Measuring research impact

Using bibliometrics

Bibliometrics is the quantitative analysis of research. Using citation data, you can evaluate the impact of your research within the academic community and beyond.

Bibliometric measures include:

• Citation Count: the number of times that a research output has appeared in the reference list of other articles and books.
• H-Index: an author-level metric calculated from the count of citations to an author's set of publications. For example, an author with an h-index of 6 has at least 6 publications that have each been cited at least 6 times each.
• Journal Impact Factor: a measure reflecting the annual average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal.

(Adapted from the Metrics Toolkit licensed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence.)

When using bibliometrics, researchers must consider them carefully and in context. Different bibliometric measures do have limitations and are not always a measure of good quality. Different subjects and disciplines also value bibliometrics differently.

For further information, please see:

• Metrics Toolkit
• Snowball Metrics

Web of Science

Web of Science is a multidisciplinary research tool which allows you to cross search a range of citation indexes and databases. Using a single platform, you can:

• Count and track your citations.
• Calculate your author h-index.
• Discover emerging trends to inform your research, and identify collaborators with influence.
• Search across data, books, journals and patents.
• Find, analyse, and share the most relevant information in science, social science, arts and humanities.

InCites – Journal Citation Reports (JCR)

InCites JCR is a metrics tool used by researchers to assist them in evaluating and comparing journals using citation data. Reports contain dynamic, interactive features supported by visualizations of JCR indicators on published research in varying fields.

With interactive and visual reports you can:

• Find the most frequently cited and/or high impact  journals in a subject or discipline.
• View comprehensive journal profiles.
• Compare multiple journals based on chosen indicators.
• Collect key performance indicator data for benchmarking.
• Evaluate journals in which you or York St John University has published research.
• Identify potential journals in which to publish your research.