<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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... </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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on whether I should include the letter in my upcoming promotion pack, I was told it would contribute "zilch" as it was not peer-reviewed, not a recognized publication, and it was "just one letter by one person"!!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?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cheers,</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Hossein </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br>Sent from my iPhone</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br>On 23/09/2013, at 3:22 AM, "Kappelman, Leon" <<a href="mailto:Leon.Kappelman@unt.edu">Leon.Kappelman@unt.edu</a>> wrote:<br><br></span></div><blockquote type="cite"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; "><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Here is some of the “food for thought” that raised my eyebrows enough to send this note:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/brazilian-citation-scheme-outed-1.13604">http://www.nature.com/news/brazilian-citation-scheme-outed-1.13604</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2012/08/13/sick-of-impact-factors/">http://occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2012/08/13/sick-of-impact-factors/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/journal-retracts-two-papers-after-being-caught-manipulating-citations/">http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/journal-retracts-two-papers-after-being-caught-manipulating-citations/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/042152_citation_stacking_scientific_journals_dishonesty.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/042152_citation_stacking_scientific_journals_dishonesty.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Best wishes,<br>Leon Kappelman<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; "><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” – Benjamin Franklin<o:p></o:p></font></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; "><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Leon A. Kappelman, Ph.D. <br> Professor of Information Systems <br> Director Emeritus, Information Systems Research Center<br> Fellow, Texas Center for Digital Knowledge<br> College of Business, University of North Texas<br> Voice: <a href="tel:940-565-4698" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="6">940-565-4698</a> Email:<a href="mailto:kapp@unt.edu">kapp@unt.edu</a><br>Founding Chair, Society for Information Management's Enterprise Architecture Working Group<br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; "><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"> </font></o:p></p></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">_______________________________________________<br>AISWorld mailing list<br><a href="mailto:AISWorld@lists.aisnet.org">AISWorld@lists.aisnet.org</a></span></font></blockquote></body></html>