[AISWorld] Downside of impact factors: Scientists engaging in 'citation stacking'

Mon Sep 23 18:58:45 EDT 2013

I don't know whether this attachment is too big (<1Mb) but the Australian Government recently published a discussion paper on the wider definition of research impact. What will come of this following the change of government is moot.

Essentially it looks beyond internal impact (within the originating academic discipline) to suggest three dimensions of external impact:

*         Academic impact (on researchers outside the originating discipline)

*         Professional Impact (on practitioners)

*         Social impact (broadly defined.

If the attachment is stripped, email me directly for a copy.

Cheers
John

From: aisworld-bounces at lists.aisnet.org [mailto:aisworld-bounces at lists.aisnet.org] On Behalf Of Ilia Bider
Sent: Monday, 23 September 2013 5:16 PM
To: aisworld at lists.aisnet.org
Subject: Re: [AISWorld] Downside of impact factors: Scientists engaging in 'citation stacking'

Hossein,

Sadly enough :-(, no academic measurement, including the Impact Factor, is directed at measuring the impact of research on real life, only its influence on the academic life. Publishing in a  highest ranking journal does not guarantee that a paper will be picked up by the industry, or other real life sector for implementation. Part of the problem here is the academic papers being written in such a style that a "normal" person, most probably, does not understand. What's more, IMHO, the high ranking journals are among those that promote this style in no lesser degree than the less ranking journals. On the positive side, this problem is started to be understood, and, hopefully, the situation will change in the nearest future :-).

Hope, my message will take away some of your frustration :-).

Best regards/Ilia

On 2013-09-23 04:38, Hossein Seif Zadeh wrote:
Not currently employed as an academic, I have just prepared a fresh jar of coffee and I am embracing for an "interesting" philosophical debate without any tangible, actionable, outcome; but alas here we go again...

Just to share one personal experience; I successfully completed a research project a few years ago and I received a letter of commendation (on federal government letterhead) specifically saying my research was of "national importance" and "impact". Later that year when I sought feedback on whether I should include the letter in my upcoming promotion pack, I was told it would contribute "zilch" as it was not peer-reviewed, not a recognized publication, and it was "just one letter by one person"!! Oh, well... Chalked it up as a lesson learnt; original research of national importance has no place in today's academia. Is this really the message we want to convey to junior, aspiring, academics?

Coffee mug in hand, feet up, ready for the onslaught of emails.... on second thought, I might need a glass of red instead of coffee :-) Should be an interesting 48 hours or or so before the debate winds down.

Cheers,
Hossein

Sent from my iPhone

On 23/09/2013, at 3:22 AM, "Kappelman, Leon" <Leon.Kappelman at unt.edu<mailto:Leon.Kappelman at unt.edu>> wrote:

Some of our institutions have adopted or are considering the use of impact factors as a metric for faculty performance.  Certainly our current faculty performance measures are less than perfect so it seems to be a suggestion worthy of consideration.  But impact factors are not without controversy and apparently prone to manipulation and questionable behaviors.  So before embracing impact factors, consider that at least to some extent they are a measure of what some might call "incestuous citation behaviors."  Not surprising since most all of us understand that when it comes to human behavior, you get what you measure.  The big question is: Do the positives of using impact factors, or any other metric or combination of measure for that matter, sufficiently outweigh the negatives?

Here is some of the "food for thought" that raised my eyebrows enough to send this note:

http://www.nature.com/news/brazilian-citation-scheme-outed-1.13604

http://occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2012/08/13/sick-of-impact-factors/

http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/journal-retracts-two-papers-after-being-caught-manipulating-citations/

http://www.naturalnews.com/042152_citation_stacking_scientific_journals_dishonesty.html

Best wishes,
Leon Kappelman
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom." - Benjamin Franklin
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    Voice: 940-565-4698<tel:940-565-4698>   Email:kapp at unt.edu<mailto:kapp at unt.edu>
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