Utrecht University will no longer consider the impact factor when measuring the quality of its researchers
LResearchers and staff from Utrecht University will be assessed on their commitment to open science and teamwork.
A Dutch university in Utrecht is formally ceasing to consider the impact factor, a standard measure of scientific success, in all hiring and promotion decisions. By early 2022, all departments at Utrecht University in the Netherlands will judge their academics according to other standards, including their commitment to teamwork and their efforts to promote open science, says Paul Boselie, governance researcher and project leader for the new accreditation program. Recognition and rewards“Impact factors don’t truly reflect the quality of an individual researcher or academic,” he says. “We strongly believe that something has to change, and abandoning the impact factor is one of those changes.”
A scientist's impact factor is a score that takes into account the number of publications and the citation rate of the journals where those articles are published. In this system, articles from highly cited journals such as Science, Nature o Cell They carry more weight than articles in journals whose content is cited less frequently. Boselie says that impact factors, as well as a related measure called the h-index, contribute to a “production” of science that values pure output over good research. “It has become a very damaging model that goes beyond what is really relevant to science and to promoting science,” he says.
The new scheme is part of the Open Science program From Utrecht, a multi-pronged effort to make research more transparent and collaborative. Open science program managers embedded in each department will assess progress toward open access publishing, public participation, and data sharing.
The decision to renew hiring and promotion has been partly inspired by the Statement on Research Assessment (DORA), a document created in 2012 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology.
The declaration aims to “improve the ways in which researchers and the results of academic research are evaluated” and specifically calls for the elimination of impact factors as a means of judging the merit of scholars. To date, it has been signed by nearly 20.000 individuals and institutions. Utrecht University signed the document in 2019.
Among academic researchers, dissatisfaction with the use and misuse of the impact factor in evaluations and decisions regarding tenure, promotion, and hiring has increased in recent years. 2018 report He described the impact factor as "an inadequate measure for assessing the impact of scientists" and concluded that if the current assessment system is not modified, it is likely to produce "continued behavior that has not always resulted in positive social behavior."
All universities in the Netherlands, including Utrecht, have joined ''Room for Everyone's Talent', a 2019 position paper Led by VSNU, the Dutch university employees' association, the document calls for a recognition and reward system that "enables the diversification and revitalization of career paths."
Even so, eliminating standard metrics could be a risky move for the university and its faculty and staff. As long as other universities continue to rely on impact factors and other productivity metrics for recruitment and promotion, researchers emerging through the Utrecht system could be at a competitive disadvantage.
