MORE@DIAG Seminar: Measuring metric-wiseness: Is knowledge about bibliometric indicators homogenous across faculty at a university?
MORE@DIAG - Management, Operations Research, and Economics
Organizers: Chiara Conti, Valerio Dose, Luca Fraccascia, Fabio Furini, Riccardo Marzano
MORE@DIAG Seminar Series presents: Measuring metric-wiseness: Is knowledge about bibliometric indicators homogenous across faculty at a university?, by Cinzia Daraio and Sandra Rousseau
The seminar will be held by Sandra Rousseau, CEDON, KU Leuven (Belgium)
Abstract:
As academic researchers we are all used to being evaluated for publishing, acquiring funding or getting a promotion. Bibliometric indicators are a key input into these evaluation processes. Thus, we wonder how well researchers know these indicators and how to use them. And if this knowledge is different between researchers, we wonder whether it matters; do more knowledgeable researchers have an advantage over their colleagues? To this end, we use the concept of ‘metric-wiseness’ which reflects a researcher’s capacity to use bibliometric indicators to present one’s research value. In order to develop an adequate measure of metric-wiseness, an online survey was developed to gather data on the publication preferences of professors affiliated with the Sapienza University of Rome. The dataset includes information on socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, function and research discipline as well as past publication behavior, attitudes towards and knowledge of bibliometric indicators and a discrete choice experiment designed to learn about publication preferences. We propose a two-leveled approach to measure metric-wiseness. On a first level, one just asks if the respondent is familiar with the concept of one or more popular indicators such as a journal impact factor. A person who can answer these questions correctly is then said to be metric-wise. On a second level, we identify the manner through which this metric-wiseness is expressed. Specifically, we measure four components regarding the use and role of indicators in researcher activities: 1) technical knowledge, 2) use of indicators, 3) intrinsic motivation and 4) external pressure.
Short bio:
Sandra Rousseau is a professor of environmental economics at the Research Centre for Economics and Corporate Sustainability (CEDON) of the KU Leuven in Belgium. Her research centers around two broad themes: Environmental economics and Research evaluation. Initially, the main focus of her research was the design, implementation and evaluation of environmental policy instruments. Recently, she is working on the economic modeling of the circular economy and the selection of policy measures to facilitate the transition from a linear to a circular economy with a focus on the consumer perspective. Finally, she also works on the assessment of journal and researcher quality. As an interdisciplinary researcher, she uses a wide array of methods with a specific focus on survey-based studies. KU Leuven webpage: https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00007410
