Questioning bibliometrics and research impact

Abstract

Talk presented at the Bibliometrics and Research Impact Conference 2018: Universities are increasingly requiring researchers to demonstrate their impact through quantifiable measures or metrics and in response bibliometric tools and services are being established or investigated by university and library administrations. In this context, libraries are starting to position themselves as experts on campus to provide this “value added” service, citing their experience with and involvement in managing scholarly outputs. There exists, however, a not insignificant pushback on the part of some faculty regarding the “publish or perish” culture and the reduction of scholarship to countable bits. As librarians are also often faculty members with their own research agendas and may share this critical view of the corporatization of the academy, there is a professional tension that deserves exploration. This short presentation will explore these tensions, discussing potential conflicts of interest and ethical questions that may arise when providing bibliometric services. It will also explore how some groups are proposing values- based evaluation as a counter to quantifiable metrics.