This document provides resources for measuring and maximizing research impact, including making strategic publication decisions, maximizing exposure of research, and utilizing tools to track scholarly impact and engagement. It discusses finding journal impact rankings, considering open access, engaging abstracts and keywords, and using scholarly networks and tools like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ORCID to maximize exposure and track metrics. The librarian providing this information notes that impact should be considered in the context of individual department guidelines.

1. Resources for
Measuring and
Maximizing
Research Impact
Rachel Borchardt, Science Librarian
borchard@american.edu
August 24, 2015

2. Maximizing Research Impact
• Making strategic publication decisions
• Maximizing exposure of your research
• Utilizing tools to track scholarly impact and engagement

3. Quick note about accessing resources
All resources discussed are available through:
tinyurl.com/AUmetrics
(on or off campus!)

4. Another quick note
• These are not necessarily concrete facts!
• Check departmental guidelines, tenure manual, CFA guideline
• When in doubt, ask others in your department
• Many, many differences across campus

5. Research prior to publication*
*primarily journal article publication
Strategic Publication
Decisions:

6. Journal impact
• Research the top journals in your discipline
• Major journal metrics:
– Impact Factor – Journal Citation Reports
– SJR – scimagojr.com
– H5-index – Google Scholar Metrics
• Similar, but not directly comparable

7. Finding Impact Factor Rankings
• Journal Citation Reports, library database

8. Finding SJR Rankings
• www.scimagojr.com, free online resource

9. Finding H5-index Rankings
• https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues&hl=en
Or scholar.google.com --> Metrics

10. Other Considerations
• What is valued in your department?
• Journal acceptance rates
• Niche vs. broad vs. interdisciplinary journal scope
• Book publication considerations – publisher prestige
• Journal quality vs. article quality

11. Article quality – Citation counts
• Web of Science
– Library database
• Scopus
– Library database
• Google Scholar
– Free resource

12. Article quality – other metrics
• Article Views, Downloads, and Usage counts
– PLOS, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, and other publishers
– Web of Science beta-testing Usage counts in their system
• Other categories of altmetrics, especially ‘social media’
indicators
– Indicators of attention or engagement
– Altmetric.com ‘donut’
– Scopus, publishers like Wiley, or as an in-browser bookmarklet

13. Maximizing
Research Exposure:
How can people find my research?

14. Ways to Maximize Exposure
• Google Scholar profile
• Publishing Open Access
• Engaging abstract and keywords
• Scholarly networks

15. Google Scholar profile
• Linked to a Gmail / Google account
• https://scholar.google.com/citations to get started
• You select or add works to associate with your profile

16. Open Access
• Many studies correlate article visibility & searchability with citation counts
• Open Access does not directly affect journal quality
– Many OA journals have impact factors; some are highly ranked
• Tools available to evaluate the credibility of OA journals
– Recommendation: Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers

17. Abstract and keywords
• Engaging abstract
– Quick overview, including most relevant results
– Easily understood by researchers and others
• Appropriate keywords
– Both jargon-based and laymen
– Not everyone searching for information is necessarily a researcher in your
field
– Consider words not in your title/abstract

18. Maximizing Exposure and
Tracking Engagement:
Scholarly Networks and other tools

19. Scholarly Networks
• ResearchGate
– Developed for the sciences
• Academia.edu
– Broad categories of use
• SSRN
– Developed for social sciences
– Emphasis on pre-publications and white papers
• Mendeley
– Broad categories of use
– Focus on citation discovery and management

20. Scholarly Networks
• Register and create a profile
• Upload or link to articles
• Follow other researchers
• Join groups
• Search for articles
• Track metrics

21. Other tools for tracking scholarship
and engagement
• ORCID – orcid.org
• ImpactStory – impactstory.org
$60/year

22. Closing thoughts
• How can I provide evidence of my scholarly impact?
– How can I track my evidence along the way?
• Who will be evaluating my scholarship?
• What is the best way to measure impact in my discipline?

23. Library Assistance and
Resources
Rachel Borchardt
borchard@american.edu
Metrics research guide:
http://tinyurl.com/AUmetrics
Faculty research guide:
http://subjectguides.library.american.edu
/faculty_research

24. Questions?