Browsing by Author "Neylon, Cameron"

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    Illustrating Impact: Applying Altmetrics to Southern African Research
    (2014-02) Neylon, Cameron; Willmers, Michelle; King, Thomas
    Universities are under growing pressure to illustrate the "impact" of research they produce, perhaps especially institutions in the developing world, which are expected to balance social responsiveness with the rigours of a competitive global higher education environment. Institutions worldwide are engaging with more sophisticated business intelligence for the purposes of better governance and funder engagement. In higher education, Altmetrics – "alternative metrics" – are being used to measure and track scholarship in new ways. A key question is whether institutions in sub-Saharan Africa are in a position to meet demands for the improved measurement and dissemination of research outputs. The Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme (SCAP) explored the state of scholarly communication at four Southern African universities, and probed the alignment between their mission statements, the values of their academic communities, and the reward and incentive frameworks that govern academic careers.
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    Impact Beyond Citation: An Introduction to Altmetrics
    (2014-02) Neylon, Cameron; Willmers, Michelle; King, Thomas
    A fundamental concern for higher education institutions worldwide is improving their efectiveness and efficiency. #is is often expressed as a need to maximise the "impact" of funded research. "Impact" is intended to mean the e!ects of research beyond the research community, and may include in$uence on policy, improvements in health and living standards, cultural enrichment or an improved environment. Di!erent forms of impact – and the framework by which impact is assessed and rewarded – should depend on the mission and goals of the institution. In a political environment that places high value on transparency, accountability and demonstrable return-from-investment, and with intensifying competition in global higher education, universities are under pressure to provide evidence of the value of services they provide. While the value of teaching services has been straightforward to measure, this has not been the case for research. #e commercial publishing sector provides citation-based analysis – the ISI Impact Factor – that is the dominant metric for research evaluation. But the ISI Impact Factor's methodology, equitability and ability to measure the range of scholarship have been criticised. The Altmetrics movement, a body of scholars that seeks to create tools allowing scholarship to be measured and tracked in novel ways, is challenging the ISI Impact Factor. The Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme investigated "alternative methodologies for a more Afrocentric approach to research evaluation".
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    Open Access
    Rethinking Impact: Applying Altmetrics to Southern African Research
    (2014-02) Neylon, Cameron; Willmers, Michelle; King, Thomas
    A fundamental concern for institutions around the world is maximising the efectiveness and efficiency of their investment in delivering their mission; this is perhaps most acutely the case for institutions in the developing world that are forced to balance challenging social responsiveness agendas with the rigours of the increasingly competitive global higher education environment. This is often expressed as a concern to maximise the "impact" of funded research, where impact is intended to mean the e!ects of research beyond the research community. This might include influence on policy, improvements in health and living standards, cultural enrichment, or an improved environment. The emphasis on di!erent forms of impact (and the framework by which that impact is assessed and rewarded) should depend on the goals and mission of the institution.