Research and knowledge exchange

Research Intelligence and Scientometrics

 

Responsible use of Metrics

The University of Sussex has committed to the Declaration on Research Assessment, so all information and metrics derived from our research outputs are used in a responsible manner.

Sector initiatives on research metrics

As we moved from the 20th to 21st century, certain metrics (such as h-index and JIF [journal impact factors]) had become widely adopted as surrogates/shortcut indicators of "excellence in research" within academia. Unfortunately the focus on these few indicators unfairly disadvantaged certain members of the community for a variety of reasons (e.g. choosing not to publish in an expensive but well regarded journal; being an early career researcher or taking a career break; contributing to "group science" activites...).

As a result, over the last decade or so, there have been on-going discussions about how to assess research and improve the "lot" of academic researchers - leading to a range of initiatives / declarations / manifestos including:

Each output has it's own focus, however there are areas of overlap in the ethos / take-homes. Dr Hayley Cordingley has considered the first 4 outputs together and created a "cribsheet" / quick reference word document that may be useful for people new to the area:

 

Our Tools

The University currently subscribes to two "scientometric" tools that serve different purposes: SciVal and Altmetric Explorer. Both of these tools are available for members of the university to use for free.

A quick guide to "Scientometrics & Tools" can be accessed from here.

SciVal (Elsevier)

What is it?

SciVal is a bibliometric tool (provided by Elsevier) that lets us “mine”, profile and compare sets of research outputs from various “entities” (individuals, groups, institutions, countries) around the world.  The majority of the data in SciVal is drawn from the highly curated abstract and citation database: Scopus

What can we do with it?

Using SciVal we can look at, and compare, things such as: 

  • Co-authorship: who do people collaborate with; where are they geo-located; what sector do they come from…
  • Citations: absolute numbers; how the citation profile compares to others in the field; where authors that cite papers are located…
  • Topics: what people work on; who else works in that area; who covers complementary areas that we might approach to form collaborations…
  • A few “alternative metrics”: mentions in patent or media; levels of grants awarded (at institutional level)...

Why is it important?

The tool and its derived data is important... in the sector:

  • The data and research intelligence that Elsevier produce from Scopus and SciVal is used by various organisations in ranking exercises deemed important to the sector (e.g. THE and QS)
  • Whilst the metrics available from SciVal are not directly used in the REF process, Elsevier provide a complementary tool to institutions to enable them to compare their submissions with others at the institutional and UoA (Unit of Assessment) level
  • Also within SciVal, Elsevier have created Research Areas containing all REF 2021 submissions (by UoA and institution), allowing subscribers to explore and analyse these publication sets for insights

The tool and its derived data is important… to the academic:

  • This tool may be useful to individuals when preparing cases for funding in the academic realm: demonstrating strength in a particular area, finding collaborators and/or demonstrating the synergies to be had by linking with others

How do I get in to use it?

Anyone with a University of Sussex e-mail account can use SciVal for free.

What about initial training?

Whilst SciVal is quite intuative in some respects, there are a lot of options available in the package and it is easy to get a bit lost in it all. To get the most from it, it may be worth getting some additional training:

What if I have problems/want help or advice?

  • If you have any issues with the sign in process, please contact the Sussex Uni SciVal admin account and we will help you with any technical glitches being faced ASAP
  • For general demos, 1:1 training / support or to talk about specific projects - please contact the Research Information and System team communal e-mail and we will link you with our Research Intelligence Adviser
Altmetric Explorer for Institutions (Digital Science)

What is it?

Altmetric Explorer is an alternative metrics tool (provided by Digital Science) that lets us look at how people talk about, and mention, sets of research outputs in a range of online fora. It scours the internet searching for unique identifiers associated with research outputs (from our home institution generally, but from other entities too) and reports an "Attention Score" 

 

What can we do with it?

Using Altmetric Explorer we can get an insight into the reach and adoption of our research outputs by looking at mentions in:

  • policy documents: which bodies have referenced our outputs, how many times, where are they located…
  • patent applications: who has cited our research in patent applications…
  • news: which news outlets have talked about our re-search, where are they around the world…
  • wikipedia: where, and when, has our research been referenced in Wikipedia entries…
  • social media and blogs: who is talking about our re-search, where are they located…
  • [a range of academic sources]

Why is it important?

The tool and its derived data is important... to the academic:

  • This tool is useful for social scientists as a way un-cover / evidence incorporation of research outputs in policy documents
  • The tool is also useful for individuals (and groups) to build a narrative around how their research is being talked about and used in the “real world”

How do I get in to use it?

Anyone with a University of Sussex e-mail account can use Altmetric Explorer for free.

  • Go to the Altmetric Explorer webpage (https://www.altmetric.com/), select "Sign in" from the menu
  • If you are on the University network, you will be allowed to continue as a guest and get straight in to the interface. You may however wish to create an account so you can save any searches you perform
  • If you are not on the network, you may have to create an account using a Univerity of Sussex e-mail address to access the tool
  • The account you set up is personal to you, and you will have to remember any new password you set up. **NB your named e-mail (e.g. a.n.other@sussex.ac.uk) and userid email (e.g. ano123@sussex.ac.uk) are not interchangeable for this tool. Remember which one you used!**
  • A quick guide can be downloaded here

What about initial training?

Altmetric Explorer is fairly intuative and easy to use at a top level, however to get the most from it it may be worth getting some additional training:

What if I have problems/want help or advice?

 

Training on Research (Output) Metrics

  • Dr Hayley Cordingley, our Research Intelligence Adviser in RES, is more than happy to give bespoke training and support to small groups or 1:1. Do get in touch to arrange something that suits your needs, including collaborations on larger projects
  • Attached here are examples powerpoint presenatations created for various sessions delivered to date. Feel free to click and download to view them

 

Additional Resources