How important is a certain article? How influential is a certain scholar? How good is a certain journal? These are complex questions that require nuanced answers. Nevertheless, there is widespread interest in, and reliance on, research metrics that attempt to answer these qualitative questions with simple numbers.

In this workshop, co-taught by Jill Cirasella (GC) and Margaret Smith (NYU), we will examine how Journal Impact Factor, h-index, and other metrics are calculated, and discuss what they do and don’t communicate about a work, a researcher, or a journal. We will also look at various problems with citation-based metrics, including the “gender citation gap.” Finally, we will explore strategies and tools for better capturing and communicating your scholarly impact, and for giving scholarly credit more equitably.

Can't make it? Email Jill Cirasella, Associate Librarian for Scholarly Communication, at jcirasella@gc.cuny.edu to request that the session be recorded.

This workshop is part of the Scholarly Communication Essentials workshop series. It is geared toward the Graduate Center community but open to everyone at CUNY. Publication Cycle image by University of Winnipeg Library, used under CC BY / annotations removed from original.