Custom Impact Reporting & Citation Data Analysis

Impact analysis has a complicated landscape, but it begins with your team: your research, your relationships, and your outcomes. Research librarians can partner with you on bibliometrics and research impact projects, and we can tailor our services to your specific needs.

We support research groups of all sizes, including departments, centers, and schools.

Our Methods

• Analyze datasets for citation metrics:  Web of Science, Scopus, Academic Analytics, and discipline-specific databases
• Collect and clean bibliographic data using citation managers (Endnote, Zotero)
• Create visualizations of connected research topics, collaboration networks, and more
• Emphasize transparent use of metrics. Measuring impact is not a perfect science. We can present context for statistical measures, so that you can make informed decisions about how well they reflect your impact. 

Impact Report Examples

Grant Applications and Progress Reports

• Funding agencies require evidence that the proposed research is valuable and unique and that key personnel have a successful record of accomplishment when working together.
• We can provide:
  • Network analysis of co-authorship among key personnel and of previous collaborations between institutions
  • Subject analysis of current literature to explore gaps and opportunities for future research
  • Public access policy compliance guidance for research funded by NIH, NSF, and others
  • Methods to maximize the likelihood that researchers will adequately acknowledge grants and shared resources in their publications

Showcasing Departmental Scholarship 

• Many departments are interested in automated methods to collect and display the department’s research output, such as alerts for new group publications
• We can provide:
  • Bibliographies for current and former department members
  • Co-authorship and research topic network visualizations and analysis
  • Database alerts for new department publications
  • Methods for department members to increase the accuracy of their information online, such as using an ORCID profile and linking it to literature databases

Analyzing and Assessing Research Output

• In this example, an Interdisciplinary Research Center would like to quantify their Center’s research impact. They are interested in Center members’ publications, citations, and associated metrics.
• We can provide:
  • Normalized citation metrics across the Center
  • Clarification on how to accurately use citation-based metrics. Most citation-based research metrics (h-index, journal impact factor, etc) have inherent biases and limitations that make them poor choices for judging research quality.
  • Research topic analysis 
  • Journal or publication-type analysis, including the amount of open access publications
  • Methods for researchers to consistently reflect their Center affiliation in publications and within the campus UW-Madison Research at a Glance website