International Mathematical Union announces Citation Statistics report
Numbers with a number of problems
http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Report/CitationStatistics.pdf
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
The International Mathematical Union today released the Citation
Statistics report. Citation-based statistics, such as the impact factor,
are often used to assess scientific research, but are they the best
measures of research quality? Three international mathematics
organizations have today released a report, Citation Statistics, on the
use of citations in assessing research quality – a topic that is of
increasing interest throughout the world's scientific community. The
report is written from a mathematical perspective and strongly cautions
against the over-reliance on citation statistics such as the impact
factor and h-index. These are often promoted because of the belief in
their accuracy, objectivity, and simplicity, but these beliefs are
unfounded.
Among the report’s key findings:
- Statistics are not more accurate when they are improperly used;
statistics can mislead when they are misused or misunderstood.
- The objectivity of citations is illusory because the meaning of
citations is not well-understood. A citation's meaning can be very far
from "impact".
- While having a single number to judge quality is indeed simple, it can
lead to a shallow under-standing of something as complicated as
research. Numbers are not inherently superior to sound judgments.
The report promotes the sensible use of citation statistics in
evaluating research and points out several common misuses. It is written
by mathematical scientists about a widespread application of
mathematics. While the authors of the report recognize that assessment
must be practical and that easily-derived citation statistics will be
part of the process, they caution that citations provide only a limited
and incomplete view of research quality. Research is too important, they
say, to measure its value with only a single coarse tool.
The report was commissioned by the International Mathematical Union
(IMU) in cooperation with the International Council on Industrial and
Applied Mathematics (ICIAM), and the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics (IMS). It draws upon a broad literature on the use of
citation data to evaluate research, including articles on the impact
factor (the most common citation-based statistic) and the h-index along
with its many variants. The work was also based on practices as reported
from mathematicians and other scientists from around the world.
IMU, ICIAM, IMS
About the International Mathematical Union (IMU):
IMU is an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific
organization, with the purpose of promoting international cooperation in
mathematics. More information at http://www.mathunion.org/.
Contact: Martin Groetschel, Secretary of the International Mathematical
Union
Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustr. 7
D-14195 Berlin, Germany
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], phone: +49 30 84185 210
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