Cultures of counting or cultures of responsibility?

Katie Evans looks at the wider context of responsible metrics and asks what the ingredients of a culture of responsibility might be. I talk to academics about bibliometrics on an almost daily basis. One conversation that stands out for me started with the academic asking to meet me because they “disagreed with metrics”. To my …

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What does a responsible bibliometrician look like?

Lizzie Gadd considers whether "responsible" is something we do or something we are. I’ve made the point a few times recently that responsible bibliometrics requires responsible bibliometricians.  It is not just our systems and processes that need to be responsible, but us.  We are the ones supporting these activities in our institutions.  I believe that …

Is it time to bury the h-index?

Ian Rowlands hammers another nail into the h-index's coffin by explaining how it actually brings nothing new to the table and by showing how chance determines its outcome. The poor old h-index has come in for a lot of criticism recently, with a flood of papers pointing to its conceptual and practical shortcomings.  Is it time to …

Book review: “Measuring research: what everyone needs to know”.

Lizzie Gadd reviews a new introductory text, "Measuring Research: what everyone needs to know" by Cassidy Sugimoto and Vincent Larivière. The research community has been crying out for a decent primer on all things bibliometrics.  And now we have one. And it's a good one - no doubt about that.  It's well-written by two people …

Tracking citations in Law – Guest Post by Quentin Pope

Dr Quentin Pope, a Liaison Librarian and subject specialised librarian with specific responsibilities for the library and information requirements of QUT School of Law, outlines how you can track citations in Law. The primary purpose of bibliographic reference research is to link references in citations of scholarly publications. For cross-linking citations to publications, an essential, …