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The impact of metrics on scholarly research","","Australian universities increasingly rely on journal metrics such as impact factors and ranking lists within appraisal and promotion processes, and they set quantitative “performance expectations” tied to those indicators. The paper examines recent reactions to the “metric tide,” including a UK report on metrics and major international declarations like the San Francisco Declaration and the Leiden Manifesto. It argues that, despite diverse viewpoints, authoritative sources agree it is inappropriate to use journal-level metrics to judge the merit of individual scholars.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/tide-or-tsunami-the-impact-of-metrics-on-scholarly-research/594631/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/tide-or-tsunami-the-impact-of-metrics-on-scholarly-research/594631.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Ben ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":14},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why are Australian universities using journal metrics in appraisal and promotion?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They increasingly use indicators such as impact factors and ranking lists and set quantitative performance expectations during appraisal and promotion processes.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What concern does the paper raise about relying on journal-level metrics?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It notes widespread agreement that journal-level metrics and ranking lists are not appropriate for assessing the merit of individual scholars.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What examples of metric-driven pressure are provided?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The paper includes evidence from Swinburne and the University of Queensland, describing how publication reporting requirements and grant/publication tracking systems can increase pressure on academics to publish in preferred outlets.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},594631,1792208774,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":14,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":46},2336478951081,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nTide or tsunami? The impact of metrics on scholarly research  \nAndrew G Bonnell University of Queensland  \nAustralian universities are increasingly resorting to the use of journal metrics such as impact factors and ranking lists in appraisal and promotion processes, and are starting to set quantitative ‘performance expectations’ which make use of such journal-based metrics. The widespread use and misuse of research metrics is leading to increased concern in scientific and broader academic communities worldwide. This paper reviews some of the most important recent responses to the so-called ‘metric tide’, with particular reference to the report of that name recently issued by the UK’s Higher Education Funding Council for England, and other important statements such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and the Leiden Manifesto. While there is a spectrum of views on research metrics in general, there is widespread agreement from authoritative sources that it is not appropriate to rely on journal-level metrics, such as journal ranking lists, for assessing the merit of individual scholars.  \nKeywords: metrics, research, publications, performance management, managerialism  \nA couple of items of evidence on the current impact of metrics on researchers in Australian universities:  \nExhibit A  \nA message from the Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Business and Law, Swinburne University, on 10 March 2015 reminded staff as usual to submit their recent publications to the university’s electronic databank for the annual Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC), but this time with the stipulation:‘Publications in unranked (ABDC, IS or Law rankings) outlets, either journals or conference papers, should not be submitted. Reporting these publications to HERDC has a negative impact on our ERA [Excellence in Research for Australia] rankings’(Trounson, 2015) .  \nIn fairness, it should be added that Swinburne’s acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Development  \nsubsequently issued a statement that the Associate Dean’s message ‘does not reflect university-level processes or communications’. Official communications to staff had made clear that all research publications should be submitted to the research bank. ‘The university takes seriously its reporting obligations and further communications to staff will reinforce that all publications should be submitted to our repository so all eligible publications can be included in HERDC,’ the DVC stated. The Australian Research Council (ARC) expressed its concern over the reporting of this message,and reaffirmed that universities needed to make complete submissions to the ERA (Trounson, 2015) .  \nExhibit B  \nThe University of Queensland maintains an online database that tracks grants, research higher degree  \n54 Tide or tsunami? The impact of metrics on scholarly research Andrew G Bonnell vol. 58, no. 1, 2016  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nsupervisions and completions, and publications, over a six-year period, ascribing a numerical value to each, to two decimal places, which is compared in bar graphs to the average for the School, Faculty or Institute, the University, and the academic level (A-E) . It is updated daily.The points values for publications are derived from a journal ranking list that was adapted from the 2010 ERA journal list promulgated by the Australian Research Council after a round of internal consultation during which staff were able to add unlisted journals or lobby for changes in the rankings. While such tabulations always come with a caveat that they should not be used in isolation, in practice individuals whose output falls below the average, however high the overall level of performance of a School, may feel under pressure, or may be put under pressure in performance appraisals.  \nhigher scores in the 2012 round do not automatically mean an increa","cbCaigRi1qxCmHHQ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigRi1qxCmHHQ","pdf",163539,"English","# Tide or tsunami? The impact of metrics on scholarly research\n## Use and misuse of research metrics\n## Evidence from Australian universities (Exhibits A and B)\n## Limits of journal-level metrics for assessing scholars","[{\"question\":\"Why are Australian universities using journal metrics in appraisal and promotion?\",\"answer\":\"They increasingly use indicators such as impact factors and ranking lists and set quantitative performance expectations during appraisal and promotion processes.\"},{\"question\":\"What concern does the paper raise about relying on journal-level metrics?\",\"answer\":\"It notes widespread agreement that journal-level metrics and ranking lists are not appropriate for assessing the merit of individual scholars.\"},{\"question\":\"What examples of metric-driven pressure are provided?\",\"answer\":\"The paper includes evidence from Swinburne and the University of Queensland, describing how publication reporting requirements and grant/publication tracking systems can increase pressure on academics to publish in preferred outlets.\"}]","Tide or tsunami? The impact of metrics on scholarly research | PDF",1792079526]