Author level metrics are measurements of the impact of an author's published work. A commonly used example of this is the H-Index. Below are some things to consider when attempting to measure your impact as an author:
Citation counts are not necessarily a measure of the quality of research.
Context is an important key for telling the story of your research - why it should matter, who it should matter to, and what it does to further your field of expertise.
For additional instructions on locating your h-Index using the below databases, visit the Find Your H-Index page of this guide.
Web of Science. A database used for researching a wide range of topics in science, social science, arts, and humanities. It contains citations to scholarly journal articles and conference papers. ACE login required.
Scopus. A database used for researching peer-reviewed scientific, medical, technical, and social science literature. It contains citations to scholarly journal articles and conference papers. ACE login required.
Google Scholar. A database used to find and locate scholarly publications in a wide variety of subject areas. It contains citations to scholarly journal articles, conference papers, and more. Free to use.
Metrics Toolkit. Helps you Navigate the Research Metrics Landscape. It is a web resource for researchers and evaluators by providing guidance for demonstrating and evaluating research impact. Free to use.
Publish or Perish. A software program that retrieves and analyzes academic citations, pulled from a variety of sources. It's calculations available include the h-index and the g-index. Free to use - download required.
Impactstory. An open-source website that helps researchers explore and share the the online impact of their research. Free to use.
Kudos. A site that allows researchers to showcase the story of their research through a variety of methods, including the media. Free to use, with premium options available.
Metrics and other indicators are just one piece of demonstrating the impact of your scholarly or creative work. Impact narratives are written explanations that highlight your progress towards and achievement of "impact" - whether that is within academia, your field of expertise, or even the general public. They help to tell a compelling story that showcases the positive change and results produced by your research, often backed up by various types of data and evidence.
Writing a successful narrative can help articulate why others should care about your work, reach new audiences, and overall increase your reputation as an expert in your field (and perhaps beyond!). To create a successful narrative you'll need to focus on the relevance of your work to a specific project, organization, or set of goals. Provide context and explain why your scholarly or creative activity is significant, using qualitative and/or quantitative evidence to back up your claims. Go beyond just numbers and consider why your work matters to your target audience.
Check out the UWA Research Impact Toolkit for some excellent case studies.
A narrative CV provides a structured written description of a researcher’s contributions and achievements that reflects a broad range of relevant skills, experiences, and competencies. Your narrative CV should focus on your role as a researcher on a project, who benefitted from the project, how they benefitted from the project, and when that benefit occurred. You can use evidence and data to support your narrative where possible. Additionally, depending on the target audience for your narrative CV (such as a funding agency), make sure that your narrative is grounded in the values of the organization.
Portions of the Researcher Impact Framework by Giovanna Lima and Sarah Bowman were used for this section.