There are various concerns about the merits of using citation-based metrics as measures of research quality, most notably where different disciplines have varying cultures of citation, authorship and publication rates. There is a wide range of activity in the area of research metrics to ensure that measures are used responsibly and that stakeholders experience a level playing field, notably:

• GCU is a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), an 18-point manifesto for researchers, institutions, funders and publishers.
• The Leiden Manifesto lists ten principles for the responsible measurement of research performance.
• The Metric Tide report, commissioned by Research England and published in 2015, is an independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management.

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The responsible use of research metrics applies to many areas of the institution’s work including, but not limited to, research assessment, staff recruitment, performance management and promotions. The following is a non-exhaustive list of general guidelines on the responsible use of research metrics:

• Compare like with like. Only compare researchers at similar career stages and in similar disciplines, or outputs of a similar age, type and subject area.
• Use a basket of metrics. Use multiple quantitative metrics and enhance these with qualitative data when appropriate. Always contextualise the metrics you use.
• Use normalised metrics whenever possible. These metrics have been normalised to reduce variables. Normalised metrics include:
  • Outputs: Field-weighted citation impact (FWCI)
  • Journals: Source-normalised impact per paper (SNIP)
• Understand the metrics you use. Read the methodologies behind the metrics and question their robustness.
• Use output-level metrics for the assessment of research rather than journal-level metrics.
• Use quantitative indicators that are based upon published formulae and rely on openly available data, so that they can be reproduced if required.
• Wherever appropriate, cite primary literature in which observations are first reported rather than reviews.
• Measure performance against the stated research mission or strategy of an institution or organisation.
• Declare in advance the use of metrics in any process and consider these metrics alongside more qualitative assessments.