(E-) Valuative Metrics as a Contested Field: A Comparative Analysis of the Altmetrics- and the Leiden Manifesto

This article comparatively analyzes two manifestos in the field of quantitative science evaluation, the Altmetrics Manifesto (AM) and the Leiden Manifesto (LM). It employs perspectives from the Sociology of (E-) Valuation to make sense of highly visible critiques that organize the current discourse. Four motifs can be reconstructed from the manifestos’ valuation strategies. The AM criticizes the confinedness of established evaluation practices and pledges for an expansion of quantitative research evaluation. The LM denounces the proliferation of ill-applied research metrics and calls for an enclosure of metric research assessment. It can be shown that these motifs are organized diametrically: The two manifestos represent opposed positions in a critical discourse on (e-) valuative metrics. They manifest quantitative science evaluation as a contested field.

Do mentoring programmes influence women’s careers in the health and medical research sector? A mixed-methods evaluation of Australia’s Franklin Women Mentoring Programme

ObjectivesIt is known that women are under-represented in senior positions within the health and medical research sector. The Franklin Women Mentoring Programme (Programme) is a professionally facilitated, cross-organisational initiative designed to support career development for mid-career women. The objective of this study was to evaluate Programme outcomes reported by participants 12 months following its formal conclusion.DesignExplanatory sequential mixed-methods study design using a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews.SettingHealth and medical research institutes in Sydney, Australia.ParticipantsHealth and medical researchers from the 2018 Programme.Primary and secondary outcome measuresChanges in knowledge, skills, behaviours and research metrics directly attributed to Programme participation.ResultsA total of 50 mentors and mentees participated in the cross-sectional survey (68% of the total cohort) and 14 mentors and mentees participated in the interviews. All reported changes to their knowledge, skills, behaviours and research metrics which were directly attributed to participation in the Programme. This included changes in knowledge and skills to be more inclusive (96% mentees, 83% mentors), resilience (88% mentees, 67% mentors), ability to have difficult workplace conversations (88% mentees, 71% mentors) and improvements in supervisory and team management (82% mentees, 75% mentors) skills. Positive impacts on promotions and grant opportunities were also reported. All evaluation participants believed this Programme was a worthwhile initiative for their workplaces to invest in.ConclusionParticipation in this cross-organisational, professionally facilitated, structured mentoring programme has led to positive outcomes for mentees, as well as mentors. Reported outcomes indicate the Programme is meeting its aims to support the career development of mid-career women in health and medical research, while facilitating a more inclusive workforce.

Research Prospects, Higher Education and World University Ranking in China: A Review

This review paper focused on the high-impact research metrics, current state of higher education system and world university rankings of China. First, the research prospects in China described internationally with number of research field. Now, the largest field of research in China is engineering. In recent years, China ranked 1st position for publishing documents & citable documents among the world. China always ranked 1st position in high-impact research metrics on engineering field. The total number of Chinese Nobel laureates are thirteen (13). Secondly, an overview of higher education system in China presented with educational statistics. The enrolment procedure in Chinese universities to participated in National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao). In the recent years, the acceptance rate of Gaokao have increased. Now the number of high school graduates who attend in university is more than 60%. The number of foreign students has also increased rapidly. Finally, Academic ranking of world universities shown that there are four Chinese university placed in Top 100 university category. The best four Chinese universities are Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University & Shanghai Jiao Tong University respectively.

Impacto Político da Pesquisa

Discussions on political impact broaden our understanding of the impact of academic research and deepen our awareness of underlying and socially constructed dynamics that determine the very meaning of what will be collectively understood as impact. Three major types of impact can be considered when discussing how researchers can fully observe the political impact of their research: (a) promotion of emancipation and critical thinking, (b) promotion of debates on the public interest and (c) contribution of the study results to the process of denaturalizing knowledge considered as neutral. The political impacts of academic research represent the future development of societies and organizations, as they make life viable in a collective, social and democratic context. If so, why are we still unable to substantiate, enable and operationalize such consideration into our scientific research metrics and guidelines?

Political Impact of Research

Discussions on political impact broaden our understanding of the impact of academic research and deepen our awareness of underlying and socially constructed dynamics that determine the very meaning of what will be collectively understood as impact. Three major types of impact can be considered when discussing how researchers can fully observe the political impact of their research: (a) promotion of emancipation and critical thinking, (b) promotion of debates on the public interest and (c) contribution of the study results to the process of denaturalizing knowledge considered as neutral. The political impacts of academic research represent the future development of societies and organizations, as they make life viable in a collective, social and democratic context. If so, why are we still unable to substantiate, enable and operationalize such consideration into our scientific research metrics and guidelines?

Linking Practitioner Dilemmas and Research Metrics Across an Integrated Marketing Curriculum

Observations from faculty who teach marketing indicate that a relatively small percentage of students have strong interest in quantitative analysis and many come into the marketing major out of the misperception that it is light on math. In reality, over 98% of marketing professionals use data during their decision-making processes, while 80% of marketing-related problems use data at least in part to be solved. This article outlines a teaching model for analytical decision-making that links marketing problems with marketing research. It is stressed that while only a small percentage of marketing students become marketing researchers all will become consumers of information that is generated by research. Outlined herein is a dual-stage curriculum approach focused on preparing students to be knowledgeable consumers of research by incorporating a problem and metric-based pedagogy. This design is supported by data from 185 marketing professionals who contribute commonly asked “on the job” problems along with frequently used metrics that marketing students should learn as they train to be future marketing professionals.

Reactivity and the Dialectics of Performance Measurement: Micropolitics Between Agency and Compliance

This article adds to the recent literature stressing performance measures’ reactivity by offering a conceptualization of the associated micropolitical dynamics and their implications for performance measurement. Using the example of individual actors’ “gaming” responses to the use of research metrics within Australian universities for illustration, this article argues that such responses reflect both passive self-imposition as well as active subversion of performance measures. It is illustrated that this implies that gaming reinforces metrics’ standing and sway over individual and organizational efforts while, at the same time, undermining the foundations from which performance measurement derives its legitimacy in the first place.

Technologies and Sensor Design for the Measurement of Ground Reaction Forces in Mice: A Review

To better understand the pathophysiology and functional outcomes of musculoskeletal and neuromotor pathologies, research is often conducted in mice models. As a key component of such research, metrics of movement, loading, symmetry, and stability all have to be assessed, ideally requiring the measurement of 3D ground reaction forces, which can be difficult. While the measurement of ground reaction forces (GRF) is well developed for humans, appropriate devices for mice remain rare or inadequate. Such devices need to combine high sensitivity with small dimensions, especially when the forces for each individual paw should be measured. As preparation for building such a device that can measure 3D GRF per paw in mice in an upcoming study, this systematic review of the literature identified 122 articles and 49 devices that measured the ground reaction forces for mice and other small animals. Based on a variety of criteria, such as sensitivity and resonance frequency, the miniaturisation of each device and/or its capability to measure the three components of the ground reaction forces in individual paws were judged. The devices were consequently classified; eight devices were classified as “can be adapted”, nine as “hard to be adapted”, and 24 as “cannot be adapted”.

The impact of procedural and distributive justice on satisfaction and manufacturing performance: a replication of Lindquist (1995) with a focus on the importance of common metrics in experimental design

This paper replicates Lindquist’s (Lindquist, Journal of Management Accounting Research 7:122–147, 1995) seminal research introducing the concepts of justice to the accounting literature. We use organizational justice theory, as did he, to replicate his study and, in doing so, question some findings of partial replications and extensions done over the past 25 years. We do this because work built off his study has challenged some of his findings. These challenges, we believe, have resulted from most researchers using different research metrics than did Lindquist. Many of these extensions have also used a mental-based task, instead of a manual-based one, in their experiments. We believe this constrains the ability to draw inferences and conclusions from this subsequent research. We further believe this constraint extends to much of the experimental research in the social sciences.In our research we replicate exactly Lindquist’s (Lindquist, Journal of Management Accounting Research 7:122–147, 1995) operationalizations of voice and vote and measure dependent outcomes for four of the same conditions he investigated. In contrast to most of other follow-up studies, we find, as did Lindquist, that having a voice only leads to significantly enhanced satisfaction with high-stretch targets, as compared to having a vote only or no input. We also corroborate Lindquist’s (Lindquist, Journal of Management Accounting Research 7:122–147, 1995) result that having a voice only leads to significantly greater satisfaction with the experimental task, as compared to participants with a vote only or no input. Additionally, unlike Lindquist (Lindquist, Journal of Management Accounting Research 7:122–147, 1995), we find participants allowed only a voice significantly outperform participants with a vote only and no input. We thus support Lindquist’s findings of a fair process effect for voice and perceptions of pseudo-participation related to vote.