New Book: Scholarly Metrics under the Microscope

ILS faculty members Dr. Cassidy R. Sugimoto and Dr. Blaise Cronin (emeritus) recently co-edited a book published by Information Today, Inc. Below is an abstract and recommendations from the book’s cover.

Scholarly Metrics Under the Microscope: From Citation Analysis to Academic Auditing

Abstract:
Interest in bibliometrics—the quantitative analysis of publications, authors, bibliographic references, and related concepts—has never been greater, as universities, research councils, national governments, and corporations seek to identify robust indicators of research effectiveness. In Scholarly Metrics Under the Microscope, editors Blaise Cronin and Cassidy R. Sugimoto bring together and expertly annotate a wealth of previously published papers, harvested from a wide range of journals and disciplines, that provide critical commentary on the use of metrics, both established and emerging, to assess the quality of scholarship and the impact of research.

The expansive overview and analysis presented in this remarkable volume will be welcomed by any scholar or researcher who seeks a deeper understanding of the role and significance of performance metrics in higher education, research evaluation, and science policy.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

"Cronin and Sugimoto present an excellent overview of scholarly metrics in this wide-ranging collection of essays from many disciplinary and critical perspectives ... An indispensable volume for anyone who is concerned with measuring the impact of knowledge in today's digital world, including scholars, publishers, information scientists, and research policymakers."
—Ralph Schroeder, Professor, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford

"[Puts] scholarly metrics under the microscope, exploring history, theory, concepts, methods, and policy in the use of citation metrics to evaluate scholarly communication. The carefully selected and organized readings, in combination with the editors' critical commentary, make this a valuable text for graduate courses in bibliometrics, scholarly communication, and higher education policy."
—Christine L. Borgman, Professor and Presidential Chair in Information Studies, University of California at Los Angeles