Researcher profiles
You must regularly update and maintain your researcher profiles to work with most of the metrics described in this guide. Researcher profiles are the foundation for bibliometric analysis. Review your Academic Unit and Individual Work Plan Policy for more information about researcher profiles and associated research outputs.
- Be able to gather accurate research metrics quickly
- Ensure publications are correctly attributed to you
- Ensure publications are correctly attributed to Western Sydney University
- Ensure your work is seen in its best light by reviewers who may use these database products for their assessment
Western Sydney University's Research Portal uses recognised research activity measures that are eligible for ERA (Excellence in Research Australia) reporting purposes, including research publications.
Find out more about Researcher Profiles.
“I'm applying for an ARC research grant, and I need help finding research metrics to identify my career-best publications. Where's a good place to start?”
"I'm applying for a grant, and I need to evidence my research impact. As a creative arts scholar, what information can I find to support my application?"
Metrics for humanities researchers
For Humanities researchers, many research metrics are available quickly and easily through your author profiles in three key places:
- The Scopus database (and related analytics tool SciVal)
- The Web of Science database (and related analytics tool InCites)
- Google Scholar
Scopus and Web of Science each index a list of specific journals. Humanities topics are covered in both databases, so you will likely find at least some of your journal article publications in your profile. However, coverage might not be as strong as some Health and Science topics. There is more limited coverage of books, book chapters, and conference papers - but you may find that some of these publications are included here too. Google Scholar can be helpful as its search engine usually finds more publications and citations from across the web.
Metrics and indicators for communication arts researchers
Researchers from creative disciplines may produce Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs), such as creative works, in addition to traditional scholarly publications like journal articles and books.
To be eligible as research outputs, creative works must meet the Australian Research Council’s definition of research and have been published or made publicly available. Creative works can be presented in the forms of:
- Creative textual works, e.g., novels or art reviews, etc.
- Visual artworks/design works, e.g., fine arts, crafts work, sculptures or installations, exhibitions, etc.
-
Live performances, e.g., music, play, dance, etc.
Due to the different nature of traditional and Non-Traditional Research Outputs, you will need to consider different metrics and impact indicators to demonstrate their research impact.
"What are the key metrics and indicators for traditional research outputs?"
About discipline-based quality metrics/indicators:
- HDR candidates: Consult with your supervisors to determine if any discipline-specific quality metrics or indicators are applicable to your intellectual contributions.
- Researchers: Refer to the University Work Plan Policy, which includes the 2024 School Work Plan Policies, and review your individual work plans for guidance on your work plan profile research outputs/intellectual contributions and relevant outcomes.
Citation-based metrics are widely used to measure and demonstrate the impact of traditional research outputs such as journal articles, books, book chapters and conference proceedings. Reviews and esteem indicators of conference organisers or book publishers/editors may help establish the prestige and quality of conferences or books. On the other hand, author metrics (e.g., h-index) are often used to evidence the overall impact of research.
Bibliometrics (citation metrics) are quantitative indicators of a publication's reach. They use various statistical methods to analyse publications, author output, and citation counts. Indicators can be gathered from multiple sources.
- The Finding metrics section lists the sources you can use to find your publications, co-authors and who is citing your work.
- This Guide will help you find bibliometrics for grant applications and performance.
Here are examples of metrics to include in your application and how to find them.
Journal articles
Article-level metrics are usually available from the article's record page in different databases. However, to get some information, such as journal metrics, you may be required to go to other resources (e.g., SCImago). Similar to author metrics, the numbers might differ across databases due to their coverage.
| Metrics | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation count (without self-cites) (#) (SciVal), Times Cited (without self-Cites) (#) (InCites), Cited by (#) (Google Scholar) | Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar | Journal article citation counts |
| [Article] Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) (#) | Scopus | [Article] FWCI |
| Article ranking (citation percentiles) (# or %) | Scopus, Web of Science |
Article citation percentiles/Article ranking/Outputs in Top Citation Percentiles |
| % Top Papers (%), % Highly Cited Papers (%) | Web of Science | Article citation percentiles/Article ranking/Outputs in Top Citation Percentiles |
| Altmetrics (e.g. social media and news mentions) | Altmetric Explorer, PlumX | Altmetrics |
|
Journal impact indicators (#) (use caution: journal metrics are for journals, not articles) |
Scopus, Web of Science | Journal impact indicators |
|
Journal ranking and quartile in category (#) (use caution: journal metrics are for journals, not articles) |
Scopus, Web of Science |
Books and chapters
Metrics and indicators for books and chapters can be challenging to find. This is due to the limitation in indexing books in the major citation databases (such as Scopus and Web of Science) compared to journals. Google Scholar is another key tool for gathering citation metrics and reviews of books and chapters.
| Metrics or indicators | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation count (without self-cites) (#) (SciVal), Times Cited (#) (without self-Cites) (InCites), Cited by (#) (Google Scholar) | Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar | |
| [Article] Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) (#) | Scopus | Book/chapter record in Scopus |
| Altmetrics (e.g., social media and news mentions) | Altmetric Explorer, Scopus (PlumX) | Altmetric bookmarklet, Article record in Scopus |
| Worldwide and Australian library holdings of books | WorldCat, Trove | Book holdings in WorldCat and Trove |
| Book and/or chapter reviews | Google Scholar, Library Search (Advance) | Book review via Library Search |
| Credentials of the publisher and/or editors | Google, Publisher website | Search Google or the publisher's website |
|
Awards received Listing on university/school or professional body reading list, bestseller list |
Google, Publish website
|
Search Google or the publisher's website |
Conference papers
Similar to books and chapters, article-level metrics for conference papers can be difficult to find. The prestige and credentials of the conference and its organiser can often indicate the quality and status of a conference in its related research fields.
It's critical to be strategic when choosing which conference to attend and present your papers at. For more information, see the Conference: The how-to-choose guide.
| Metrics or indicators | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation Count (without self-cites) (#) (SciVal), Times Cited (without self-Cites) (#) (InCites), Cited by (#)(Google Scholar) | Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar | Conference paper record in the relevant database |
| Prestige of the conference in a field | Google, conference website | Search Google or the conference website |
| Credentials of the conference organiser | Google, conference website | Search Google or the conference website |
Author impact indicators
Author-level metrics are available from your profiles in Elements, Scopus, Web of Science, or Google Scholar and take into account all your publications that are indexed (available) in the related database. The numbers might be different in different databases due to their coverage.
| Metrics | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation Count (without self-cites) (#) (SciVal), Times Cited (without self-cites) (#) (InCites), Cited by (Google Scholar) (#) | Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar | Researcher Profiles (SciVal),
Article citation percentiles/Article ranking/Outputs in Top Citation Percentiles |
| Scholarly Output (#) (Scopus), Web of Science Documents (#) (WoS) | Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar | Researcher Profiles |
| h-index (with and without self-cites) (#) | Scopus, Web of Science | Researcher Profiles, SciVal, InCites |
| i10-index (#) | Google Scholar | Google Scholar profile |
| h5-index (#) | Scopus | SciVal Overview tab |
| m-index (#) | Scopus | SciVal Overview tab |
| g-index (#) | Scopus | SciVal Overview tab |
| Benchmark: [Author] Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) (#) (SciVal), [Author] Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) (#) (InCites) |
Scopus, Web of Science |
[Author] FWCI and [Author] CNCI |
| Contributed to Topic Clusters (#) | Scopus | SciVal |
Other Impact indicators
You can use our subscribed benchmarking tools (SciVal and InCites) to indicate your work's engagement and outstanding impact within your discipline and the wider community. The benchmarking is available against your peers and overall institution, country or global performance.
| Metrics | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citations per Document (#), Citation Impact (#) | Scopus, Web of Science | SciVal, InCites |
| Number of citing countries (#) | Scopus | SciVal |
| Attention by Region (#) | Altmetric Explorer | Altmetric Explorer |
| Benchmark: Cited Publications (%) | Scopus | SciVal |
| Benchmark: Outputs in Top Citation Percentiles (1% and 10%) (# or %) (SciVal), % Documents in Top 1% and 10% (%) (InCites) | Scopus, Web of Science | SciVal, InCites |
| Benchmark: Publications in top journal quartiles and prominent percentile by a specific journal ranking (%) | Scopus, Web of Science | SciVal, InCites |
| % Highly Cited Papers (%) | Web of Science | InCites |
| % Hot Papers (%) | Web of Science | InCites |
| Benchmark: Collaboration (%) (see national, international, and industry collaboration indicators) | Scopus, Web of Science | SciVal, InCites |
| Patent-citations count (#) (SciVal), Patent-Citations per Scholarly Output (#) (SciVal), Scholarly Output CIted by Patents (#) (SciVal), Patnt Count (#) (SciVal), Citation from Patents (#) (InCites), Patent Mentions (#) (Altmetric Explorer) | Scopus, Web of Science, Altmetric Explorer | SciVal, InCites, Altmetric Explorer |
| Policy mentions (#) | Altmetric Explorer | Altmetric Explorer |
Altmetrics
Altmetrics, or Alternative Metrics, refers to data that indicate the impact or attention a particular work receives on social media such as views, downloads, mentions in the media, and shares via platforms such as Twitter, blogs, Facebook and Mendeley. Altmetric providers also track citations in publications such as policy documents, patents, and medical guidelines.
| Metrics | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Social media - Tweets, Facebook likes, blog posts etc. | PlumX, Altmetric Explorer | PlumX Metrics via Scopus, Altmetric Explorer, Publisher websites |
| Article stats - views, downloads, saves etc. | PlumX, Altmetric Explorer, Research Profiles and Repository | PlumX Metrics via Scopus, Altmetric Explorer, Research Profiles and Repository, Publisher websites |
| News mentions | PlumX, Altmetric Explorer | PlumX Metrics via Scopus, Altmetric Explorer, Publisher websites |
| Policy mentions | Altmetric Explorer | Altmetric Explorer, Publisher websites |
| Patent citations | Altmetric Explorer | Altmetric Explorer, Publisher websites |
Interpretation and good practice
The following guides provide advice and practical application tips for some of the most commonly used indicators.
Other Resources
"What are the key impact indicators for Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs)?"
It can be challenging to demonstrate the impact and excellence of Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs), as traditional citation metrics may not be applicable and/or appropriate. You may need to consider a range of impact metrics and/or indicators.
The ERA 2023 Discipline Matrix (PDF) will outline, where applicable, the NTROs relevant to your discipline.
Visual artworks
For visual artworks, key indicators include:
- Awards, prizes
- Commissions and grants
- Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media channels
- Invitations to exhibit
- Sales
Creative writing
For creative writing, key indicators include:
- Awards or prizes
- Sales or download figures
- Best seller listings
- Worldwide or Australian library holdings
- Reviews
- Translations
- Credentials of the publishers and/or editors
- Media or news mentions, including traditional and social media
Exhibitions
For exhibitions, key indicators include:
- Commissions
- Invitations to exhibit
- Visitor numbers
- Prestige of the venues
- Sales
- Reviews
- Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media
Live performances
For live performances, key indicators include:
- Commissions
- Invitations to performances
- Audience numbers
- Prestige of the venues
- Reviews
- Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media
"How can I find impact indicators for my non-traditional outputs?"
It can be very challenging to find impact indicators for non-traditional outputs. In many cases, Google can be a helpful tool. But the best practice is to keep a record of all the awards, prizes, commissions, grants, reviews, invitations to perform/exhibit, media and news mentions, book or box office sales, audience or visitor numbers.
The following are some examples of databases or websites that you can use to find some impact indicators.
Grants, awards and prizes
You can search Research Professional to identify grant recipients.
For creative writing, the following database offers information on reviews, awards and prizes your publications have received:
Media and news mentions
You can find social media mentions and other activities through Altmetric Explorer and Scopus (PlumX).
Google can be useful for finding media and news mentions.
Reviews
Box office sales and audience numbers
For exhibitions and live performances, sales stats and audience/visitor numbers can indicate impact. The event organizer/curator often provides these statistics.
Book sales and download figures Tip: Policy citations, patent citations, and news citations can demonstrate impact
Want to know if your research has been cited in any policy documents, patents, or the news? Altmetric.com captures this data for publications with a DOI, and the quickest way to access it is via the Research Portal:
- Log in to the Research Portal
- View your publication list by searching for then clicking on your name in red text. You should see a list of publications association with your name.
- Scroll down the list to find the Altmetric 'donuts'. Look out for purple stripes (policy) and light red stripes (news) or orange stripes (patents).
“OK - now I have some information about my publications, and my h-index. I am interested in more detail though - like how to benchmark my metrics and my citations with others. How can I do that?”
Find out how to use the SciVal and InCites research analytics products to benchmark your metrics with individuals, groups, institutions, research fields, and more.