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Research Metrics Toolkit

Metrics and indicators for creative arts researchers

  • Researchers from creative disciplines may produce non-traditional research outputs (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 art works/design works, e.g., fine arts, crafts works, 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?"

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. Author metrics (e.g., h-index), on the other hand, are often used to evidence the overall impact of a research.

How to: What metrics do I need? How do I find them?

Here are some examples of metrics you could include in your application, and where to find them.

"What are the key impact indicators for non-traditional research outputs?"

It can be challenging to demonstrate the impact and excellence of creative works, as traditional citation metrics may not be applicable and/or appropriate. You may need to consider a range of impact metrics/indicators. For a deep dive into non-traditional research outputs and examples of demonstrating impact, see NTRO Impact

Visual artworks

For visual artworks, key indicators include:

  • Awards, prizes
  • Commissions and grants
  • Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media channels
  • Invitation to exhibit
  • Sales

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 useful tool. But the best practice is to keep a record of all the awards, prizes, commissions, grants, reviews, invitation 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.

 

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 Elements:

  1. Log in to Deakin Elements
  2. View your publication list by selecting Menu > Publications
  3. Select metrics from the focus on drop-down list
  4. Scroll down the list to see the Altmetric “donuts” and look out for purple stripes (policy) and light red stripes (news) or orange stripes (patents).

Caution: Author profiles

To work with most of the metrics described in this guide, you will need to update and maintain your author profiles regularly. Author profiles are the foundation for bibliometric analysis.

 
You must maintain and update your author profiles (even those created for you) to:
  • Be able to quickly gather accurate research metrics
  • Ensure publications are correctly attributed to you
  • Ensure publications are correctly attributed to Deakin
  • Ensure your work is seen in its best light by reviewers who may use these database products as part of their assessment.

Find out more about Author Profiles.

  • Last Updated: May 8, 2025 10:58 AM
  • URL: https://deakin.libguides.com/research-metrics
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