Measurements are powerful. We need appropriate metrics of research impact if we want responsible discovery, accurate assessment, and useful interpretation of research output.
Until recently, scholarship has been dependent on the impact of the publishing container as a proxy for the impact of the research work within. We can now do better: the post-publication impact of individual research objects can be tracked in the scholarly literature and within wider communities through traditional citations and altmetrics sources -- downloads, bookmarks in delicious, shares on Twitter, discussions on Mendeley, patent prior in patents.
These diverse article-level metrics will not only drive more enlightened discovery and more informed assessments, they empower scholars. Researchers are changing where they decide to publish papers, how they value the dissemination of non-traditional research products, and how they perceive outreach and PR.
Join our lively discussion about the impact of article-level measurements on the research landscape today, how you can help make them better, and how you can start using them within your universities and publishing venues.
