Reputation & Impact

Research Intelligence and Impact Metrics

Demonstrating and broadening the impact of the University’s research through consultations, custom data products, University-wide projects, and unique initiatives. We work with faculty members, students, academic departments, and offices across the University. Here are some of the services we offer.

Publication and citation analysis

Interested in measuring the impact of your scholarly publications? We gather and analyze publication and citation data to support research evaluation projects. We can help you understand and contextualize your impact at different scales: individual, lab, research group, department, school, or institutional. We also offer peer benchmarking and network analysis to surface research strengths and potential collaborators. Talk to your subject librarian for more information.

Altmetrics

Engaging in the social web can create more visibility for you and your work. We can help you leverage online communities and alternative metrics to grow the audience for your research and demonstrate the social impact of your work. Alternative metrics (also known as altmetrics) look at non-citation-based measures of impact and engagement for your work. This can include social media, downloads, media attention, and more. Talk to your subject librarian for more information on how to get started.

Broader Impacts

Interested in demonstrating how your research benefits society? Documenting the broader impact is becoming increasing important to funders like the National Science Foundation (NSF). Below are some examples from the NSF.

• The NSF "Broader Impacts" webpage contains excellent information and links on how funded research can serve the broader good.
• The NSF offers a Broader Impacts Review Criterion that is listed as part of their grant application process.
• The NSF Grant Proposal Guide uses a series of questions to illustrate the Broader Impacts criterion.
• Further examples of "broader impacts" can be found in the NSF document Merit Review Broader Impacts Criterion: Representative Activities.

Contact Daniel Castillo, Somerville Director, Science and Engineering Libraries and Research Initiatives, for more information.

National and International Rankings

Many rankings consider publication and citation data in their scoring. We can work with you to unpack ranking methodologies and data sources and develop strategies to ensure your department’s, school’s, or institution’s work is represented accurately and effectively. Contact Daniel Castillo, Somerville Director, Science and Engineering Libraries and Research Initiatives, to learn more.

Create and manage your ORCID

ORCIDs are unique personal identifiers that connect you to all your work and professional activities, including grants, publications, and more. We can help you set up an ORCID account, show you how to feed the data into other systems, and take advantage of automatic updates. Talk to us about how use ORCID to speed up annual reporting and keep your departmental website up-to-date.

Scholarly Profile Management

Through consultations and one-on-one support we can help you take control of your scholarly identity and reputation by discussing new ways to leverage web and scholarly communication tools to connect with colleagues, discover collaborators, and expose your work to new audiences.

Our services are for all members of the University community, including students and early-career faculty. We also work with academic departments and other offices across the institution to create tools, processes, and systems that make understanding and managing your scholarly reputation easier. No problem or idea is too big or too small!

Getting Credit for your work

Ensure that your research is authoritatively connected to you within publication and citation databases like Web of Science, Scopus, and Dimensions. We can help you understand how these platforms create profiles on your behalf and how to update them so they accurately reflect your work. We can also show you how to get recognition for other ways you contribute to the scholarly conversation including peer review activities and professional service. Contact your subject librarian to learn more.

Sharing your research and networking

Engaging in social media can create more visibility for you and your work. We can help you navigate this landscape, understand the strengths and weaknesses of available tools, and work with you to develop a strategy for creating a strong online presence. Contact your subject librarian to learn more.