Research Impact

What are metrics?

Metrics, also known as traditional metrics or bibliometrics, are a measurement of scholarly research using quantitative methods, such as citation counts. Metrics are also used to demonstrate the impact of research publications at the journal, article, and author levels, which help faculty and researchers show the reach of their scholarship for tenure and promotion, job opportunities, and grant funding, among other things.

Altmetrics is used to refer to "alternative metrics" and are generally article-level metrics. Altmetrics attempts to fill a gap in more traditional metrics by using a more comprehensive range of sources, such as social media, news outlets, blog posts, and citation managers, in addition to citation and download counts to determine the online impact (or "attention") of scholarship.

How do I use metrics to demonstrate the impact of my scholarship?

Depending on the type of scholarly or creative work you have produced and depending on your research field, there are several options available for you. Any metric should be used with the understanding that it may not create an entirely accurate picture of the impact of your scholarship. Many metrics, for example, don't differentiate between positive and negative attention. Below are some suggestions for how you can use metrics to demonstrate the reach of your work.

• Use a mixture of qualitative and quantitative evidence to support your claims of influence, engagement, use, and impact.
• Present any quantitative data (i.e., metrics) in context and use appropriately normalized scores when possible (metrics from a reputable source).
• When comparing or benchmarking quantitative evidence, be sure you are comparing like to like. For example, article metrics may need to be compared to articles from the same discipline and publication year. Similarly, if you compare yourself to other faculty, consider choosing those in the same career stage and those employed at peer institutions.
• Choose metrics that align with the institution's values, funding agency, or other organization you apply to.

Text from this section is used under CCBY4.0 from The Metrics Toolkit.

Metrics and Altmetrics Compared

The table below provides a quick preview of what type of information you can utilize from various sites that showcase traditional metrics or alternative metrics (or both). For more information on each metric and how to obtain it, please refer to the Bibliometrics and Altmetrics Guide.

*Free access available, but additional features require a paid subscription.
**Some databases may have limited Humanities coverage, but not extensive enough to be considered "multidisciplinary".

Information for this section was inspired by the Universiteit Utrecht Research Impact & Visibility Research Guide.