Research metrics and publishing: Non-citation based indicators

Indicators of esteem highlight the ways a researcher is recognised by their peers, disciplines, industries, and communities. Unlike citation-based metrics, these measures demonstrate reputation, influence, and standing within and beyond academia. They may apply to researchers producing both traditional and non-traditional research outputs (NTROs).

Examples include:

• Recognition through awards or prizes
• Editor of a prestigious work of reference
• Recipient of a nationally competitive research fellowship or grant
• Leadership of a large-scale research project
• Membership of a statutory committee or learned academy
• Peer review record or other notable academic service (editorial boards, judging panels)
• Invitations to deliver keynotes, plenaries, named lectureships, or visiting professorships
• Prestigious commissioned works (by leading organisations, institutions, or festivals)
• Recognition through contribution to policy, professional guidelines, or standards
• Mentions of research in judicial decisions, case summaries, or prominent databases
• High-profile international or industry research collaborations
• Awards or recognition for curriculum development, teaching excellence, or PhD supervision
• Reprint or inclusion of articles/chapters in significant collections
• Contribution to major public or policy debates, think tanks, or knowledge brokering forums

The practice of acknowledging the work of others in research articles is well established. Acknowledgements reveal the important contributions of collaborators beyond the authorship of the article. Acknowledgements can be given for any expertise that was fundamental to the final research output, but not sufficient to claim co-authorship of the research. For example, specialised lab-based work performed by technicians as part of their job may result in an acknowledgement for an individual, and/or for a laboratory for use of their specially designed facilities.

Dimensions database offers an easy means of locating whether you have any acknowledgements in the published literature.

1. Click in the Dimensions Search box in order to see the Advanced search option. Select Advanced search.

2. Select Acknowledgements from the drop-down menu of searchable fields, and enter your own name, or the name of the entity that you wish to find acknowledgements for. (Tip: use double quotes to keep word order).

Article views, usage, downloads, and similar metrics for individual scholarly outputs, may be available from the respective publisher's website, an institutional repository, or a citation database. This is not a given, as it will depend on the publisher/platform whether they display this data.
To see an overall "views count" for your research, you can look at your researcher profile in the Overview module in SciVal database. SciVal will display the number of views for all of your publications indexed in Scopus, the number of outputs in top views percentiles, the average views per publication, and the average field-weighted-views-impact of your work.
Views, usage, downloads and similar metrics may also be available for non-traditional research outputs via social media or altmetric platforms. Again, the availability of this data can vary. For more information, see the Altmetric guide.