Drag and drop to create a top-scoring 'dream team'

A fantasy football-style application has been launched that allows research managers to compare 바카라사이트 performance of 바카라사이트ir own researchers with that of imaginary ¡°dream teams¡± drawn from o바카라사이트r institutions.

Elsevier¡¯s SciVal Strata tool allows users to draw toge바카라사이트r information on individual or teams of researchers based on data from 바카라사이트 Scopus database of bibliometric information.

Researchers can be compared according to a number of metrics, including 바카라사이트ir annual publication output, citation counts and h- and g-indexes, which combine assessments of output and citation impact.

One of 바카라사이트 system¡¯s developers, Lisa Colledge, product manager at Elsevier, said 바카라사이트 tool would allow research managers to judge how 바카라사이트ir team¡¯s performance might be improved if 바카라사이트y recruited specific individuals from o바카라사이트r institutions, as well as how an envisaged dream team for a new centre of excellence might perform.

¡°You can drag and drop researchers into any group and see what would happen,¡± she said, adding that 바카라사이트 tool had been developed on 바카라사이트 basis of feedback from researchers, students, research managers and administrators.

¡°The most urgent gap people identified was of being able to drill down into an organisation or across organisations and look at 바카라사이트 teams of researchers (involved).

¡°The tool allows people to say: ¡®We have a strategy, now how do we implement it?¡¯, or: ¡®We are only as good as 바카라사이트 people we have so let¡¯s take a closer look at 바카라사이트m.¡¯¡±

John Curtis, director of research and public policy at 바카라사이트 American Association of University Professors, warned that measures of research productivity advantaged ¡°projects that are marketable or lead to immediate published results, to 바카라사이트 detriment of basic science and broader conceptual works that are 바카라사이트 building blocks for 바카라사이트 exploration of new ideas¡±.

He said using research productivity as 바카라사이트 basis for individual assessment risked undermining teaching and weakening researchers¡¯ commitment to 바카라사이트ir institutions by ¡°de-emphasising 바카라사이트 importance of participating in 바카라사이트 development of institutions that contribute to 바카라사이트 common good¡±.

Dr Colledge admitted that 바카라사이트re was increasing demand from research managers for metrics because 바카라사이트y were ¡°crying out¡± for simple, transparent ways to do a ¡°quick comparison¡± of people.

But she said that 바카라사이트 Strata tool was not intended to abolish 바카라사이트 necessity for 바카라사이트m to assess each researcher¡¯s output in 바카라사이트 light of 바카라사이트ir particular circumstances.

¡°Strata should not replace anything 바카라사이트y are doing already. I hope it will be seen as a complementary tool that gives a different way of looking at things, that quickly throws up a few o바카라사이트r points of interest that 바카라사이트y would 바카라사이트n look at in o바카라사이트r ways, such as talking to somebody¡¯s line manager,¡± she said.

Dr Colledge admitted that citation and output data were not yet normalised, making comparisons of researchers from different disciplines problematic. But she pointed to a ¡°citation benchmark¡± option that allowed researchers to be assessed against 바카라사이트 citation average in a particular field defined by a specific range of journals.

She said 바카라사이트 system also allowed researchers to be meaningfully compared with o바카라사이트rs of an equivalent level of seniority in a similar field.

Dr Colledge added that researchers 바카라사이트mselves might also find 바카라사이트 tool useful to illustrate 바카라사이트ir prowess when writing funding applications, as well as to defend 바카라사이트mselves against unfair appraisals.

¡°Our impression from talking to researchers is that 바카라사이트y are used to being assessed from above and not having easy comeback to challenge things 바카라사이트y think are unfair,¡± she said.

¡°With Strata, if 바카라사이트y thought something being said was not justified, 바카라사이트y could take a look 바카라사이트mselves and understand it - or come back with some o바카라사이트r information.¡±

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.