Research Article (Preprint): “Bibliometric Index for Academic Leadership”

The following research article (preprint) was recently shared by the authors on arXiv.
Title
Bibliometric Index for Academic Leadership
Authors
Yang Liu
China Medical University
Fengrong Ou
China Medical University
Yan Deng
China Medical University
Bo Wu
China Medical University
Ruxi Liu
China Medical University
Hui Hua
China Medical University
Yuyuan Guan
China Medical University
Rentong Chen
China Medical University
Lars Gjesteby
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jiansheng Yang
Peking University
Michael Vannier
University of Chicago
Ge Wang
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Source
via arXiv
Abstract

Academic leadership is essential for research innovation and impact. Until now, there has been no dedicated measure of leadership by bibliometrics. Popular bibliometric indices are mainly based on academic output, such as the journal impact factor and the number of citations. Here we develop an academic leadership index based on readily available bibliometric data that is sensitive to not only academic output but also research efficiency. Our leadership index was tested in two studies on peer-reviewed journal papers by extramurally-funded principal investigators in the field of life sciences from China and the USA, respectively. The leadership performance of these principal investigators was quantified and compared relative to university rank and other factors. As a validation measure, we show that the highest average leadership index was achieved by principal investigators at top national universities in both countries. More interestingly, our results also indicate that on an individual basis, strong leadership and high efficiency are not necessarily associated with those at top-tier universities nor with the most funding. This leadership index may become the basis of a comprehensive merit system, facilitating academic evaluation and resource management.

Direct to Full Text Article (Preprint)
25 pages; PDF.

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