Researchers and academic staff may need to demonstrate the quality and impact of their research in grant applications and academic promotions. Metrics can indicate research quality and provide evidence to support claims made by researchers.
This guide provides information on using research metrics to capture evidence and describe research outputs for grants and promotions, by using the free and subscription tools that determine the impact and engagement metrics of research outputs. It provides example statements showing how to use these metrics to put your claims into context.
Firstly, ensure that you keep your author profiles up to date, as the accuracy of the evidence you gather depends on these sources, which are used by analysis tools. Use the Researcher Profile and CRO Library Guides to assist.
It is important to be aware of the limitations of metrics.
See our Research Metrics, Impact and Engagement guide for more information on metrics.
The Metrics Toolkit has further details. It has been developed to help scholars and evaluators understand and use citations, web metrics, and altmetrics responsibly in the evaluation of research. It provides evidence-based information about research metrics across disciplines, including how each metric is calculated, where you can find it, and how each should (and should not) be applied. You’ll also find examples of how to use metrics in grant applications, CVs, and promotion packages.
When you apply for grants or academic promotion, you should use metrics to present yourself in the best possible light.
Before you start, you need to familiarise yourself with the rules of the grants. Some funders, the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council, for example, require that you don't use particular types of metrics (e.g.Journal Impact Factors or JIF).
See:
In your grant or promotion application, you could try to include:
The Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics has 10 principles to guide responsible research evaluation.
You can use SciVal and PlumX to find evidence of:
When writing your grant application it’s important to think about who is going to read it and under what conditions. You should write in a way that’s easy to understand and quickly digestible. There are a number of techniques you can use to achieve this:
For more information see: Grant Development Resources and Support and the Grant Writing Toolkit.
Applications need to provide evidence to support that:
The value of specific metrics varies across disciplines, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to selecting metrics. Review the A Guide to Evidence in Promotion and the RPI Index Guide to get an understanding of the types of evidence you could consider.
For more information, see other Charles Sturt resources:
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