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 measures 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.
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 be different in different databases due to their coverage.
| Metrics | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation count | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar | Article record in the relevant database |
| Field Weighted Citation Index (FWCI) (article level) | Scopus | Article record in Scopus |
| Article ranking (citation percentile) | Scopus, WoS | Article record in Scopus, WoS, Essential Science indicators, SciVal, InCites |
| Highly cited papers | WoS | Article record in WoS Core Collection |
| Altmetrics (e.g. social media and news mentions) | Altmetric, PlumX | Article record in Scopus or Elements, Altmetric bookmarklet |
|
Journal metrics (use caution: journal metrics are for journals, not articles) |
Scopus, WoS | SCImago, JCR (or the article record in WoS), WISP |
|
Journal ranking and quartile in category (use caution: journal metrics are for journals, not articles) |
Scopus, WoS |
Books and chapters
Books and chaptersMetrics and indicators for books and chapters can be challenging to find. This is due to the limitation in indexing of 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 | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar | |
| Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) (article level) | Scopus | Book/chapter record in Scopus |
| Altmetrics (e.g. social media and news mentions) | Altmetric, PlumX | Article record in Scopus or Elements, Altmetric bookmarklet |
| World wide and Australia 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, best seller list |
Google, Publish website
|
Search Google or the publisher's website |
Conference papers
Conference papersSimilar to books and chapters, article level metrics for conference papers can be difficult to find. The prestige and credential of the conference and its organiser can often indicator 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. Check the Conference: The how-to-choose guide for more information.
| Metrics or indicators | Source | Where to find the information |
|---|---|---|
| Citation count | Scopus, WoS, 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 metrics
Author metricsAuthor level metrics are available from the research metrics dashboard and 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of publications | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar, Elements | Author profiles |
| Total citations | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar | Author profiles |
| h-index | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar | Author profiles |
| i10-index | Google Scholar | Google Scholar profile |
| h5-index | SciVal | SciVal Overview tab |
| Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) (author level) |
SciVal |
SciVal Overview tab |
Benchmarking
You can use our subscribed benchmarking tools (SciVal and InCites) to demonstrate the engagement and outstanding impact of your work 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 |
|---|---|---|
| h-index (#) | Scopus, WoS, Google Scholar | SciVal, InCites |
| Total citation count (#) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Citation per document (#) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Percentage of cited Publications (%) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Field-Weighted Citation Impact or Normalized citation impact (#) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Output in Top Citation Percentiles (# or %) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Publications in Top Journal Percentiles by a specific journal ranking (# or %) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Collaboration (# or %) | Scopus, WoS | SciVal, InCites |
| Patent-citations count (#) | Scopus | SciVal |
| Number of citing countries (#) | Scopus | SciVal |
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 X (formerly 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.com | PlumX via Scopus, Altmetric.com via Elements or Bookmarklet, Publisher websites |
| Article stats - views, downloads, saves etc. | PlumX, Altmetric.com, DRO | PlumX via Scopus, Altmetric.com via Elements or Bookmarklet, Publisher websites, DRO |
| News mentions | PlumX, Altmetric.com | PlumX via Scopus, Altmetric.com via Elements or Bookmarklet, Publisher websites |
| Policy mentions | Altmetric.com | Altmetric.com via Elements or Bookmarklet, Publisher websites |
| Patent citations | Altmetric.com | Altmetric.com via Elements or Bookmarklet, Publisher websites |
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 section.
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
Creative writing
For creative writing, key indicators include:
- Awards or prizes
- Sales or download figures
- Best seller listing
- World wide or Australia library holdings
- Reviews
- Translations
- Credentials of the publisher and/or editor
- Media or news mentions, including traditional and social media
Exhibitions
For exhibitions, key indicators include:
- Commissions
- Invitation to exhibit
- Visitor numbers
- Prestige of the venue
- Sales
- Reviews
- Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media
Live performances
For live performances, key indicators include:
- Commissions
- Invitation to performance
- Audience numbers
- Prestige of the venue
- Reviews
- Media and news mentions, including traditional and social media
How can I find impact indicators for my non-traditional outputs?
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.
Grants, awards and prizes
You can search Research Professional to identify grant recipients.
For creative writing, the following databases offer 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, PlumX.
Google can be useful to find media and news mentions.
Reviews
You may be able to find reviews by searching Google or websites of the publisher or event organiser/curator.
For creative writing, the following databases offer information on reviews, awards and prizes your publications have received:
Box office sales and audience numbers
For exhibitions and live performance, sales stats and audience/visitor numbers can be an indicator of impact. You can often get these statistics from the event organiser/curator.
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 Elements:
- Log in to Deakin Elements
- View your publication list by selecting Menu > Publications
- Select metrics from the focus on drop-down list
- 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.
- 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.