Fintan Bracken: Bibliometrics: Maximising & Assessing Research Impact

Fintan is the Research Services and Bibliometrics Librarian in the University of Limerick. In this role, Fintan is responsible for providing services to researchers in many aspects of the research process including bibliometrics, open access, publication strategy and maximising research impact. Prior to joining UL in October 2013, Fintan worked with IReL, the Irish Research eLibrary. He has also previously worked in the Marine Institute’s research library. Fintan completed a PhD in zoology in 2004 and has published research on various topics including bird biodiversity and usability studies. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/fintanbracken.

Abstract

In the last decade, the use of bibliometrics has become more mainstream in universities and research institutions throughout the world. Bibliometrics refers to the quantitative measures used to assess research output, in other words, publication and citation analysis. This workshop will provide:

• An overview of bibliometrics and how they can be used;
• An explanation of the main metrics used;
• Details on how to find citations to articles and how to calculate the h-index of a researcher using the three main citation tools, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar;
• Information on other methods and tools to assess the research impact of individuals and groups;
• An explanation of the main journal metrics and instructions on how to find each.

This workshop will also highlight five key methods for optimising the impact of research including publishing in high impact journals (e.g. using ScimagoJR.com), ensuring a researcher’s outputs are easily identifiable (e.g. using ORCID and Google Scholar Profiles), increasing the visibility of publications (e.g. using Open Access), and promoting research (e.g. using social media).