This guide is intended to provide scholars with information about tools that you can use to gather information about your research and scholarship to tell the story of your scholarly impact. There are several methods used to measure scholarly impact. This guide covers common measures such as author impact, journal impact, article impact, and alternative metrics. The guide also provides information on the responsible use of metrics.
“Impact occurs when research generates benefits (economic, cultural, health) in addition to building the academic knowledge base. Its mechanisms are complex and reflect the multiple ways in which knowledge is generated and utilised” (Greenhalgh, et al. 2016).
There is no one measurement or number that can perfectly capture the impact of a project or author, so it is important to consider the various methods and measures. There are many more impact factors beyond the ones listed in this guide; the impact factors in this guide are some of the most common.
Greenhalgh, T., Raftery, J., Hanney, S., & Glover, M. (2016). Research impact: a narrative review. BMC Medicine 14(78). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-016-0620-8
When used responsibly, impact metrics can help scholars and researchers tell a story about the impact of their work in their field and beyond. It can also be helpful in many other ways, including:
Email schol-impact@ucdavis.edu to connect with this team regarding matters of scholarly impact.