Down with the impact factor | Green Tea and Velociraptors

abernard102@gmail.com 2015-11-22

Summary:

"The impact factor is one of the most mis-used metrics in the history of academia. Stephen Curry and others have written much about the ‘impact factor’ disease, stating that if you use it in almost any form then you’re 'statistically illiterate', something which I’m inclined to agree with. But such conversations about the impact factor are designed for one-on-one combating of its use. We often talk about ‘changing the culture’ of research assessment, which addresses the bigger picture of research assessment. And that means getting those who pull the strings to listen and make the changes we all advocate for. To that end, I’ve drafted an Open Letter template for researchers (with help from the community). This letter is to send to people in positions of power at different institutions, co-signed by as many academics as possible who believe in fairer and evidence-based assessment. It can be re-mixed, shared, edited, whatever you want. It’s just a tool to help empower researchers make the change we advocate for against the prevalent mis-use of the impact factor.  In the UK, there are currently only two universities (Sussex and UCL) who have signedDORA, the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. This Declaration recommends for Institutions ..."

Link:

http://fossilsandshit.com/2015/11/20/down-with-the-impact-factor/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.comment oa.jif oa.impact oa.prestige oa.dora oa.advocacy oa.declarations oa.signatures oa.metrics

Date tagged:

11/22/2015, 07:32

Date published:

11/22/2015, 02:32