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As much as I hate to keep hammering away with my concerns about journal-level metrics, I've found yet another reason to get out my toolbox. The woes and concerns of [...]

To put the question 'What's in a citation?' in historical context, I'll start with the legendary Eugene Garfield. In 1955, he set out to 'propose a bibliographic system for science [...]

I braved airline travel in COVID America to attend the fall 2021 meeting of the Coalition for Networked Information (CM), which took place Dec. 13-14 in Washington, D.C. (cni.org/events/membership-meetings/past-meetings/fall-2021). At [...]

It's a pervasive problem with research impact metrics: You can't compare citation-based metrics across research subject areas, because both the quantity of citations and the rate at which they accrue [...]

The value of metrics is not confined to research output. A number of recent books and articles decry the hazards of living in a 'metric society.' The caveats and lessons [...]

Grey literature (GL) and preprints are becoming increasingly recognized as sources for the latest scientific research, opinions, and implementation of theory. And there is an added benefit: They are available [...]

What do research impact metrics actually measure? Traditional measurements of impact depended on bibliometrics. More recently, altmetrics have taken hold. Both these metrics could be inappropriately utilized as proxies for [...]

Clarivate undertook some interesting changes with its latest Journal Citation Reports (JCR), released on June 30, 2021. For one, the company clarified its process in determining which journals receive the [...]

The trend toward open access (OA) in publishing has been steadily growing since the Budapest Open Access Initiative in 2002. In the U.S., the OA movement began to be taken [...]

Microsoft Academic, or MA (academic.microsoft.com), debuted in 2004 as Microsoft Academic Search (MAS), the commercial, but free, manifestation of a Microsoft research project. After an auspicious beginning, the dataset ceased [...]

Bibliometric, or citation-based, metrics have their origins in a time when the internet was still DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and print subscriptions were the primary mode of transmission [...]

[The contents of this article are based on presentations given by the authors at the Special Libraries Association 2017 Annual Conference and the 2018 Computers in Libraries Conference.--Ed.]Scholarly metrics are [...]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library has held a symposium on bibliometrics and research impact biennially since 2016. Like many conferences last year, the 2020 Bibliometrics and Research Assessment [...]

COVID-19 has overhauled much of the process and business of scientific research around the globe. In the rush to get results out to the scientific community for action and implementation, [...]

It is now easier than ever to collect all kinds of data on a wide variety of topics--and lots of it. This is largely thanks to technological advances, not the [...]

Does increased reliance on metrics for evaluating research productivity affect researcher behavior? History professor Jerry Muller thinks so. In Chapter 7 of his book The Tyranny of Metrics (press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691 174952 [...]

I discussed the differences in data sources between the main citation indexes (Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) in my January/February 2020 column. Using citation-based metrics for evaluating research [...]

Researchers, funders, publishers, and other entities are under continued pressure to demonstrate the relevance of their activities. Many demonstrations of relevance center on research impact metrics. Traditionally well-ensconced in the [...]

The article informs that traditional measurements of impact depended on bibliometrics. It mentions that more recently, altmetrics have taken hold. It reports that both these metrics could be inappropriately utilized as proxies for quality. It reports that altmetrics are also predicated on behavior, but in a newer, web-based environment. It mentions difference is that usually, with altmetrics such as Plum Prints or Altmetric donuts.

The article discusses that the trend toward open access (OA) in publishing has been steadily growing since the Budapest Open Access Initiative in 2002. Topics discussed include the OA movement began to be taken seriously in 2008, when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) became the first U.S. government funder to require grant recipients to make their research output openly accessible; and fund OA availability of research output, some journals will levy an author processing charge (APC).

The article offers information on the challenges associated with the handling of the bibliometric indicators. It mentions that resources for bibliometric indicators as handling this shift to electronic dissemination. It discusses that how usage statistics and other metrics gleanable from online access replace the JIF for library collections decision making.

The article focuses on gaming research impact isn't limited to bibliographic, or citation-based, impact metrics. Topics inlcude the external data from which Altmetrics are derived are counted differently from provider to provider, the Altmetric Attention Score blends all of the counts from its algorithmically and manually harvested sources and features the number inside its Donut, and the PlumX's PlumPrint separates out activity into separate, petal-type graphic representations.

The article discussed the differences in data sources between the main citation indexes in my January/February 2020 column. Topic include using citation-based metrics for evaluating research and demonstrating impact tells; and knowing what various altmetrics providers track and their overall approaches sheds some light on how each might be useful in differing circumstances.