Responsible metrics

Responsible metrics refers to the ethical and appropriate use of citation-based metrics, altmetrics and other quantitative means of evaluating research.  

What are metrics and how they can be used

The field of bibliometrics analyses publications through statistical methods. It uses citation data to provide insight into the impact of research outputs. Bibliometrics can be used in combination with qualitative indicators such as peer review, funding received, and the number of patents and awards granted.

You can use bibliometrics to:

  • analyse your research outputs
  • provide evidence of the impact of your research
  • find new and emerging areas of research
  • identify potential research collaborators
  • identify suitable sources in which to publish.

Any single metric will not provide a rounded overview of research performance. To practice responsible metrics you will need to use a ‘basket of metrics’. Consider the context in which the metrics are used and look at them alongside appropriate qualitative measures.

Each publication, database and publisher will use citation metrics. Although some of these citation metrics are duplicated across platforms, they are not universal or consistent.

The Researcher Engagement Team offer training and support on some of the metrics tools available.

Please see Researcher Engagement Events for upcoming events or contact the Researcher Engagement Team for more information.

Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

DORA recognises the need to improve the ways in which researchers and the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated.

The idea to write the declaration was developed in 2012 during at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco. It has become a worldwide initiative covering all scholarly disciplines and all key stakeholders including funders, publishers, professional societies, institutions, and researchers. LJMU are signatories on this declaration and you can read the full declaration on the DORA website.

Some universities have also made statements about responsible metric. Some example statements have been collected by and are available to read on The Bibliomagician blog.