLs, Graduate SSLCs and Library reps• Communications Office newsletter every week & monthly

magazine & the Uni Intranet• LDC newsletter• WRAP newsletter• Library website, Research Exchange website, blogs, Facebook


An interest in bibliometrics!

• Journals to keep/withdraw

• Repository management: advocacy messages that OA publishing boosts citations.

• Does repository deposit make a difference to citations?

• Will the REF include citation measurements?

• Web of Knowledge training free, through Mimas

• Jiscmail Lis-bibliometrics list.


Our Approach to bibliometrics

• Understanding of bibliometrics is a key information skill• Best not to refer to the term “bibliometrics” itself?• Cover elements of these in other workshops:

– “Getting Published”– “Literature Searching”

• Use the controversy around publication “strategy” to engage audience: workshop at a doctoral centre.

• Publicise our expertise: amongst researchers and University management.

• Online material to complement our offer. – REx website: Researcher to Researcher approach


Bibliometrics in use

• Considering where to publish.

• What do we do about the REF?

• Benchmarking a department.

• Evidence for a job application/grant application/salary review, etc

– Measurements in University rankings.


Appraising journals when considering publication• Librarians:

– Know the data sources (WoK Ifs, SciMago SJR, RePec, Anne-Wil Harzing’s website)

– Know about Open Access– Know where journals are indexed & which indexes are

important to a discipline• Other than impact factors, we have knowledge of:

– Features of journals such as letter, blogs, reviews, etc– Copyright agreements– Publicising your work using Web 2.0– Other publication channels than journals: how to measure them!– Cross-disciplinary perspective.


Impact Factors : JCR and SciMago

JCR SciMago

Subscription-based Open access resource

No equivalent SJR

No equivalent Total Docs

Total Cites (given for 1 year) Total Cites (given for 3 years)

2 year impact factor Cites/Docs (2 years)

5 year impact factor No equivalent

Immediacy Index No equivalent

Cited Half-Life No equivalent

Eigenfactor score No equivalent


What can we say about REF 2014 and bibliometrics?

• Not much – yet!

• Watch for announcements this summer.• Work with department which gathers our return.• Ensure that publications data is properly recorded.

• Medicine, Science and Engineering most likely candidates.


Benchmarking a department

1. No. of papers published by a department in a given period, for example:

Source: http://www.science-metrix.com/pdf/SM_CETC_Energy_Report_V05_F3.pdf

NB how do you define which papers to be included for each set?

2. No. of citations: total or per paper?

http://www.science-metrix.com/pdf/SM_CETC_Energy_Report_V05_F3.pdf


Evidence about an individual – h-index

h-index of 4 means there are 4 published papers each with at least 4 citations

OR: Professor X has a total of 10 publications

Publication 1 20 cites




----------------------------------------------------------- h-index: 4



Publications 7,8,9,10 0 cites


Evidence about an individual (2)

• Egghe's g-index – aims to improve on the H-index by giving more weight to highly-cited articles.

• Contemporary h-index - aims to improve on the H-index by

giving more weight to recent articles and therefore rewards academics who maintain a steady level of activity.

• Be wary of others’ declared h-index scores: which data sets are they based on?

• Context is everything!


Measurement in University Rankings

• Which ones matter to your University?– Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) - also

known as ‘The Shanghai Rankings’ – Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings

– The QS World University Rankings – Webometrics Ranking of World Universities

• A good ranking… – helps universities attract the most talented researchers.– university can set higher fees and attract more funding for

research.• BUT how they are calculated might not mean that a high h-

index is the thing to ask of your researchers…

• !

http://www.arwu.org/

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings

http://www.webometrics.info/


Understanding Bibliometrics

• Not one “bibliometric” measure but many: – Paper counts– journal impact factors – The h-index– citation scores at article level – visitor numbers (or other info) for online articles

• Motivations for publication.• Motivations for citation.• Effects of collaboration? Discipline? • Differences in data sources: their coverage/collection, the

measures they publish and the graphs/analysis they offer.


RAE: what was submitted?

• All institutions 2008 RAE journal articles: 167,831• All institutions 2008 RAE all types: 222,177

• https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Project-Merit/Merit-Search/

https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Project-Merit/Merit-Search/

https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Project-Merit/Merit-Search/


RIN (September 2009). Communicating knowledge: How and why UK researchers publish and disseminate their findings, Research Information Network; JISC.


Collaboration effects

• Other researchers – own discipline, or other disciplines?

• Peer review practices vary: in the Arts can take upwards of 6 months.

• With industry – publication good for them?• Agreement on what to publish & where• Acknowledging contributions: variety of practice• Negotiation skills!


Some motivations for citations

• Paying homage to experts– Especially those likely to be peer reviewers!

• Credit to peers whose work you have built upon– Lend weight to own claims

• Provide background reading• Criticising/correcting previous work• Sign-posting under-noticed work

– (own paper which would affect your h-index!)• Self citations!


Citation patterns

• Most publications have little or no citations.• Variety across the disciplines.• Therefore comparisons within a discipline are most useful.• Percentages against a world average within each discipline are

more useful than basic numbers.


Sceptical and informed!

supporting bibliometrics

Education

research support services

research exchange website

term bibliometrics

jibs research evaluation

information skills training

contemporary hindex

hindex scores

wolfson research exchange6