After spending all that time developing groundbreaking research, it’s important that your work is shared with others and makes a lasting impact. In this story, Janice Kung, Health Sciences librarian at the University of Alberta, explores the Research Impact Team and how researchers can leverage their services to assist with reports, help strategize and plan, boost visibility and, ultimately, help researchers lead with purpose.
Disseminating research is an important aspect of one’s work in academia. Sharing your research, gaining visibility and making an impact requires more than just groundbreaking research; it demands an understanding of the impact that research has on the broader scholarly community and society at large.
Introducing the Research Impact Team (RIT), a service embedded within the University of Alberta Library. Our mission is to help you communicate the impact of your work in a variety of ways to tell your research story to peers, funders, policymakers and the public. We offer several services and support to faculties, departments and individual researchers.
1. Benchmarking reports
Ever wondered how your department or faculty's research productivity stacks up against other universities? We develop benchmarking reports that provide a comparative overview of your research outputs, citations and other impactful metrics with comparable universities in Canada and worldwide. This not only helps identify areas of strength but also serves as a roadmap for strategic improvements and collaboration within and beyond the University of Alberta.
2. Grant/award application support
If you or your team are applying for major grants or national/international awards, the RIT can pull objective metrics to improve your applications. It is important to go beyond traditional metrics such as total number of publications, citations or H-index. There are other compelling ways to highlight your research strengths such as international impact and collaboration.
3. ORCID: Your unique scholarly identity
Amongst the large volume of academic publications, having a unique and persistent scholarly identity is crucial. ORCID is an established persistent identifier that distinguishes researchers from one another. Maintaining a consistent form of your name in publications is important but when this is not possible, the ORCID consolidates all of your publications under the same author profile. The RIT offers recommendations on how to implement department-wide and faculty-wide ORCID integration. This is crucial for connecting researchers to their research outputs. This not only enhances the visibility of your work but also streamlines collaboration and attribution — ensuring that your scholarly contributions are accurately recognized.
4. Education: Navigating the impact landscape
Understanding and utilizing research impact indicators responsibly is paramount in the current academic climate. Our workshops and seminars empower researchers to navigate the complex world of metrics with confidence. From the journal impact factor to citation counts, we equip you with the knowledge to leverage these indicators effectively while also emphasizing the ethical use of metrics to avoid unintended consequences.
How can the Research Impact Team help you?
- Strategic planning: Identify opportunities for improvement and strategic collaborations through benchmarking reports.
- Enhanced visibility: ORCID ensures that your scholarly contributions are easily discoverable and properly attributed.
- Informed decision-making: Equip yourself and your department with the knowledge to make informed decisions about research activities and collaborations based on impactful metrics.
- Ethical engagement: Navigate the world of research metrics responsibly, avoiding pitfalls and ensuring the ethical use of impact indicators.
Getting started
Attend workshops
Keep an eye out for upcoming workshops and training sessions focused on responsible use of research impact metrics.
Schedule a consultation
Interested in a benchmarking report or ORCID integration? Email researchimpact@ualberta.ca to schedule a meeting. We will tailor our services to the specific needs of the individual researcher or department.
As we collectively strive for academic excellence, the Research Impact Team is available to support researchers and departments on how to showcase your research output.
