The Role of Citations in Warwick’s Strategy and Improving Them Nicola Owen (Academic Registrar) Professor Mark Smith (PVC Research: Science and Medicine)

Introduction  What are citations ?  Citation indices & impact factors  ISI Highly Cited Researchers  Why improve citations ?  How do we improve citations ?

What are Citations ?  A citation is a reference to a book, article or web page or other published item that can be uniquely identified.  Citations are used in scholarly works to give credit to or acknowledge the influence of previous works.  Thomson ISI, part of Thomson-Reuters Corp. is the World’s leading bibliometric data compiler. ISI created by Eugene Garfield

Citation Indices  SCI – Science Citation Index  SSCI – Social Science Citation Index  AHCI - Arts and Humanities Citation Index

Impact Factor E.g. Journal impact factor for 2003…. A = the number of times articles published in were cited in indexed journals during 2003 B = the number of "citable items" (usually articles, reviews, letters, proceedings or notes; not usually editorials, comments and letters-to-the-Editor) published in impact factor = A/B

The highest cited journals

Consider impact by field EconomicsBiochemistry & Molecular Biology

Consider impact by field  We have seen that citation rates and impact vary by field and sub-field of research  We must set citations metrics in context  Citations less relevant in the arts and humanities

Highly Cited Researchers  Thomson ISIHighlyCited.com  21 broad subject categories in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences, engineering and social sciences.  Individuals listed are the most highly cited within each category for the period , comprise less than 0.5 % of all publishing researchers - an extraordinary accomplishment.  Does not include the arts & humanities  Universities recognised as the best in the World have many HiCi researchers

Nobel Laureates… Eugene Garfield on Nobel Laureates…  they publish five times the average number of papers  their work is cited 30 to 50 times the average  they will invariably publish several Citation Classics  most have high h-Indexes  many also appear on ISI’s HighlyCited index We can’t all be Nobel Laureates though !

Where Are We Now – Highly Cited? [2] Cambridge University = 49 [10] Oxford University = 40 [23] Imperial College = 29 [26] UCL = 23 [62] Bristol = 16 [50] Manchester = 14 [90] Birmingham = 7 [246] Warwick = 5 [1] Harvard University = 80 [3] Stanford University = 93 [4] UC Berkley = 82 [5] MIT = 74 [8] Princeton University = 60 [11] Yale University = 34 [12] Cornell University = 51 [85] Brown University =15 Comparative positions include (SJTU rankings in brackets):

Citation impact for Institutions in 5 year overlapping periods

Why might this be? Young institution? Young medical school? Culture of playing safe? Insufficient international networks? Lack of awareness Publishing cultures? Some disciplines and sub-disciplines cite more than others.

Why are we doing this? Strategically: Boost research quality by regular benchmarking to world, rather than UK, standards. Reputation (underselling ourselves) international esteem THES World Rankings citations per faculty (20%) Future funding –Research Assessment of Science, Technology, Engineering & Medicine (STEM) subjects from 2009 (likely to be weighted 30%)

What can we do? Primary focus on research quality across Warwick (i.e. not just a science/social science issue) Citations is one measure – draw up measures in discipline context Need to start measuring –What’s your own h-index? –What do Warwick academics publish each year?

How do we improve citations ?  Attempt to publish in top journals for the field or sub-field of research  Don’t take the comfortable option of submitting articles first to middle ranking journals  Be prepared to face rejection  Achieve maximum publicity for your research  Ensure that the correct address is used !

What can we do? (cont.) Supporting early career staff –Taking risks –Mentoring –Identifying journals/publishers –Co-editing –Networking Open access publishing? (Southampton experience)