Bibliometric analyses are quantitative studies of publications and publishing patterns.
The analyses often result in metrics that are increasingly being used to shed light on the influence and dissemination of researchers or publications.
Bibliometric analyses range from simple counts of an institution’s or an author’s publications to various types of citation analyses.
Bibliometric analyses and metrics can, for example, be used in connection with fundraising, development of publishing strategies or reporting in connection with the completion of projects.
Bibliometric analyses can also be used to map and visualise the structure of new as well as old research areas, show the current focus within a given research topic, or show which researchers or institutions often collaborate within the various fields of research.
Altmetrics measure the digital reach and broader societal impact of research beyond traditional citation counts.
Data are based on data from social media, such as blog posts, tweets, bookmarks and downloads. Altmetrics are more immediate measures, in comparison to citation counts which follow the natural flow of the publishing process and therefore often take a long time to establish.
Citations are often used as an indicator of research impact. It is typically the databases Web of Science and Scopus that are used in citation analyses.
There is a wide range of indicators of journal impact that can be used to compare the prestige and influence of different journals. The most frequently used is Journal Impact Factor, which can be found in Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate).
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the liaison librarian associated with your field, who will be happy to assist you with your questions.
Alternatively, you are always welcome to contact your local library in AU Library.
In order to make reliable bibliometric analyses it is important that publications are published with unambiguous and unique address information and that authors are easy to identify.
By creating a unique researcher ID (ORCID, for example) you make it easier for others to distinguish you from other researchers, which helps ensure that you receive recognition for your work.
