Repository logo
 

The data-index: An author-level metric that values impactful data and incentivizes data sharing.

cam.issuedOnline2021-10-13
dc.contributor.authorHood, Amelia SC
dc.contributor.authorSutherland, William
dc.contributor.orcidHood, Amelia SC [0000-0003-3803-0603]
dc.contributor.orcidSutherland, William [0000-0002-6498-0437]
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-14T05:30:20Z
dc.date.available2021-10-14T05:30:20Z
dc.date.issued2021-11
dc.date.submitted2020-09-10
dc.date.updated2021-10-14T05:30:19Z
dc.description.abstractAuthor-level metrics are a widely used measure of scientific success. The h-index and its variants measure publication output (number of publications) and research impact (number of citations). They are often used to influence decisions, such as allocating funding or jobs. Here, we argue that the emphasis on publication output and impact hinders scientific progress in the fields of ecology and evolution because it disincentivizes two fundamental practices: generating impactful (and therefore often long-term) datasets and sharing data. We describe a new author-level metric, the data-index, which values both dataset output (number of datasets) and impact (number of data-index citations), so promotes generating and sharing data as a result. We discuss how it could be implemented and provide user guidelines. The data-index is designed to complement other metrics of scientific success, as scientific contributions are diverse and our value system should reflect that both for the benefit of scientific progress and to create a value system that is more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. Future work should focus on promoting other scientific contributions, such as communicating science, informing policy, mentoring other scientists, and providing open-access code and tools.
dc.identifier.doi10.17863/CAM.76852
dc.identifier.eissn2045-7758
dc.identifier.issn2045-7758
dc.identifier.otherece38126
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/329404
dc.languageen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.subjectACADEMIC PRACTICE IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
dc.subjectauthor‐level metrics
dc.subjectbibliometrics
dc.subjectdata citation
dc.subjectdata metrics
dc.subjectdata sharing
dc.subjectdataset repositories
dc.subjectFAIR research data
dc.subjecth‐index
dc.subjectopen science
dc.titleThe data-index: An author-level metric that values impactful data and incentivizes data sharing.
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.dateAccepted2021-08-24
prism.publicationNameEcol Evol
rioxxterms.licenseref.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rioxxterms.versionVoR
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1002/ece3.8126

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ece3.8126.pdf
Size:
786.35 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
ece3.8126.xml
Size:
6.8 KB
Format:
Extensible Markup Language
Description:
Bibliographic metadata
Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/